Hey Guys,

Im about to put my baby into storage, and of course will be connecting her to a Battery Tender. I want to charge it through the Cig Lighter and have a few questions:

1) Can I use the plug in the console area or do I need to use the one in the rear of the car?
2) If you use the one in the rear, how do you route the wire? Do you keep the rear lid cracked open or do you close it gently with the wire inside? If inside, could that distort the weather stripping cause of the wire getting squished inside?
3) I need to order the Cig Lighter adapter for my Battery Tender - will this product work? (link below)

Thanks!

 

According to the 2018 Owners manual on page 97, the 2 power ports in the center console are only powered when the vehicle ignition is on or in the accessory position. The port in the rear is powered at all times and is the one that should be used when using a battery maintainer.

As far as the wire is concerned, I route the wire out the back hatch and close the hatch completely over the wire. I pre-bend the wire to mimic the valleys and the hump of the weather stripping prior to closing the hatch. I have not noticed any distortion of the weatherstripping after leaving it like that for the majority of last winter.

It appears that you have a generic trickle charger with pig tails for connection directly to your battery and you want to unplug the pig tail end and use the cigarette lighter adapter to plug right into the port. I can't see why it wouldn't work but I am not 100% sure. Maybe some one else on the forum could speak to that with more certainty than me. If it were me, I would purchase the Corvette charger as we know that they work. My 2018 came with the Corvette charger. Occasionally people on this forum sell theirs. You should keep an eye on the classified section.

 

My answer to your questions, based on storage of my 2014 and now 2018 verts in Minnesota.

1] Use the rear of the car, that connection is live with the engine off.
2] I use a towel over the wire and set my vert deck lid down gently so that it does not close. The interior light will automatically
shut off after 15 minutes.
3] Yes, that is the adaptor I purchased and am using, it has worked fine on my Battery Tender Plus since winter of 2014, I also
purchased the extension cord at the same time to make it more convenient for me.

Good luck!

 

Use the port in the cargo area, close the hatch and the seal is soft enough so no damage to cord occurs. Been doing it this way for 2 yrs. OM suggest this method so don't over think it. Hate you have to put in storage for winter.

 

I close the hatch down completely down over mine. Never had any issues. I have the ctek branded charger, more options for same charger and don't have to pay for the corvette logo on it.

 

I use the rear port and close the hatch completely. I fully charge the battery initially, then once a month thereafter - since the car is outside and I don't want to leave the wires exposed, I do a full charge once a month. I have a CTEK MUS 4.3 charger

 

If you leave the Ctek inside the car hatch, closing over the thick black cord will SLIGHTLY distort the weather-stripping. Leaving Ctek outside car will only have the thin wires running over hatch wx-stripping & no distortion. JMO

 

You can also charge the car under the hood with the (+) post near the fuse panel. I don't have the Cig adapter so this works great with the alligator clamps on my maintainer.

 

Just out of curiosity, may I ask where you then attached the (-) clip too? If you have a pic that would be great - thank you!

 

Hey Mayor, it's too bad we need to put them to sleep for a while, but many of us live in areas where we need to do so (those who live in snow areas and drive them all winter - that's great. However, we live on the side of a mountain and sometimes our awd vehicles get stuck. No need to do it in the vette).

I store our vettes on lifts and the following might help............as said, the only port that's live is the one in the rear. Works great. I have indoor covers and I just leave the driver's window down, cut a small slit in the cover, and feed the wire/adapter thru the slit and button the rest of the car up. I never use the covers for anything else, so the small slit will never bother me.

After we put 'em away, let's go enjoy some winter sports!

 

On the C6's the console outlet was always hot, but on C7's it is not, Use the outlet in the rear hatch and run the cord out the rear corner, works great.

 

That's what I do, the CTek sits on a small table next to the car, cord runs out the rear corner and under the cover.

 

same here when I hook mine up for any amount of time..

 

I prefer this way, however others just close trunk lid on cable.

 

Depends on which cord? If using the thin one, close to clasp. If, the wide/fat one, don't clasp hatchback/trunk. Always attach to the rear receptacle. Using the alligator clamps? Works just fine too. Take note: *You're going to have flat spots on your tires, if you don't move the car about every few weeks. Keep that in mind.

 

I use the port in the cargo area and fully close the hatch. I have been doing this for the last 3 years and no damage to the paint !!!!

 

Just curious--why would you not want to use the rear port which was made for the battery tender?

 

there is a work-around for the C7:

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

 

Corgi - I'm not sure if your Q was pointed at me, but the charger/tender I have doesn't have a Cig adapter. I could easily get one but charging under the hood is just as convenient. I DD so I don't really need to maintain the batter much.

 

I can do that later if you like (I'm not at home). Any exposed metal bolt that is connected to the frame will work. Just hook up your tender (positive lead first), then try different bolts until the tender comes to life.