motomedic

Anyone have any problems hooking the trickle charger to the battery while still in the car? Did it cause any problems with the electrical system ?

2k Cobra

I've used "Battery Tender" and "Ctek", which are maintainers, since my 2001 Z, 2007 Z, and 2013 GS and never had a problem. When I park at home I always connect..

Car is happy!!

DezVette

HBsurfer

Trickle charger and a maintainer or tender are two different things. Get a maintainer/tender and you will not have any problems

Powelltc1

MrNiceGuy!

I have a 2004 C5 that I am using with a CTEK 3300 with a cigarette lighter adapter. If I leave the maintainer on the car for more than a few days I will get a Pull Key Wait 10 Seconds message. Once the battery fully charged all is well. It almost appears the maintainer is not keeping the battery fully charged. I have also received a message that a charging system error occurred after I unplugged from the cigarette lighter without cutting power to the maintainer first.

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Powelltc1

Jimang

I also have a brand new CTEK 3300 installed on my 2010 GS. I used the + terminal on the engine fuse box and the - to a bolt on the engine. Ran the lead down and out and connected it to the unit, plugged it in. Set it the normal mode. The orange light on the charge indicator was flashing but now is steady on for about 5 hours. I think it should have gone to the maintenance icon. Is this correct or did I not set it up correctly? Any help will be appreciated.

Welker1

A trickle charger provide a constant, low level output to slowly charge a battery and should be removed once the battery is charged. A maintainer/tender will charge a battery then, once fully charged, will turn off until the charge drops below a certain level and then it will start charging again; it will repeat this cycle to 'maintain' the battery at a fully charged status. Maintainers/tenders are intended for use with the battery still in the vehicle and hooked up (yes they can also be used with the battery disconnected/removed from the vehicle); I have used the Battery Tender Plus for years, many times with a car cover on with absolutely no issues

BlindSpot

What kind of battery do you have that you're trying to maintain with a 3300?

If you have an Optima or an Odyssey and the 3300 is older with no AGM setting, that might be your issue. The "Corvette" wrapped 3300 does not have an AGM setting either as far as I know.

AGM batteries need a higher charge voltage than lead acid batteries. If you don't have the higher voltage, a tender on an AGM battery will usually get pretty hot and never reach the float stage.

MrNiceGuy!

My battery is a lead acid just over a year old. I'm still very suspect of it though. I've tried setting the 3300 to the normal and AGM setting with the same results. I'm thinking either the battery is an issue or I have a parasitic drain that's not allowing the 3300 to do it's job correctly. I don't want to hijack the thread from the OP but thank you for your help!

mikeCsix

Interesting, I haven't heard that claim before. I've used the Deltran Battery Tender on AGM motorcycle batteries and lead acid car batteries without issue, even when the car battery was a group 24 at 9 volts (it was driven many miles to my house with a known defective alternator). Maybe something specific to the Deltran?

mikeCsix

There are some really good threads on the forum troubleshooting parasitic drain issues. Research Dano53 to find them. Extremely helpful guy.

BlindSpot

Here is a small article on AGMs.

I had my batteries switched above and it's the AGM that charges lower and slower, not the lead acid.
https://www.knowyourparts.com/techni...agm-batteries/

mikeCsix

Good info in the article BlindSpot, thanks for sharing. With the size of the AFM batteries we have and the amp rating of the Deltran Battery Tender Jr., I'm sure will work well with AMG's "low-slow" criteria. What the article doesn't state is upper voltages but I think the BT won't drive it up excessively at least I had no issues on my AGM Yuasa motorcycle batteries.