Battery Tender

[Supercharged2SS]

I need the forum's help. I don't drive mine that much (usually just on friday's to work, and then some on the weekend). twice now I have had to jump start my car. So I think I need a battery tender. here's my issue. I have basically no knowledge of tenders or how they work. first what is a good one to get, and secondly how do you hook them up? do you hook the up to the terminal under the hood? also there is only a positive under the hood so where do you put the negative? any guidance from you guys is appreciated. thanks - Andy

[y2k king]

get a tender jr.
find a bolt on the frame near the positive hookup in the engine compartment for the negative lead.
run both leads up by the hood latch so it's easy to reach when ya pop the hood.

[Hall of Fame]

There is a silver metal extention on the drivers side fender strickly for jumping or charging. You have something wrong or a light on or something if your battery is discharging after a few days. I usually put my car on the tender every other week for a charge. I go directly in the truck and straight to the battery.

[ZED SLED]

I've used the Battery Sentinel Plus for the past several years for winter storage.. Really compact and works well. A little larger than a pack of cigarettes. These things trickle charge to 13 point something volts then go into float mode and cycle on-off to maintain this voltage. To connect mine I popped the cover off the POS lug under the hood on the driver's side and drilled a hole in the terminal to connect the positive lead of the charger with a self tapping screw. There is a stud right next to it on a bracket on the strut tower and I put the negative lead under this. There is a connector on these wires going to the charger so you can disconnect when not in use and zip tie the leads to the battery cable. If you want I can take some pics so you can see how it's connected. You can buy one here.

http://www.ineedparts.com/tools-and-...-chargers.html

Click on the 12V symbol. It's the first one on the next page after you click on the 12V. Costs about $43.

[Darth_Emma]

I have the same issue. My car sat for 30 days in October. I had to jump start it. I don't drive it in winter, so I'd better get a tender of some sort.

Would it be better to just disconnect the negative battery lead in the trunk for the winter? I know I'd have to leave the trunk ajar in order to be able to get back in to hook it back up.

[Supercharged2SS]

mcclark - man, could you please take some pictures? that would be super helpful. thank you.

[ZED SLED]

Originally Posted by Supercharged2SS

mcclark - man, could you please take some pictures? that would be super helpful. thank you.

No problem, will have to wait until this evening though. Car's at home. Crappy weather today. I'll post in this thread.

[572HP]

Originally Posted by y2k king

get a tender jr.
find a bolt on the frame near the positive hookup in the engine compartment for the negative lead.
run both leads up by the hood latch so it's easy to reach when ya pop the hood.

+1

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...8962632&sr=8-1

Positive post is on the front of the fuse box under the hood. This comes with the quick-connect cable to leave it, or use the spring clamps temporarily. Works great!

[BowlingSS]

Your battery should not run down in a week. Make sure it is charged good the next time you let it set. Are you driving it very far each week. MAybe it is not getting a full charge.
You can bring it over to my house and I will keep that battery charged during the week. Of course there might be a few extra miles on it each week.

Bill

[Supercharged2SS]

allright, this is going to be most likely the dumbest quesiton of the forum today, but I gotta know..... I am embarassed to even ask: do you leave the hood open while this gizmo is plugged in? or is there someway to feed the cabling out so you can plug it into the wall?

[572HP]

Joking! I put a velcro strap around the cable to secure it when not in use, and then drop the cable out the bottom of the engine compartment and hook it up under the car. Just remember to unplug it Leaving the hood up just a little would remind you to unplug it.

[KDInTheWind63]

My Camaro sits for 5 -6 weeks at a time where nobody touches it at any time and it starts everytime i crank it no problems. I have been doing this for a year now with no problems. I think you either got a bad battery or your charging system is not doing good. I would call the dealer and have them check on it.

[ZED SLED]

Originally Posted by Supercharged2SS

allright, this is going to be most likely the dumbest quesiton of the forum today, but I gotta know..... I am embarassed to even ask: do you leave the hood open while this gizmo is plugged in? or is there someway to feed the cabling out so you can plug it into the wall?

It's kind of a pain to drop through the engine compartment and connect if you're doing this on a regular basis. I would just run it out the front on top and leave the hood cracked like 572 says as long as it's secured in a garage. Sometimes I go a couple of weeks without driving mine and don't have any battery issues. Like someone else said, you might want to get it checked out. I only use the charger during the winter when it's in storage.

[PAUL SS]

Here is a thread on how I permanently installed my Schumacher automatic charger/tender. You can get one of these for $20 - $30.

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54285