Learned something about battery maintainers

You cant add extra wire to the leads . The charger will not
work . Think I am going to try some alligator clips to hook the
charger to the starter

(quoted from post at 15:58:05 02/10/22) You cant add extra wire to the leads . The charger will not
work . Think I am going to try some alligator clips to hook the
charger to the starter

Click to expand...

What make/model of maintainer?

I've modified/added wire to the leads of numerous battery maintainers with no issues whatever, have two Die Hards on a 24 Volt 4020, as an example.

Must be the brand

My Deltran Battery Tenders Come with a 6 or 8 foot lead
(can't remember)
With quick plug that accepts furnished Leads with ring ends and set with Alligator clips.

Also can order 20foot extension lead if wanted.

Have several maintaining more than one battery in parallel.

Tom

This post was edited by TGP on 02/10/2022 at 03:16 pm.

One of the few John Deere tools Ive been disappointed with

Well it might end up being better than having it hammering
through the field after all

triple check all connections.....

(quoted from post at 15:58:05 02/10/22) Learned something about battery maintainers. You cant add extra wire to the leads . The charger will not
work .

Click to expand...

Strange. I can't help but wonder if the wire extensions were making positive connection? Or was a connection point accidentally grounding out? ...But then, it's got John Deere on the label. They don't want anyone repairing or modifying their 'stuff'. *lol*

I have a Battery Tender that has a 10 foot extension cord that I got at Amazon. It has built in plugs. It works just like it does without an extension cord.

I used bullet connectors for the connections maybe to much
resistance?? Its working now with the Aligator clips .

It works with an extension cord but I couldnt get it to work with the extensions I put on the charger output leads

Some battery maintainers feature a quick connection that lets you use either a set of alligator clips or a set of terminal connections that can be left on a vehicle. Something like these:

www.amazon.com/SPARKING-Motorcycle-Disconnect-Extension-Accessory/dp/B07KS2GCXJ/ref=asc_df_B07KS2GCXJ?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79989526348990&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583589103838128&psc=1

I've had good luck making my own terminal connections for each vehicle and just leaving them in place. I use two wire trailer light connectors and crimp on ring terminals that fit the vehicle. The wire size is plenty for a 1 or 2 amp maintainer. Make the pigtails long enough that you can connect and disconnect the maintainer without having to open a battery box or hood, this saves a lot of time and effort as the charger lights tell you when the battery if fully charged. This worked well on a Schumacker maintainer similar to yours from Deere. I only need to top off unused batteries about once a month for a few hours at a time, so I get by with moving one charger between vehicles. Take some care to make sure the ground connection is the one exposed and the hot connection is shielded.

Any chance your extension reversed the polarity? I've never tried to extend the battery leads; always easier to use an AC extension cord.

When you first hook up a maintainer, it checks to see if it can detect a battery and that the polarity is correct. I suppose if there's enough resistance in the battery leads, that could keep it from detecting the battery.

Did you use wire?

I have added extra jumper wires (On DC output charging side) and all worked fine (forget what brands) HOWEVER they were fairly heavy gauge. Problem is different brands and quality and design can all be different and what doesnt work on one may on another brand> If thats the case Id add more length extension cords on the AC side. NOTE As much as possible I like to leave the charger on a concrete floor or good metal place on tractor away from top of battery

Best wishes

John T

This is the type of cord I used.

https://www.valley-ent.com/store/dc-power-automotive-sae-bullet-connectors-extension-cable-25-feet.html

Battery maintainers are NOT battery chargers.They are engineered to maintain a charged battery at 12 volts or a little more. Not made tocharge battery with low voltage. Read your manual for correct operation.

Batteries are charged . Just wanting to keep them that way