As long as the starter draws less than 400 amps, which is the maximum output of the meter.
Do Amps matter or is voltage more important?
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Moparfever65
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It doesn't do DC amps with the clamp. Note the description says AC amps with no connection.
Battery tenders, local guy here lost 3 cars in a shop fire. 70 chevelle ss, 36 Ford , 37 Ford.
The fire started in the area of one of the tenders and the outlet is was plugged into.
Insurance paid, they called it electrical .
I posted pics of the resulting mess a couple years back.
My tender went into the trash can. I have my negative post unhooked during the winter and charge the battery at least once during the winter.
The fire started in the area of one of the tenders and the outlet is was plugged into.
Insurance paid, they called it electrical .
I posted pics of the resulting mess a couple years back.
My tender went into the trash can. I have my negative post unhooked during the winter and charge the battery at least once during the winter.
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Very sad...but this is/was an extraordinary event. I have and will continue to use my battery tender on a protected GFCI circuit that will turn off the power to the tender under fault conditions. I've used them for years without any issues whatsoever.....but this is just my opinion....
BOB RENTON
Testmanivy
New Member
EZ quick check is record your voltage key off, start it and record the voltage drop.
Check it against the battery specs.
I stopped using battery tenders many years ago after some stories on them and just put battery cut off switches on everything. Dead is dead. I get 8 or 9 years minimum out of my vintage car batteries with them, sometimes 11 or 12 years.
I'm an Electrician, but I'm not going to brow-beat with others on this subject.
I always loved studying electricity.View attachment 1851121
I'm an Electrician, but I'm not going to brow-beat with others on this subject.
Some Car Guy
Well-Known Member
One reason I went with an odyssey battery was to avoid a tender. They can sit for two years without a charge. Every spring they crank the 440 like it has the plugs out.
Both of my cars cranked just fine after sitting for 6 months with the battery disconnected.
Conventional lead acid batteries.
Dis connect it over the winter and check the voltage in the spring. Put a charger on it if needed. Not rocket science.
Incredible..
I too had a Battery Tender short out but I caught it in time...
Note that it was an early Battery Tender that did not have the de-sulfator update.
Being an electronic engineer once I saw the Battery Tender all warped and mishaped
I knew it had shorted out...
Next I called Battery Tender to report this serious, dangerous issue,
I talked to one of their support techs he said don't worry about and they sent me a new one.
I asked if he wanted the defective Battery Tender back, he said no just toss it and I did.
Funny about 2 weeks later...
I get a panic call from one of their engineers requesting me to return the defective one so they could
evaluate for the reason of failure... But it was too late I had already tossed it into the dumpster.
Next I did a little research about battery trickle chargers and battery cell sulfation.
I found/purchased another brand that did have the de-sulfator feature.
And I have been using the later product now for a few years wthout any issues..
Final Note: When a battery has a sulfation issue this basically creates a high-resistance condition between
the cells and puts a very high current load on the battery tender causing it to overheat and eventually short-out and self-destruct.
Just my $0.02...
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If interested, I'll be "teaching" a class in the fundamentals of electricity soon......both AC and DC.....similar principles...but different....Ohm's Law and Kirchoff's Laws as applicable also three phase AC Industrial distribution, along with short circuit current analysis.......what do you say????
BOB RENTON
Triplegreen500
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Volts versus amps.
Volts is water in a hose.
Amps is the difference between a garden hose, and a fire hose.
Both move water (voltage)...but if the hose is too small it isn't moving enough water to put out a fire. In other words, low amps (garden hose) won't start your car (put out the house fire), but higher amps (fire hose) will.
It's all the same voltage. Amps is the QUANTITY of the voltage.
Volts is water in a hose.
Amps is the difference between a garden hose, and a fire hose.
Both move water (voltage)...but if the hose is too small it isn't moving enough water to put out a fire. In other words, low amps (garden hose) won't start your car (put out the house fire), but higher amps (fire hose) will.
It's all the same voltage. Amps is the QUANTITY of the voltage.
Fixed!View attachment 1851121
I'm an Erectrician, but I'm not going to brow-beat with others on this subject.
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Guys, it's easy.... simply put, voltage is pressure, amperage is flow, and ohms is resistance.
You took the RJR power seminar ?!?
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ME ? I'll be the one teaching a class in AC/DCYou took the RJR power seminar ?!?
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Probably talks in monotone as well...You took the RJR power seminar ?!?
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SECOND LESSON......when to use the over-hand vs under-hand method albeit with left hand or right hand.....depends on one's preference......as applicable.......
BOB RENTON
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