Battery Tender
Thread Starter
cesssna10
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,391
Likes: 47
From: Big Canoe Ga
Battery Tender
The instructions to my battery tender say to connect the negative
lead to the frame. Why can't I just connect it to the negative battery
post since it is negative ground? Thanks for your input.
lead to the frame. Why can't I just connect it to the negative battery
post since it is negative ground? Thanks for your input.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,051
Likes: 54
From: Raleigh NC
Probably would help if we knew what Tender you had. But if that's what the instructions say then that's what I would do. On the other hand....I take my battery out of the car when its on the tender. So it probably doesn't matter. A ground is a ground. Just unhook it and put it on.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 5,036
Likes: 845
From: Rotonda West, FL 2015 Z51 M7 3LT
Oldtimer
I "assume" you have the Battery Tender Plus. If not, I'd suggest you get one of those. 
I believe that it's a CYA move on their part. It stems back to using jumper cables and having batteries explode (very rarely) when a spark happened while connecting or disconnecting the cables from the battery terminals. Fumes from a lead-acid battery are explosive if in a concentrated area.
If I'm wrong, I'm positive I'll be corrected.
Personally, I hook my negative up to the alternator bracket but I know quite a few folks who just attach 'em to the front terminals.
I believe that it's a CYA move on their part. It stems back to using jumper cables and having batteries explode (very rarely) when a spark happened while connecting or disconnecting the cables from the battery terminals. Fumes from a lead-acid battery are explosive if in a concentrated area.
If I'm wrong, I'm positive I'll be corrected.
Personally, I hook my negative up to the alternator bracket but I know quite a few folks who just attach 'em to the front terminals.
Thread Starter
cesssna10
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,391
Likes: 47
From: Big Canoe Ga
I "assume" you have the Battery Tender Plus. If not, I'd suggest you get one of those.
I believe that it's a CYA move on their part. It stems back to using jumper cables and having batteries explode (very rarely) when a spark happened while connecting or disconnecting the cables from the battery terminals. Fumes from a lead-acid battery are explosive if in a concentrated area.
If I'm wrong, I'm positive I'll be corrected.
Personally, I hook my negative up to the alternator bracket but I know quite a few folks who just attach 'em to the front terminals.
I believe that it's a CYA move on their part. It stems back to using jumper cables and having batteries explode (very rarely) when a spark happened while connecting or disconnecting the cables from the battery terminals. Fumes from a lead-acid battery are explosive if in a concentrated area.
If I'm wrong, I'm positive I'll be corrected.
Personally, I hook my negative up to the alternator bracket but I know quite a few folks who just attach 'em to the front terminals.
bracket sounds easy enough. Thanks
Administrator
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 368,319
Likes: 24,777
From: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '25
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
I use a Deltran Battery Tender Plus and have done so for 6+ years on my current car. I hook the clips to the positive and negative battery terminals on the front of the battery and have had no problems.
Thread Starter
cesssna10
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,391
Likes: 47
From: Big Canoe Ga
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 30,572
Likes: 4,610
From: Bonita Springs, Florida
When I lived in the Northeast I always attached the clips of my Deltran Battery Tender Plus to the positive and negative battery terminals on the front of my battery and never had a problem. Detach the hood light and leave the hood open for ventilation as a precaution, I always kept my hood slightly open. If you have a sealed AGM battery you do not need to worry about explosive fumes anyway.
Team Owner
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 34,873
Likes: 487
From: Lacey WA RVN 68-69
NCM Sinkhole Donor
If the "Junior" didn't come with a harness that has ring terminals, you can get then from their website. I use the ring terminal harness on my '02. I attached the positive terminal to the "B+" stud that is just outside the underhood fuse box and the ground terminal is attached to a good ground (you can use the ground stud on the frame rail next to the battery). I did have to lengthen that wire to get it to reach.
The connector end should be long enough for it to reach just beyond the hood seal at the passenger side corner of the hood. The ring terminal harness includes a waterproof cover that is used when the Tender is not hooked up.
I back my '02 into the garage and I have the tender plugged into a ceiling outlet used for the garage door opener. The cable on the tender side is more than long enough to reach the connector that's on the car. All I have to do when I back in and want to attach the tender is to connect the two cables.
The connector end should be long enough for it to reach just beyond the hood seal at the passenger side corner of the hood. The ring terminal harness includes a waterproof cover that is used when the Tender is not hooked up.
I back my '02 into the garage and I have the tender plugged into a ceiling outlet used for the garage door opener. The cable on the tender side is more than long enough to reach the connector that's on the car. All I have to do when I back in and want to attach the tender is to connect the two cables.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
I "assume" you have the Battery Tender Plus. If not, I'd suggest you get one of those.
I believe that it's a CYA move on their part. It stems back to using jumper cables and having batteries explode (very rarely) when a spark happened while connecting or disconnecting the cables from the battery terminals. Fumes from a lead-acid battery are explosive if in a concentrated area.
I believe that it's a CYA move on their part. It stems back to using jumper cables and having batteries explode (very rarely) when a spark happened while connecting or disconnecting the cables from the battery terminals. Fumes from a lead-acid battery are explosive if in a concentrated area.
It stems from a standardized, and long-standing, safety precaution. The practice is not nearly as necessary these days what with the widespread usage of non-flooded cell (i.e. AGM) batteries, but still a good habit to follow overall. 
Race Director
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 14,137
Likes: 2,984
From: Iowa
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
when a spark happened while connecting or disconnecting the cables from the battery terminals
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 30,572
Likes: 4,610
From: Bonita Springs, Florida
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 5,036
Likes: 845
From: Rotonda West, FL 2015 Z51 M7 3LT
Oldtimer
Kinda like Russian Roulette, it only takes one time to ruin your day. Why chance it when the alternative is so simple.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 405
Likes: 65
From: Rural Iowa
I have a Deltran 800 battery tender, the one with the weatherproof case, that the previous owner mounted permanently, in my 99 vert. He installed it with ring terminals directly to both battery posts. So far, no sign of overcharging or battery acid spillage.
Jim
Jim
Last edited by jd911; Jan 5, 2016 at 08:32 AM.