Originally Posted by TheDL
Is there a way to test a battery charger? I got a Battery Tender not more than 2 months ago and I think it's already on the fritz. It seems like it's not charging my battery all the way. As a result I've had the end of some of my commutes be a little scary 'cause my light was so dim. Last night I left my light on to totally drain my 10Ah SLA battery before hooking it up to the charger. The Battery Tender said it was fully charged in about 2 hours....heh...I don't think so! Any ideas?
It's possible that your battery is damaged, or at the end of it's service life. Also, keep in mind that SLA's don't like to be fully discharged, charged too quickly, or discharged too quickly. These things can affect battery life and capacity. It seems, though, that with your 10AH battery you should have good protection against rapid discharge, unless you're really loading it down with high wattage.
Remember to follow the recommendations of the manufacturer when you get a new battery. Often they'll tell you to charge your new battery slowly for a longer-than-normal period before using it for the first time. They recommend not using the battery before charging it.