Connecting CTEK/Battery Tender

[bfets]

Has anyone connected a battery tender to their car yet? To make it easier on the battery, I like to keep it on a tender if its not going to be used for a week or so.

One option is to connect the positive (red) lead to the connection point under the red cover at the fusebox which is easily accessible but this is on the driver side of the car. I'm not sure if its recommended or safe to use that. My leads wont reach either because it would be too far from the negative negative stud.

The other option for the positive (red) lead is to connect it to the battery directly which is under the battery cover. Downside is you need to remove that cover every time if you dont want a permanent install with a lead with the O-connecters at the end.

And then the negative (black) lead to the jump start stud which is on the passenger side shock tower close to the coolant reservoir:

I think I might just install that more permanent pigtail lead with the O-connectors for a cleaner install and so I don't have to mess with the battery cover every time.

So good to see my charger is made for a Mustang. It says 5.0 on it!

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[prestj1]

lol that’s the one I have as well. DFB did a write up connecting one to his car from memory

 

[bfets]

lol that’s the one I have as well. DFB did a write up connecting one to his car from memory

Oh right! I'll need to see if I can find that and see what he did.

 

[prestj1]

Oh right! I'll need to see if I can find that and see what he did.

If it wasn’t him there is definitely a guide on here somewhere

 

[5.0ALM]

I honestly wouldn't bother.

I've been away with work for 17 days, and before I started my GT up yesterday, I measured the battery volts at the fuse box.

Before I could snap a photo, it measured 12.15V.
Then it went into preservation mode.

I expect having done it's welcome light show, a door open, and the interior lights coming on, it was on the edge of the low-volts threshold.

After the remote features were disabled, battery volts went up to 12.25V, again measured at the fuse box on the battery +VE bus.

There have been many other times during our wet Summer when I haven't driven it for two weeks, not wanting to take it out on wet roads for the sake of it.

A trickle charger might be worthwhile if you were garaging it for 6+ months.
Otherwise, I'd consider it a waste-of-money accessory that you don't really need, but that's just me.

 

[robvas]

Even every 2 weeks I'd trickle charge it. The 1 volt chargers are only like $15 on Amazon.

Avoids coming out to a dead battery, the battery will live longer, and eventually you car will start doing shit like discharging over 2-3 nights of sitting.

 

[OzzieRoss]

There’s a good thread on this for the US models LH drive. See ref below.

One of the issues is indeed that for the Ozzie models RH drive, the battery is on the other side of the car (in both cases on the passenger side, but you get my point). The US thread advocates connecting the positive lead to the point under the red cover at the fuse box and the negative lead at the jump start stud. Part of the argument to connect this way is because this is also how their manual states how to jump start the vehicle. For the Ozzie models/manual this is not the case: for jump starting it is recommended to connect the positive lead to the positive terminal of the battery. So, this is also what I do when I connect my NOCO Gen 5 to the car (with the negative lead to the jump starting stud). So far this has worked well, although the onboard computer still disables some features to preserve the battery after +/- two weeks or so of not driving the car, despite the battery being full. I guess I should be driving our mustang more often

The US thread advocates the connection at the fuse box, because this way the onboard system/computer would be able to monitor the current going in to the battery. While that may/may not be true, I would be very hesitant jump starting the vehicle using the connection at the fuse box.

Regarding the battery cover, I take it off and put it back each time I want to use the trickle charger, but I do not reinstall the three fiddly fasteners. That way it’s not that much of a deal, but alternatively you could permanently install a short extension lead from the battery’s positive terminal.


https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/installed-noco-gen-5-battery-maintainer.162855/

 

[bfets]

There’s a good thread on this for the US models LH drive. See ref below.

One of the issues is indeed that for the Ozzie models RH drive, the battery is on the other side of the car (in both cases on the passenger side, but you get my point). The US thread advocates connecting the positive lead to the point under the red cover at the fuse box and the negative lead at the jump start stud. Part of the argument to connect this way is because this is also how their manual states how to jump start the vehicle. For the Ozzie models/manual this is not the case: for jump starting it is recommended to connect the positive lead to the positive terminal of the battery. So, this is also what I do when I connect my NOCO Gen 5 to the car (with the negative lead to the jump starting stud). So far this has worked well, although the onboard computer still disables some features to preserve the battery after +/- two weeks or so of not driving the car, despite the battery being full. I guess I should be driving our mustang more often

The US thread advocates the connection at the fuse box, because this way the onboard system/computer would be able to monitor the current going in to the battery. While that may/may not be true, I would be very hesitant jump starting the vehicle using the connection at the fuse box.

Regarding the battery cover, I take it off and put it back each time I want to use the trickle charger, but I do not reinstall the three fiddly fasteners. That way it’s not that much of a deal, but alternatively you could permanently install a short extension lead from the battery’s positive terminal.


https://www.mustang7g.com/forums/threads/installed-noco-gen-5-battery-maintainer.162855/

Thanks mate. I found that same thread last night and came to the same conclusion. I think I'm just going to connect the permanent pigtail to the battery positive and negative charging stud. I just need to see if the pigtail that came with my charger is fused. I'd very much like to have a fuse on the positive lead.

 

[PKs]

Plug me in baby.
I have the Ctek Multi XS7000 for my 2018 and wouldn't be without it. When not in use the car is permanently hooked up. There is a definite parasitic draw on the battery when just sitting there locked up. It does no harm to be hooked up and ensures me that it is good to go when needed.
Once, in between moving houses, I left the car at our son's house on charge while we were moving. He doesn't like chargers after his neighbour's house burnt down because of a faulty scooter charger. When I came to pick up my car after about 4 weeks or so the battery was dead and would not take a charge. So new battery required.

 

[Gregs24]

On my S550 I connected the pigtail (with fuse) directly to the battery terminal. I just used the existing bolt thread with additional nuts. The cable (weatherproof) then routed under the plastic cover and poked out at the base of the windscreen near the wipers. It was easy to access and out of view.

 

[DFB5.0]

This was the post I made on this subject back in November...............................

Battery & CTEK Pig Tail Installation

## For anyone new to modern Mustang's, take the following post as a PSA ##

I'm sure many will remember this, but late into my ownership of the S550, I had a little hiccup with the battery. The cause and result were both my own and the dealers doing. Because these batteries are covered and hidden from view, an owner is less inclined to inspect for condition.............out of sight, out of mind. On the dealer's behalf, the car had been serviced a week prior to me discovering this problem. They supposed to inspect battery condition during scheduled services.............they even note it on the invoice and emailed condition report. If both of us had done our jobs, then perhaps the following wouldn't have happened.

As I said at the time, batteries have a lifespan, this one being the OEM fit and 8-years old. What pis.ed me off the most was that it wasn't picked up and sorted while I had the car in for service.................despite noting it was in fact inspected. It clearly wasn't! Not only had the battery failed here, even if it still started the car fine, it also ruined the negative terminal and my CTEK pig tail. I cleaned it up best I could, then slathered it with Vaseline until I could have the battery replaced.

I sent an expertly worded email with supporting images and highlighting of the service report to the service department. The service tech was scolded for his negligence, and I was profusely apologized to. In the end, they offered to replace the battery free of charge as a goodwill gesture, fitting a new negative terminal and pig tail in the process.

Except, that wasn't the end of it. When I got the car back, I noticed instead of washing the battery tray out, they used compressed air and showered the engine bay in potassium hydroxide. Which then involved a lot of work to remove and neutralize. Then throw in the oil they spilled down onto the exhaust manifolds during the service, they completely ruined my pristine car. That was the final straw with the dealer, I won't be going back unless I need warranty work on the S650.

As you can imagine, I don't want a repeat performance. I've since gone around and applied battery terminal protector to all my cars, as such it was the S650's turn today.

To gain access to the battery, you need to CAREFULLY remove the plastic fasteners that hold the rubber cover in place. These fasteners are fiddly and prone to being dropped into the abbis, ask me how I know this! If you do lose them, these are what you need....................

FORD MUSTANG F150 CLIP W716510S300 BATTERY COVER COMPARTMENT HOLD DOWN – GlobalTrim

(S550 shown, but they are virtually the same)

From here, you have direct access to the battery. There are many terminal protectors on the market, I'm using the CRC version, which you spray directly onto the negative terminal. If you end up with overspray, a little mineral spirit on a rag will easily remove it.

While I had it uncovered, I decided now was a good time to fit a pig tail for my CTEK chargers. This is probably redundant now that Ford include a remote positive terminal next to the fuse box, but that would require using the fiddly alligator clips. The pig tail allows charging access to the battery without removal of the cover, negating the need for those alligators and can then be tucked back under the cover when finished.

In the past, I found the terminal nuts were captive, so I had to secure the eyelets with a second nut. CTEK have a version with open eyelets to account for this, but they weren't in stock for me today.

CTEK Battery Charger Eye Terminals - 56-260 - CTEK | Repco Australia
CTEK CS One Connector Terminal - CTEK | Repco Australia

There are a few different ways to rig up a trickle charger line, some even do it via the fuse box. On all my cars, I just fit them to the terminals and have done so for a decade now.

With the cover back in place, and no lost fasteners, I decided to dress the engine bay plastics with Carpro Reload. I love Reload on trim, it adds richness to the finish without looking greasy or slick. It's also going to last a lot longer and won't attract/retain dust.

 

[bfets]

I ended up installing the pigtail positive directly to the battery positive, and the negative to the negative charging stud. The connector is poking out from under the battery cover so I don't need to remove that every time I charge.

 

[Pony2015]

Not sure if helpful, but below is the setup for our 2008 Mustang GT (S197). We are using a NOCO Genius 1 (1 amp) charger (LINK) -- and yes, we need it, as car won't start if not driven at least once a week. This setup works perfectly as a trickle charge, but if you need to recharge a completely dead battery plan on 5 to 7 days to full charge!. Getting a model with higher amp output (at least 3 amp or more) will solve that problem (divide the 5 - 7 days by the amp output of the charger you are considering to get your estimated charge time in days). We use the original clamps to attach to the pos and neg battery leads and then feed the cable through the space between the hood and windshield, then connect/disconnect at bottom of windshield (duct taped the plug to the plastic area at base of windshield). Easy to connect/disconnect without need to open the hood. Hang the charger unit on the driver side mirror to ensure that my son does not forget and drive off with it attached! Pictures are below, and working perfectly so far . . .

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