Corvettelvr73

Background:

I bought a Battery Tender Plus 3 amp at Costco and a Battery Tender Cigarette Adapter plug online.

I plugged the charger using the adapter in the center console auxiliary outlet and the orange led was solid stating charger is charging. The next day I went to check on it and the orange led was flashing which means incorrectly connected to the battery. I found that the 3 amp fuse was blown in the tip of the cigarette adapter and the small spring was melted to the housing.


I called Deltran Battery Tender and Tim was very nice and immediately upon talking to engineering and the owner John an "Upgraded" Adapter was sent out because the Costco version of the charger outputs 3 amps and the fuse was 3 amps.

When The new adapter came it was identical to the old except it had a 6.3 amp fuse in the tip. Hooked it all up and the same thing exactly happened melting the spring to the plastic housing. I called Deltran today and talked to Tim again and he spoke to engineering and the owner again and came back saying that the cigarette adapter cannot be used with the Costco version of Battery Tender. So I said I would return it to Costco but What charger would they recommend I buy. After a few minutes on hold Tim comes back and says that there must be something wrong with the car or the polarity is reversed in the power outlet and they recommend I not buy or use any battery tender brand equipment just return everything to the store and goodbye. First off reversed polarity is "supposed" to be detected by the charger and shut off, I said that to Tim and was assured it was a problem with the car.

Question:
Has anyone experienced similar situation with using the power outlet to maintain/charge you battery? I feel like something is screwy here and I am 90% sure its not my car since their ideas of what is wrong changed 3 times.

grantv

Sorry, no solution, just a question back at you... why not just hook it up the usual way, to the battery?

craig04c5

I had the same problem with my armrest socket. I tossed the cigarette lighter adapter away and hooked directly to the battery. Luckily no damage to my electrical system and glad yours is ok as well. I would not risk it again.

sirdano

That spring is way too small for that amount of current passing through it.

Lucky it did not catch fire

Vetteman Jack

I've had a Battery Tender Plus for six years but do not have the cigarette lighter adapter - I always hook it directly to the battery terminals. Never a problem doing it that way.

Rico7142

Same here!!

Corvettelvr73

Mainly for convenience, When I back my car into the garage up close to the wall it is hard to get at the battery. Also I thought hey they make these so why doesn't it work. Now I have it hooked directly to the battery to see if possibly I have a bad charger.

grantv

The other thing I intended to say but got covered... if you have melting going on the next step is a fire IMO. At least I sure would not take the risk.
I also back in close to the right wall, but would not hook up a tender thru an accessory outlet.

Corvettelvr73

That is exactly what I thought the spring is tiny. It is like the spring acts like the fuse after it melts and distorts. Definitely dangerous and glad nothing got too hot on the car side but why would Deltran just put a 6.3 amp fuse and call it an "Upgraded" adapter? Especially when it is a fire hazard.

Cubman

I've used a batt tender plus connected in the center console for many years. It works perfect. The tender is always connected when not being driven. Original battery lasted 10 yrs. On a garage queen.

VettesGoneWild

I used the Battery Tender plugged into the cigarette lighter under the climate controls (not console port) with no problems last winter. Charge was maintained and no blown fuses or melting. Sounds like the adaptor you have may have fitment issues.

mrlmd

The cigarette lighter socket most likely can take a higher amp than the accessory socket, both in wiring and fuse. I don't have the wiring diagram in front of me, but if someone wants to look that up, I'm sure that's the case.
Then you should charge via the lighter socket.

Mastertvtech

I just don't see a charger of this type (pulse) drawing that kind of power to take out even a 3a fuse..If it melted before the fuse blew there is something else going on there. I suspect the charger is faulty....and the reverse polarity statement makes no sense unless someone has changed the socket recently and reversed it themselves.

Also a high resistance (poor contact in the socket or corrosion) would cause excessive heat.

dadaroo

Both locations are rated for 20 amps, that is what fuses 7 and 1 are. They do not provide power to anything else unless some one tapped into the accessory feeds in the passenger foot well.


1997-2003

In the passenger foot well there should be 3 auxiliary power wires.

Orange wire taped off. Always powered from Fuse #7 (20 Amp). This Fuse is shared with the cigarette lighter.

Orange wire to a connector. Always powered from Fuse #1 (20 Amp). Fuse is shared with the accessory power port in the center console.

Yellow wire taped off. Powered from ignition switch when in "ACC or On". Powered from Fuse #11 (20 Amp). Not shared with anything.

2004 does not have these connections but still have the fuses.


Mr. Sam

c4cruiser

The Deltran chargers come with two different ends that connect to the output cable of the charging unit. One is a pair of alligator clips which work fine for connecting to the battery cable ends. The other set has ring terminals.

On my '02, I use the Battery Tender Junior with the ring terminal set. I attached the positive ring terminal to the positive stud at the underhood fuse box. I attached the negative terminal to a good ground source. The tender unit is pluged into a ceiling outlet where the garage door opener gets power. The cable from the charger is long enough to reach the right side of the hood where it meets the windshield. I simply leave the connector end of the terminal set out in the wiper tray and I can easily connect the charger cable once the car is in the garage. No need to open the hood or stuff wires inside the car.

Fast one

I put a standard BNC connector on the charger and matching BNC's with dust caps on all my cars and lawn mowers. Instead of fighting those large battery clamps that always seem get caught on anything in the engine, the small by comparison BNC's won't get caught and pull right out once disconnected. A BNC connector is small compared to a cigarette lighter connector and is more reliable. How many times have you had to charge a car overnight only to find that the battery was dead the next day because one of the clamps disconnected from the battery or developed a poor connection so no charging took place? If a stand alone battery needs charging then the original clamps are wired to a BNC for that rare use. I wired an inline fuse between the battery power and the BNC and located it where I wanted for easy access. If I need 12 volt power to check something it's easy to plug in a BNC cable with alligator clips on the other end or plug in a voltmeter to check battery voltage. BNC's are available online from electronics distributors such as Digikey.