coachdennisgreen

My 2008 has a dead battery. I have a trickle charger. However, I have a question as to how to connect it.

Do I want to put the Negative (black) from the trickle charger on the battery post under the Black cover on the battery and the Positive (red) from the trickle charger on the battery post under the Red cover on the battery?

Do I want to set the charger to 10amps or 2? Also, I have 3 settings: Manual, Deep Cell Automatic and Fast Automatic.

Page 5-47 of the manual talks about opening a fuse cover for a remote Positive connection (I think I found this) and the remote Negative terminal is located underneath the engine cover, below the engine oil fill cap (CANNOT FIND THIS). The picture on page 5-47 is horrendous.

Thanks.

tjl5709

I use the cigarette lighter adapter and plug it into the ashtray lighter.

Mines been this way from day one in Sept 07.

No problems to date, and you don't forget to unplug it either since it's right there when you get in.

coachdennisgreen

I dont have the cigarette lighter on my trickle charger

IrishMac

I'd suggest a Battery Tender. No need to worry about overcharging, etc. Set it and go.

shopdog

The factory approved way is to use the remote positive connection in the fuse box and connect the negative lead to any unpainted bolt head on the engine. The idea behind this is if you create a spark, it will be away from the battery.

But I just hook up directly to the battery, making sure the battery charger is unplugged while doing so. Then I plug in the charger and charge the battery. When I'm done, I unplug the charger, then remove the charging cables from the battery terminals. That also avoids ever creating a spark. Since it also gives a better and lower resistance connection to the battery, it is in my opinion a safer and more reliable way to charge the battery. Positive goes to positive and negative goes to negative.

For a dead battery, set the charger to 10 amps. It'll take a bit over 7 hours to recharge the battery at that setting. That's assuming the battery will still take a charge, which it may not if you ran it all the way dead. Don't bother trying to use a trickle charge setting to recharge a dead battery. In the first place it probably won't successfully charge the battery, and in the second place, if it does, it'll take forever.

PO10TIAL

..........Run the cables up from under the engine and put the red cable on the post by the fuse box and the black cable on a bolt by the maniofld, running the wires up from under the engine will allow you to close the hood while the charging is going on, this way the wires wont pinch in the hood seam.

mksz51

Definitive response - also the first / only response to actual address the OP questions.

Anyone else notice on here that many post opinions on a question such as this but not really answers or facts? Maybe if someone doesn't know the answer they should refrain from posting? Maybe I just need some coffee?

FortMorganAl

Red - positive (fuse box), Black - negative (chassis/engine block). Yes, there is a bolt under there where the manual says to hook it up. I'd use 10Amp Fast Automatic for about 6 hours. That should get you up and running. Then I'd go to a motorcycle shop and get a Battery Tender Jr. that could be plugged in and left on. What you seem to have is a charger designed for deep cycle batteries. Typically those are used in marine applications. Your charger can not be left on the battery even on the 2Amp setting for more than a day without starting to boil the fluid out of the battery. A battery tender has a computer control that is designed to be connected for months or years at a time without damaging the battery. It charges the battery and then holds a constant voltage just below the point where it would boil the fluid. Do NOT get the automatic charger that lets the voltage drop and then recharges because the thing that kills a battery (in addition to vibration) is discharging and recharging.

Red Rochester

Sounds more ike you have a charger. I attach mine to the Battery no problem.

BigKitty

After you have gone to Costco and bought a new battery,leave the negative cable disconnected for the winter time!

mgtr

Yes, he has a charger, not a tender. I have had no problems using a charger direct to the battery for charging (ie, short term use) and second the recommendation earlier about hooking up the charger before plugging it in. Also, just as a general practice, hook up the positive terminal first and then the negative (same order if installing a battery). This will reduce the chance of doing a little surprise welding. As an aside, if your battery will not take a charge at 10 amps, try it at 2 amps for a couple of hours and see if will take a charge that way. Sometimes you can "sneak up on it." However, this indicates that the useful life of the battery is nearly over.
I have never used a tender, but plan to get one since the car will sit inside unused all summer.

Paul4137

Your right about the new battery. I have an 08 my own fault never put the trickle charger on and the battery is junk. Good Luck

coachdennisgreen

What a piece of crap. Vette sits for 1 month and battery dies? Trickle charged overnight and still nothing! Cant even put car in neutral to roll out of garage to have someone try and jumpstart. Ridiculous.

tjl5709

Some battery chargers (automatic) require that there is some voltage left in the battery. This is for the sensory circuit to work properly. Sounds like your battery is completely drained (no voltage), and your charger, being an automatic, did not sense anything, so it did not put any current out to charge. I manual charger is what you need in this instance.

coachdennisgreen

Also, my trickle charger cables are not nearly long enough to run up from the bottom to enable my hood to be shut. Therefore, while trickle charger connected, with hood open, my front headlights come on every couple of minutes while trying to charge.

dpigguy

lots of electrical activity going on in these cars - owners manual says 21 days before you have an issue so, while its a "piece of crap" to use your words, at least they tell you that ahead of time so you can plan for it! As for your current problem, follow the prior post and use the settings noted. I have used both the remote and battery for connections - just be sure to protect yourself from any sparks. try a battery tender next time if you are not going to be driving for a couple of weeks or more to prevent this from reoccurring.

coachdennisgreen

Is the fact that my headlights come on during my attempt to trickle charge result in the battery not being able to get charged? How would you stop this from happening if you must keep hood open? Why would lights even come on?????????????

CQRT

They shouldn't come on . . . nor should your battery die in a month.... and your experience isn't normal.

Too much coffee this morning maybe ?

C6FirstVette

I have been using this trickle charger/battery conditioner for years>>


In the pic the lower left connector you install onto the battery...then just plug in (non reversible plug for protection) and when not in use the plug has a rubber cap to keep moisture out
Michael

6spdC6

What does hood open have to do with lights comming on? You have a electrical gremelin somwhere!

I hooked up a charger & when needed a tender on my many times DBS 05 and could close the hood, no problem. Heck I left it that way for the winter hood down and cover on. (tender)

My 07 Z sits under cover, wire comming out of the hatch area just like it did last winter (5 months at a time)