Hey guys, have any of you hooked up the positive lead from your battery tender to the positive distribution box in front of the battery? It has a stud with a nut on it. Seems like the perfect place to connect the eyelet of the positive lead for the battery tender, then Ill just connect the negative lead to a bolt on the frame. I'd rather go this route than use the supplied alligator style clip connectors. This way I can route the lead connectors through either the fender gills or down below so I don't even have to lift the hood to plug in the tender.

Patrick

 

That would be fine.

 

Works on mine

 

Thanks guys!

 

I routed the wire up to the windshield wiper area. I leave that little plug lay there. Then when I get out in the garage it's real easy to plug it in. I think it would be much more of a hassle to reach it through the gills or down underneath somewhere. I also loop the wire over the rear view mirror when it's plugged in so I don't forget to unplug before driving off.

 

If it were me I would install a two amp fuse in the battery circuit part of the tender. That way if the thing has a problem and shorts out on the 12-volt side, the battery amps will not flow through the tender causing it to overheat and start a fire.

In a direct short, the vehicle battery can produce what, upwards of a thousand amps - that will instantly turn the little wires of the battery tender into a red hot heater. This is not a good thing.

Some folks think the tenders have an internal fuse protection built in but I don't know if they do or not. Also don't know how others know this so I just install a two amp fuse and be done with it.

Anyway, just what I do now. Have used unprotected tenders for more than two decades prior and never had an issue - but now think a little differently - - so each to their own I guess...

Jake

 

Jake, thanks for the heads up. There is an inline fuse on the positive lead of the battery tender. So I think I am covered?

Also, the owners manual states the battery tender jr. has these features:

Sparkproof: The battery charger DC output leads, either ring terminals or alligator clips must be connected to a battery before an output voltage is developed by the battery charger.

Short Circuit Protection: The battery charger can sustain a short circuit connection directly across its DC output terminals indefinitely without any risk of either electric shock or excessive heat.

Reverse Polarity Protection: The battery charger is protected internally against any damage due to the DC output leads being connected to the opposite polarity battery post. No damage will result to either the battery or the battery charger.


So I believe it is a pretty safe system to use even when you plug and play. Maybe they have made some updates since you last bought one? I have had it hooked up for 3 days without any problems. The green light on the tender lets me know the battery is fully charged. Starts up right away.

 

TorchTarga, Can you post a photo of your set up. I've been using the alligator clips & running the leadthrough the fender gills. I think I like your set up beter.

 

Torch –

If there is a fuse on the 12-volt side then I think you are good to go. If the tender doesn't have a fuse on the battery side, well I'm going to solder one in. Just me but I don't necessarily believe what the packing brochures say - lots of sales hype in those as of late, especially some of the stuff being produced in emerging nations.

Several years ago one of my best friends lost his garage in Idaho and the first thing the fire department asked was about his battery tenders - they had seen this happen before. His blown 454 jet boat was nothing more than a cast iron engine block with some white dusty stuff all around it – which used to be aluminum cylinder heads and the blower – not a pretty sight. I fused everything since then.

Anyway, nice to see the newer ones have short circuit protection already built in.

Thanks for the update regarding the built-in protections – always eager to learn about new things -

Jake -

 

Jake, that is a scary thought and I don't blame you. Better to be safe than sorry!

wrlwynd- here are some pics. I am using the ring terminals supplied with the tender. I hooked the positive terminal to the fuse distribution box infront of the battery, which you can see in the first pic (Jake, note the inline fuse holder, there is a 7.5 amp ATC fuse in there). I attached the negative terminal using a bolt on the frame near the hood latch. I then just draped the connector over the body panel with the hood open. This way when before I start up the car and go I have to unhook the connector and close the hood. I like this approach as I usually open up the hood anyway when I get done driving to check a few things out and let all the heat dissipate.

 

Nice packaging - looks good to me.

Might want to check it out and see if it works. Hook a DVOM to your battery and then plug in your tender - usually they will increase the battery voltage by a few "hundredths" of a volt. Just a thought but some of the newer ones might not do anything if they are in their float mode -

 

I feed my tender thru the lighter socket in the console. Couldn't be more convenient, and provides the added protection of the factory fuse in the lighter circuit in the event that something goes horribly wrong. This setup has been working for me for years, and I've set up a few like this for friends.

Live well,

SJW

 

I have used the lighter socket for the past 4 years without a problem

 

Can't find the link right now, but the C6 folks use a fused magnetic connection that mounts on the front grille...automatically disconnects upon backing up.

C6's are super prone to have the DBS (dead battery syndrome) with all the electronics being one big parasitic drain, and the 05's having to be put in reverse at shutdown.

 

That is how I hooked up my 95. Works great