Trickle charger recommendation for winter storage.

[MCS]

The tall ground terminal on the strut tower (never to the battery -), and the terminal under the red cover at the fusebox.

Thanks! So basically this image.

Not sure the pigtails that came with the CTEK are long enough to reach that. Will try later today after work. Will need M10 apparently.

I had read somewhere that connecting the power to the fuse box power terminal was a no no?

Sponsored

 

[Sofa King]

I purchased a new pigtail with correct size terminals from Amazon.

The fusebox red covered terminal is the place for jump starting as well, so no issues there.

 

[MCS]

I purchased a new pigtail with correct size terminals from Amazon.

The fusebox red covered terminal is the place for jump starting as well, so no issues there.

Do you have the part number / product number from Amazon?

Since I'm WFH today I took a coffee break and went down to the garage to see if the pigtail connectors that came with the kit would work. They do, but barely. I had to tuck them under the fuse box.

I also think the M10 might be too big for the terminals to get a solid contact. Maybe an M8 would be better size but would like to see what you ordered before I pull the trigger on that.

 

[Sofa King]

My charger is a NOCO, not sure if the plug is different... so the part number may not help much. It was 10mm and IIRC it was a bit big.

 

[MCS]

My charger is a NOCO, not sure if the plug is different... so the part number may not help much. It was 10mm and IIRC it was a bit big.

No worries; thanks for checking back on that.

I opted to follow the instructions in the manual.

For negative grounded vehicles
POWER = the + terminal on the battery
GROUND = the chassis grounding post

Here is my temp setup until I start seeing more than 3 lights on the CTEK and then I'll button everything up.

It IS in AGM mode as well since the battery is an AGM even though I don't have the START/STOP function in my Dark Horse.

 

[MyloTcat]

Finally, something that looks close to my own under the hood view.

Tell me more? How did you hook this up?

Positive on the battery terminal itself or from the FUSE BOX?
Negative/Ground on the battery terminal or from the Chassis GROUND Post?

Direct connect pos and neg connectors from the CTEK charger to the battery terminals, i.e., removed the cover over the battery and connected the short CTEK pig tale cable (ring connectors on one end, and plug on the other end). Then just a matter of running the wire/pig tale from the battery, out of the car/hood, and to the CTEK. Had to be buy a CTEK extender cable though.

 

[JAM486HP]

The tall ground terminal on the strut tower (never to the battery -), and the terminal under the red cover at the fusebox.

Why never to the - on the battery?

 

[Sofa King]

Why never to the - on the battery?

It can mess with the BMS (battery management system).

 

[JAM486HP]

It can mess with the BMS (battery management system).

Makes sense, thanks! I'm wired to the chassis and jumper post. Do you know if it would be safe to remote start the car while its on the maintainer?

 

[Sofa King]

I occasionally start mine still on the charger... never any issues. I have done this on several cars, with several different chargers, though I suppose it is recommended to disconnect it from the power source. Most chargers are "smart" enough to shut off when the voltage is high (car running).

 

[noac]

Just take the battery out and bring it inside…..charge it once it comes in and before it goes back out.

 

[noac]

And don’t start your car to “get it up to temp” or “keep things lubricated”.…..the absolute worse thing you can do to a vehicle.

 

[timd38]

The company I retired from is Ford's battery supplier, so we were pretty close to the electrical people at the OEMs and hooking directly to the battery is not a problem. No matter how you attach the maintainer, if you don't open the doors or perform an activity, like opening the trunk, the car will go into sleep mode after 10 days or so, with or without a maintainer.

 

[timd38]

Does it? I imagine the Ecoboost engine S650 could with the stop/start system, but surely the V8 is just an SLI/EFB as before?

All of them are AGM to reduce plant complexity.

 

[Notavette]

I have been using the optima d200 for awhile now. At a glance I can see the green lights that tells me alll is well.

Sponsored