ez10sec

I parked my car for the winter and figured I wouldn't need to hook up my battery tender to it because it's a climate controlled garage. The car started, but the battery really seemed low and I got a message from OnStar saying the battery was low. Long story short, I'm not sure where to run the battery tender wires out of the hatch/trunk and not harm the paint where the hatch closes? The car is a convertible and the lights stay on in the trunk until the lid completely closes. If anyone knows where to run the wires it would be nice to know.

Thank you!

rrsperry

Just plug it in, close the trunk. It’s not going to hurt anything. (Yes, make sure it’s flat).

1FINE99

I have a vert also and I just plug it in and close the trunk, not letting it close all the way . The light inside of the trunk will go off after about 10 minutes !

RMS73

I have been doing this for 3.5 years to my 2016 Coupe. The wire is not going to be kinked or damaged if laid flat.

Prime Target

Mine is plugged in every night. Just make sure the cord is flat and close it all the way. Doesn’t harm anything. I have no indentations in the weatherstripping and the cord to the charger is unmarked from the trunk lid closing on it.

Larry/car

I just drape the wire over the rear of the car and do not completely close the lid. Trunk light goes out in a few minutes.

Corgidog1

I am also a member of the plug it in and lower the trunk onto the cord and not completely close the trunk. Lite goes off in ten min.

ez10sec

Thank you all very much! I didn't know that the light would go out!

KenHorse

No one really addressed this point so....

Climate controlled has nothing to do with it - the C7's electronics ALWAYS draw SOMETHING from the battery, even when just sitting (this is referred to as parasitic battery drain). And while individual vehicles (and batteries) will vary a bit, if your car is going to be sitting unused for longer than a couple of weeks (some will do 2 weeks with no problem while others may not), you NEED a battery maintainer

Vetteman Jack

Do this. This is how I do my coupe. The light will time out in around 10 minutes or so.

69 L46 4 Speed

I have a 19 GS convertible. I lay a micro fiber cloth on the quarter panel under the cord. No rubbing.

fyreline

This is how most of us do it. I would not close the trunk all the way - that way you will always get a "trunk lid open" message to remind you to unplug the charger.

Gearhead Jim

An additional benefit (at least on our coupe):
If you forget to unplug the tender, the car will give you a bunch of chimes/"trunk ajar" warning/ diagram of car showing trunk open; when you start the engine.
Makes it pretty unlikely to drive away with tender still connected.
Some people worry about rodents getting in through the trunk gap, but I've had them get into tighter cars that were completely closed up. Best to keep them out of the garage completely (death).

eboggs_jkvl

Mine's a ragtop too. I park nose first into the garage and back out. I connect my tender to the front of the car with a magnetic plug (location is whereever you engineer it to be). The magnetic hook up lets the plug just drop off to the floor if I happen to forget to unplug. Since I walk out of the house and past the nose, I rarely ever forget to drop the plug to the floor. I made the hook up to the front fuse box. This hook up keeps all the windows, doors and hatches closed.

In case you're curious: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...opped-off.html


Elmer

edweiler

Never thought of this! Thanks! almost have driven off with it plugged in more than once!

mdolandese

I just put a microfiber towel over the panel where the cord is, lay the wire over it and plug it in.You don’t have to close the trunk all the way the light will go out. No worries that’s how you do it

Bill Dearborn

It doesn't hurt to close the trunk lid all the way there is a big gap for the wire to fit through. The gap has soft weather strip filling it so no damage to the wire or the car. Big issue is remembering the charger is plugged in and backing out of garage with charger still plugged in. The charger head smashing against the side of the car and the plug pulling out of the receptacle could do damage to the car and the house. I place a roll of shop towels vertically on the windshield to remind me the charger is plugged in. With the Covid 19 stuff going on I went 5 weeks between drives the past 6 weeks. I had the charger in all 5 weeks.

Bill

6spdC6

Car is driven front end into garage!

I plug in my tender in the trunk, shut the trunk lid, as others have said it does not damage the wire or seal. Note I have done this with my other vettes that had battery in trunk. As my car has a cover on it, when you take it off its easy to see the wire coming out of the trunk. That and the 18'' square box the charger unit is sitting on directly behind car.

Foosh

I've been closing the trunk lid over mine for more than 6 years with no ill effects.. You can still move the cord back and forth freely when fully closed, and because of the weather stripping, the cord isn't crushed.