My bike has been connected to a battery tender during a lengthy cold spell. This past weekend I tried to start the bike but it was completely dead. Could the tender actually kill the battery? Any ideas?

HD tender connected to a 2 year old factory battery.

 

I've never heard of a Tender hurting a battery.Hook a meter to it to see if it's still working.

 

Was the light GREEN on the tender, or flashing red, if flashing red, check the fusable link in the pigtail (7.5 amp fuse)

 

That seems odd. I put one on my bike just a month ago when it would not start - the anti theft electronics drained enough of the power it would not even turn over. Took about 24 hours to charge - no problem since then. If it is a "battery Tender Jr." the adapter should let you know what the problem is. If the light is green it should be fully charged. If it is flashing red for a long period of time then your battery has bad cells and won't take a charge. You may just have to take the battery out and have it tested. My last factory HD battery lasted 5 years. When it went it was dead dead dead with no warning and the battery tender would not charge it. Check the connections too - if either is not on tight you may not be getting a proper charge, if any at all. either way it is a simple fix but could set you back some $ for a new battery if that is the case.

 

The title of this thread made me laugh

 

Flashing red means NO CONNECTION, solid red means less than 80% charged, flashing green means 80% or better, solid green means full charge. So if it's flashing red, check the fuse on the positive side of the pigtail, or check continuity on the pitail itself with an ohm meter. I've found even when mine is solid green it's not fully charged though.

 

Yeh, it was pretty funny....

 

That is not supposed to happen

 

Not all tenders are equal. Some you have to fully charge your battery, then it will maintain it.
Mine is like that.

 

My Schumachers are like that.