Battery maintainer question.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 73,568
Likes: 33
From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
I have never used a battery tender. This year I went out and started my car as normal and it was fine. Then less than a month later I went out and the battery was dead and the thing was making all kind of weird noises as I tried to recharge the battery. I then went and bought a tender and all is good.
I too refused to believe a tender was necessary. what I really learned is listen to people who have been around vettes for years. They know what they're talking about.
Sure you can take a battery out and store it, nothing wrong with that. But you also better charge it once in awhile because it will drain just sitting there as well.
But for people who don't drive their vette everyday, or just once in a while, a tender will keep your battery charged, and keep all your electronics happy.
The down side is you also better test your battery once in a while because if it's bad, is when the tender or charger will cause you problems trying to charge something not chargeable. And yes a tender will charge your battery if you have one with that feature, then it goes into maintenance mode.
I too refused to believe a tender was necessary. what I really learned is listen to people who have been around vettes for years. They know what they're talking about.
Sure you can take a battery out and store it, nothing wrong with that. But you also better charge it once in awhile because it will drain just sitting there as well.
But for people who don't drive their vette everyday, or just once in a while, a tender will keep your battery charged, and keep all your electronics happy.
The down side is you also better test your battery once in a while because if it's bad, is when the tender or charger will cause you problems trying to charge something not chargeable. And yes a tender will charge your battery if you have one with that feature, then it goes into maintenance mode.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 2,223
Likes: 556
From: Tallahassee fl
C5 owners manual recommends disconnecting battery for storage. This prevents drain on battery. The above posts prove that removing the battery is the best option for long term storage. Tenders can cause more problems than they solve. They can have voltage fluctuations and power interruptions. A guy down the street had his garage and house burn down and the cause was an unattended battery charger. I will continue to remove the battery over the winter.
How much is the GM battery maintainer option? Did they offer it because so many Vette owners think they need one?
How much is the GM battery maintainer option? Did they offer it because so many Vette owners think they need one?
Disconnecting is fine if you know you aren't driving the car for that long for sure. I'm on board with you if you are tucking your car away for a known extended time. Many of us though may not know when the car will come out again. Could it be 3 or more weeks? sure. Could it be 3 days? yep. That is why the battery maintainer is the better option for most of us who can drive the car in winter on nice days if things happen to line up with good weather on a weekend.
Regarding the fire story... anything plugged in can start a fire if it malfunctions. Refrigerators, microwaves, literally anything even if it isn't 'in use' can start a fire if plugged in. That isn't going to get me to throw the main breaker when I'm not home.
Power outages, fluctuations, etc.... don't matter. When the power comes back on it will start charging again. I have yet to hear anyone have a single issue with a maintainer charger in cars, motorcycles, and boats so they absolutely do not cause more trouble than they create.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 8,900
Likes: 1,074
From: Wisconsin
I have never used a battery tender. This year I went out and started my car as normal and it was fine. Then less than a month later I went out and the battery was dead and the thing was making all kind of weird noises as I tried to recharge the battery. I then went and bought a tender and all is good.
I too refused to believe a tender was necessary. what I really learned is listen to people who have been around vettes for years. They know what they're talking about.
Sure you can take a battery out and store it, nothing wrong with that. But you also better charge it once in awhile because it will drain just sitting there as well.
But for people who don't drive their vette everyday, or just once in a while, a tender will keep your battery charged, and keep all your electronics happy.
The down side is you also better test your battery once in a while because if it's bad, is when the tender or charger will cause you problems trying to charge something not chargeable. And yes a tender will charge your battery if you have one with that feature, then it goes into maintenance mode.
I too refused to believe a tender was necessary. what I really learned is listen to people who have been around vettes for years. They know what they're talking about.
Sure you can take a battery out and store it, nothing wrong with that. But you also better charge it once in awhile because it will drain just sitting there as well.
But for people who don't drive their vette everyday, or just once in a while, a tender will keep your battery charged, and keep all your electronics happy.
The down side is you also better test your battery once in a while because if it's bad, is when the tender or charger will cause you problems trying to charge something not chargeable. And yes a tender will charge your battery if you have one with that feature, then it goes into maintenance mode.
Vettes are no different than any newer car. They drain the battery if not run for awhile. Did you disconnect the battery when you went a month without starting it?
I believe its better to have the electronics go dormant for long periods instead of having voltage fluctuations and interruptions. Electronic devices last longer when they are not energized. Disconnect battery if not running the car for more than 3 weeks. Pull it out for longer periods.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 8,900
Likes: 1,074
From: Wisconsin
Times change... Chevy says, on the new cars, the recommended method of dealing with infrequent use is to use the battery maintainer and only if you didn't get that option to disconnect the negative battery cable.
Disconnecting is fine if you know you aren't driving the car for that long for sure. I'm on board with you if you are tucking your car away for a known extended time. Many of us though may not know when the car will come out again. Could it be 3 or more weeks? sure. Could it be 3 days? yep. That is why the battery maintainer is the better option for most of us who can drive the car in winter on nice days if things happen to line up with good weather on a weekend.
Regarding the fire story... anything plugged in can start a fire if it malfunctions. Refrigerators, microwaves, literally anything even if it isn't 'in use' can start a fire if plugged in. That isn't going to get me to throw the main breaker when I'm not home.
Power outages, fluctuations, etc.... don't matter. When the power comes back on it will start charging again. I have yet to hear anyone have a single issue with a maintainer charger in cars, motorcycles, and boats so they absolutely do not cause more trouble than they create.
Disconnecting is fine if you know you aren't driving the car for that long for sure. I'm on board with you if you are tucking your car away for a known extended time. Many of us though may not know when the car will come out again. Could it be 3 or more weeks? sure. Could it be 3 days? yep. That is why the battery maintainer is the better option for most of us who can drive the car in winter on nice days if things happen to line up with good weather on a weekend.
Regarding the fire story... anything plugged in can start a fire if it malfunctions. Refrigerators, microwaves, literally anything even if it isn't 'in use' can start a fire if plugged in. That isn't going to get me to throw the main breaker when I'm not home.
Power outages, fluctuations, etc.... don't matter. When the power comes back on it will start charging again. I have yet to hear anyone have a single issue with a maintainer charger in cars, motorcycles, and boats so they absolutely do not cause more trouble than they create.
One thing I have noticed on this forum is there are a lot of trouble with the electronics on C5s. I know some are probably because they let their batteries go dead and I suspect voltage fluctuations or interruptions with tenders hooked up for 5 months at a time may have something to do with it. Where I live it gets to 30 below zero, I feel better knowing the battery is not in the car so it could not possibly damage it and all the cars electronics are resting for the winter.
Racer
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 365
Likes: 19
From: Hugo MN
Then you haven't been paying attention. Just in the past couple of weeks on this forum one guy's tender started smoking and another guy's shut off and ruined his battery and caused multiple electrical issues with the car.
One thing I have noticed on this forum is there are a lot of trouble with the electronics on C5s. I know some are probably because they let their batteries go dead and I suspect voltage fluctuations or interruptions with tenders hooked up for 5 months at a time may have something to do with it. Where I live it gets to 30 below zero, I feel better knowing the battery is not in the car so it could not possibly damage it and all the cars electronics are resting for the winter.
One thing I have noticed on this forum is there are a lot of trouble with the electronics on C5s. I know some are probably because they let their batteries go dead and I suspect voltage fluctuations or interruptions with tenders hooked up for 5 months at a time may have something to do with it. Where I live it gets to 30 below zero, I feel better knowing the battery is not in the car so it could not possibly damage it and all the cars electronics are resting for the winter.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 8,900
Likes: 1,074
From: Wisconsin
30 below zero! You must be from MN, WI or MI. I'm from MN and store both the Vette and lawn tractor batteries in the basement for 5 months. Once a month I put the CTEK on them and bring them to a full charge. Works for me and I sleep like a baby at night and have no worries about what's going on under the car cover. During the summer I use the CTEK all the time when I'm not going to drive it during the next week.
6th Gear
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
I just bought a C7 last week and I got the battery charger because I frequently had a dead battery in my C6. I live in NE Pennsylvania so car is generally parked from Nov until April. I haven't tried it yet so stupid question. Charger has cigarette lighter connection, do I have to leave a window slightly open for the wires? What are others doing? Salesman told me to use outlet all the way in back of car but I'm sure wires are too thick to pass thru closed hatch. Has anyone tried running wires thru bottom of closed door?
Racer
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 365
Likes: 19
From: Hugo MN
I just bought a C7 last week and I got the battery charger because I frequently had a dead battery in my C6. I live in NE Pennsylvania so car is generally parked from Nov until April. I haven't tried it yet so stupid question. Charger has cigarette lighter connection, do I have to leave a window slightly open for the wires? What are others doing? Salesman told me to use outlet all the way in back of car but I'm sure wires are too thick to pass thru closed hatch. Has anyone tried running wires thru bottom of closed door?
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Racer
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 365
Likes: 19
From: Hugo MN
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 6,835
Likes: 302
From: Columbia SC
I have never used a battery tender. This year I went out and started my car as normal and it was fine. Then less than a month later I went out and the battery was dead and the thing was making all kind of weird noises as I tried to recharge the battery. I then went and bought a tender and all is good.
Chargers create square waves of DC. A dead battery will not filter these out and you can damage the electronics.