First: here's the reason you can connect directly to the battery. No need to go to the fusebox:

Jumper cable instructions always suggest using remote connections, because a spark can occur on the final connection. And since batteries can produce hydrogen gas - Kaboom can happen.

With the battery tender, I see no harm in wiring directly to the battery terminals. The final connection will be made at the plug - which with my method - is a long way from the battery.

Second: here is how I did it:


I wired the ring terminals from the battery tender supplied harness to the small screw on each battery terminal. A better method is to buy another nut and sandwich the ring terminal between the original nut and the added one. I'll get around to that soon.

If you don’t buy the extra nut - when you loosen the original nut - it can loosen the cable clamp - so beware of that.



I bought a 12 foot extension harness made for the battery tender from batterymart.com. I put it all under the hood, and routed it out through the front grill, secured it with a tie wrap, and left enough length to fold it back in place when not connected. I can hook it up without ever raising the hood.

Just be sure to put a red rag on the windshield when it's hooked up so you don't forget and hop in and drive.



There you go - no need to ever raise the hood to plug it in. Just like an electric car, with 436 HP