I am thinking about purchasing a Battery Tender, as I am tired of having a dead battery after a few weeks of sitting), any way I don't want to have to open the hood every time I attach or unattach. Is there any way that any one knows to mount some type of terminals outside. I am looking at a possible battery draw also. thinking it may be in the antenna circuit (since it doesn't work) or the head lamp motors cause they are always turning when ever I switch the key on or off

 

The battery tender comes with a quick connect adaptor. Most folks just poke that cable out the front fendor gills and poke them back in when not used.

 

I just pass it through the driver side gill and lower the hood so the lights go out. Just lift, pull the connector, close hood and go. Just make sure you use a battery tender and not a trickle charger. The one I have fits in your hand and is weather proof. I just leave it lay on the floor and have had no problems. Been using them for my vette and my bike for years and no longer have to replace my batteries every two years.

 

If your headlights switch on every time you start the car it's a real good chance this is your parasitic drain.......WW

 

Actually the lights don't go on , just the motors turn, and the doors don't flip open.

 

If you leave the key in the ignition it is about 300ma draw

 

A different twist. I got my Tender from Napa. Had the option of the quick disconnect or a plug to insert into the Cigarette lighter. I choose the lighter socket. I leave the Tender on the counsel and run the a/c cord through a slightly lowered window. Two years with no problems.
The quick disconnect seemed fragile and since I park in a carport there is no convenient place to place the charger.

 

I have the tender connector located near the wiper blades

 

i also leave the connector by the wiper blades

 

You've got another problem if your battery is going dead after only a few weeks...either a battery that needs to be replaced and/or a draw on the battery that shouldn't be there while sitting.

 

My thought as well. Something like a Map light visor left on thats causing a continual draw.

 

I keep where i have to disconnect and remove it every time that way while i have the hood open i can do a visual check on the belts and check the fluids. just in case something went south during the last cruise. I'm a retired truck driver and for over 30 years of doing pertrip and DOT inspections its just a habit. saves me headaches in the long run.

 

I use a "Battery Fighter", which trickle-charges and conditions the battery only as necessary. I bought mine here in the UK, but I imagine it's available in the USA. The model no. is BFM-012-240. The good thing with it is that you can wire in a short loom to both battery terminals. This has a plug (with cover) on the end, and is long enough to mount down in one of the "gills" in the body panel beside the battery. You'll need to mount it solidly though, because the plug and socket are a very tight fit. Then you can just plug in without opening the hood! :

 

I use a battery tender with a quick disconnect, and I run the wire out through the hood opening in the left front wheel well.

 

This is how I do it.

 

What year is the vette?

I agree with the antenna motor, it turns off via tension when the mast is fully retracted.

In my case i had the battery go dead in a few days to a week, i only found it when i was doing something in the garage and herd a "click" noise every couple of minutes.
The noise came from the antenna, it has power connected all the time and would try to retract the antenna and the motor overload trips that was the clicks. It was also very slow to raise or lower the antenna.

I removed the antenna and everything was dry no grease left, i put grease on the gear and on the wheel where it would contact the housing. Reassembled and everything and she worked like a dream speed was up and the motor never made a sound after that.

Now the battery will last for many weeks, remember if you totally flatten a battery it can be terminal so yes keep a battery tender on when not driving the car for a week.

So yes look for any power drains, check with a multimeter the current drawn.

Optima yellow top batterys are deep cycle, that means they can bounce back from multiple deep drains and not be ruined by one or a few totall drains.
The Optima batterys will need a special charger to charge if totally flat, most battery chargers will not charge unless they see at least 10.5 volts.

You can use a normal charger but you have to connect a good battery in parralel for the charger to charge the optima.
I have had my yellow top optima for a couple of years now and has not let me down, it bounces back to full charge very quickly.
I highly recommend an optima for cars that are not driven regularly, the yellow top is for that. Red top optima is for staring power and blue for marine applications.

Another bonus is they are not affected by heat and vibrations like a standard battery.

 

My Vette is a 92---the antenna doesn't work at all... I just got this car about 3 months ago, so I am playing with everything I can to get it Right...So the two things that concern me with the battery is the antenna not working and the headlamp motors turning and nothing happens... of course theres always the possibility the battery it self is junk... the label says its from 2008

 

My GOD 2008 that is six years old !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know in my company vehicles they rarely last over 2 years, seems every new car needs a new battery after 2 to 3 years.
Yes you should replace the battery before it fails on you, they loose their capacity so any small load will quickly flatten the battery.

A good thing to remember
(this is what a good fiend of mine used to say)
There is a little man in that battery that paints the lead plates, he only does a tiny amount a day but over the years he does a lot.
So keep the battery fully charged and regularly have a battery charger fully charge it, especially with vehicles that are not driven every day or short trips.

 

Battery is getting up there in age and if you've allowed it to go dead numerous times, that kills the life of a battery pretty fast.

But you really should check for current draw when the car is off to make sure you don't have something drawing more power than necessary. Current draw not running and doors shut is about 30-50mA.

Common problems, doubt they are pulling current. Headlight gear motors need to be replaced, fairly easy job to do. Same with antenna motor.

 

I ran mine thru the fender gills but found that sometimes the connector would vibrate into the gills while I drove the car. When I returned home I would either have to fish it out or open the hood and push it back out. I moved it to the wiper position and like that mush better.