Battery Tender, How do you best connect?
03-21-2012, 08:05 AM
#22
Melting Slicks
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A couple of great suggestions here, thanks for the inputs. A would have never thought of the cigarette lighter adapter but I'm a little bit leary of that solution since I'm not sure that would be a good way to go if the battery was way low and there was a heavy currrent draw required. It might work for a trickle charge though. Anyone else use this adapter?
03-21-2012, 08:21 AM
#23
Instructor
A couple of great suggestions here, thanks for the inputs. A would have never thought of the cigarette lighter adapter but I'm a little bit leary of that solution since I'm not sure that would be a good way to go if the battery was way low and there was a heavy currrent draw required. It might work for a trickle charge though. Anyone else use this adapter?
03-21-2012, 10:45 AM
#24
Melting Slicks
03-21-2012, 11:01 AM
#25
Drifting
I fed my adapter into the side cove, very easy to do and makes it quick and convenient to hook up. 
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...post1577496941
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...post1577496941
03-21-2012, 03:30 PM
#26
Drifting
I use aligator clips like Vetteman. They stay in place even on the track.
I have extended the plug for the tender to the passenger wheelwell so I can plug/ unplug without opening a door or the hood.
I always lay the chord so that the RF tire rolls over it after backing up a foot or so. WHEN I forget, the plug is pulled automatically without damage. I have, I hate to admit, done that at least 5 or 6 times over two years.
I have extended the plug for the tender to the passenger wheelwell so I can plug/ unplug without opening a door or the hood.
I always lay the chord so that the RF tire rolls over it after backing up a foot or so. WHEN I forget, the plug is pulled automatically without damage. I have, I hate to admit, done that at least 5 or 6 times over two years.
06-22-2012, 04:38 PM
#28
Instructor
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I use a battery tender.
You'll notice there is a connector in the wire just before the alligator leads.
You can purchase a dongle to replace the aligator leads that consists of two ring terminals, a fuse and connector with cap to keep dirt out.
In the fuse box is a + stud to attach the red ring terminal.
On the frame rail is a stud to attach the black ring terminal.
No modification is necessary.
Once these terminals are connected all you need to do to use your charger is plug it in under the hood.
You'll notice there is a connector in the wire just before the alligator leads.
You can purchase a dongle to replace the aligator leads that consists of two ring terminals, a fuse and connector with cap to keep dirt out.
In the fuse box is a + stud to attach the red ring terminal.
On the frame rail is a stud to attach the black ring terminal.
No modification is necessary.
Once these terminals are connected all you need to do to use your charger is plug it in under the hood.
easiest way to connect, plug & play
06-22-2012, 05:03 PM
#29
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06-24-2012, 11:00 AM
#30
Instructor
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06-24-2012, 12:45 PM
#31
.... A would have never thought of the cigarette lighter adapter but I'm a little bit leary of that solution since I'm not sure that would be a good way to go if the battery was way low and there was a heavy currrent draw required. It might work for a trickle charge though. Anyone else use this adapter?
They are not well-designed for this application. The only reason they're still around is that they were in standard use for cars many years ago.
If one were to design a 12V connector now they would never come up with this design.
All you have to do is open up one of these connectors to realize how poorly they are designed. The center contact pin has a minuscule contact area. For high current situations this is dangerous. One would want a much larger contact area.
The side connectors don't have a much bigger contact area and the springs that push them against the receptacle sides are weak.
The wire inside this plug is of a thin gauge, not sized for high current draws.
The plugs are notorious for intermittent contact since any bit of dust can interfere with their operation. Intermittent contact also comes from the fact that the plug just slides in and is held in place by weak springs.
A much safer connector would feature a snap-in connection or something similar.
There are companies that make good 12V connectors. People that need reliable 12V power, such as ham radio operators or for amateur telescope mounts, use connectors such as Anderson powerpole connectors:
http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html.
If you want the convenience of quick, slide-in connector you'd be better served to choose something other than the out-dated cigarette lighter plug.
dan k.
06-24-2012, 03:35 PM
#32
Racer
Battery Charger Question
Anybody know if there is a way to connect one charger to three vehicles in a garage? If so, how? Maybe splice three + leads and three negative leads, then just hook em up?
I'll be shocked if someone has the answer!
Thanks!
I'll be shocked if someone has the answer!
Thanks!
06-24-2012, 06:00 PM
#33
Burning Brakes
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I use a tender Jr. on my toyhaulers rv/marine batteries. It had one when I bought it and I added another one to it. Connected + to + and - to - using some heavy gauge wiring. For the tender, I connect the + to one battery and the - to the other battery. Been working great for a couple years. 3 batteries would probably be ok as long as they are almost all the same age. IIRC battery tender makes a charger that can charge/maintain 4 batteries, just need a bunch of extension cables for it
06-24-2012, 08:33 PM
#35
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I use a battery tender.
You'll notice there is a connector in the wire just before the alligator leads.
You can purchase a dongle to replace the aligator leads that consists of two ring terminals, a fuse and connector with cap to keep dirt out.
In the fuse box is a + stud to attach the red ring terminal.
On the frame rail is a stud to attach the black ring terminal.
No modification is necessary.
Once these terminals are connected all you need to do to use your charger is plug it in under the hood.
You'll notice there is a connector in the wire just before the alligator leads.
You can purchase a dongle to replace the aligator leads that consists of two ring terminals, a fuse and connector with cap to keep dirt out.
In the fuse box is a + stud to attach the red ring terminal.
On the frame rail is a stud to attach the black ring terminal.
No modification is necessary.
Once these terminals are connected all you need to do to use your charger is plug it in under the hood.
04-21-2014, 07:55 PM
#36
Racer
04-21-2014, 07:58 PM
#37
04-21-2014, 08:08 PM
#38
Melting Slicks
04-21-2014, 08:11 PM
#39
Burning Brakes
04-21-2014, 08:51 PM
#40
Melting Slicks
A couple of great suggestions here, thanks for the inputs. A would have never thought of the cigarette lighter adapter but I'm a little bit leary of that solution since I'm not sure that would be a good way to go if the battery was way low and there was a heavy currrent draw required. It might work for a trickle charge though. Anyone else use this adapter?
And I suspect the actual cigarette lighter pulls more current than the charger. The battery tender would take longer than I'm willing to wait to charge a seriously low battery anyway: if it needs that much, I'll clip the big charger directly to the terminals.