The cord is small. Didn't have any issue so far

 

Cord coming out of the hatch

 

It seems like about a half day is normal for mine depending on when the last time driven was. Anyway, it's hooked up now for the long haul until spring.

 

It took about 6 hours for mine to fully charge. I bought the factory charger. I bought my daughter one for her C7 and it cost $40 less than mine. But hers doesn't have the logo. Big deal right? She's happy

 

I have an HF float-type charger; used it on 3 Corvettes so far.

I removed tha alliigator "jaws" and installed a cigarette-lighter type plug on the end of the cable ... and extended the length of the cable at the same time.

I modified the operation of the front DC power jack - so it remains hot all the time (and that is the jack the float charger gets plugged in to).

ref: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...lways-hot.html

 

Took mine to lunch last week in 20 degree temp. Noticed voltage at 15.2 at the dash the whole time. Back up reading with Fluke meter at battery 15.3. Put corvette charger on and it took 5 hours to go to green. Started car and rechecked voltage at alternator still 15 volts and went to battery again and it had cut back to 13.7 while changing hook up. With this computer controlled system it appears I gained .9 volts for cold weather. Old readings were 12.8 and 14.4 depending on computer commands. It never keeps the battery at the level the trickle charger does so it always takes a few hours to achieve green status unless its busy with desulfation that much. I wonder if I'm trying to out think this system!

 

I've had no issues running my C7 OEM Charger cord out the right side of the closed hatch. Been doing it this way for over a year. The hatch gasket is hollow and compresses easily so as not to damage either it or the charger cable. I do move it slightly each time I hook it up. I wrap a micro towel around the cord where it contacts the paint on the side panel.

I'm reluctant to leave any easy access point to my garage stored C7, even a little bit, where rodents can climb into and feast on my leather 3LT interior. Had a mouse do this under the hood of a Buick parked outside destroying a lot of wires.

 

You didn't get the rodent protection package with the C-7 logo mousetrap? Shame on you.

 

I continue to be amazed at how much discussion this forum has concerning the use of battery tenders on the C7. From my perspective, it is a straightforward matter. I have the factory battery tender and I plug it into the power outlet in the right rear of the hatch. I run the battery tender power cord outside the hatch and place the tender on a garage stool that I set next to the car. The tender, placed on the stool, is then plugged into a heavy extension cord. The hatch lid is then let down and half-latched.

This technique seems to answer most, if not all, issues that I see continually raised on the forum concerning the use of a batter tender on a C7:

1. The thin power cord of the battery tender does not noticeably depress or deform the rubber gasket surrounding the rear hatch opening. This is especially true when half-latching the lid. The gasket is actually deformed more by the normal closing and latching the hatch lid when not using a battery tender. The larger diameter extension cord never enters the hatch and therefore does not touch the gasket and has no effect on it.

2. Half-latching the lid appears to close the hatch tightly enough to keep rodents and bugs out of the car.

3: An automatic timer turns out the hatch interior lights in 8-10 minutes so there is no extra battery drain after this timeout.

4. The battery tender sitting on top of the stool is a strong visual reminder that the tender must be disconnected before getting into the car and backing out of the garage. In fact, I place the stool where it blocks my path to the car. There is little to no likelihood of overlooking the need to disconnect the battery tender before driving.

Bottom line is that this method is quick and effective requiring only a minute or two to connect or disconnect. Furthermore, it seems much simpler than modifying the circuitry under the hood to accommodate connecting a battery tender there.

 

I have a car cover for mine so I'm going to trip the latch on the hatch and just not close it completely so I'll have a gap for the wire. I understand that you don't even have to do that, the interior lights will shut off after 10 min.

 

Getting to the battery frequently is a pain! Below is a pic of what I made to use my charger. Had a receptacle plug from an old device that I cut the leads from and as noted put two bolts through a piece of scrap plastic and wired the plug (arrow) to the bolts. The just clipped the charger clamps to the bolts. Used some red tape to identify the positive terminal near that bolt.




Arrangement to use rear receptacle for charging battery.

 

Exactly. Every time I drive my Corvette I plug in the battery tender when I put the car away.

 

Bah....

My C7 just sat untouched since last Saturday and fired right up last night to go to our club meeting

 

I have measured a somewhat low battery voltage (after the surface charge is dissipated) since I got the C7 14 months ago. I was anxious to see what would happen after a 2 ½ week vacation this summer. Car started right up! Drove about 40 miles and the next morning the battery still read the same somewhat low voltage! It is what it is! I have no intension of using my battery charger again. Did it initially to see if it helped the somewhat lower voltage, it did not!

 

Is anybody having their C7 battery die if it sits uncharged for a few weeks?