Adding battery charger connection to Chevy Truck

[JHZR2]

Hi,

I want to add a connector for a battery charger for my chevy truck. I use it a lot, but not at regular intervals, so Id like to keep it on a good quality trickle charger to keep the battery at 100%.

I thought I had the perfect place... I want a spot near the front of the hood, so that the wire run (not very long) can be accessed with the hood closed.

I found the relay and fuse center under the hood.

There was a main wire and an attachment bolt that together provided 12V and a ground... perfect, or so I thought:

But, alas, when I attach the battery charger to the fuse and relay box main lead and ground point, the battery charger signals a fault.

THis leads me to guess that there is a diode or something that only lets current flow from the battery to the bus in that box, but not the other way... Then again, I can charge my battery via the power points in the cab...

So I need a better spot. I can't use the battery terminals themselves (preferred), because they are the screw-in type. So, any thoughts??? On a GM screw-terminal type battery, how would you tap power straight from the battery, without splicing the cables? On a normal terminal, a ring connector would go right onto the clamp-bolt... Not here.

Any thoughts on how/where to attach? Can one somehow get a supplimental connector to add attachment points on a screw-terminal battery?

Thanks,

JMH (and his wife)

 

[SHOZ]

Find out where the alternator output wire connects to the electrical box. There usually is a lug you can wire to. The alternator wire generally goes to the fain underhood fuse box. Ground should be the block ideally.

 

[Donald]

Why not connect to the starter solenoid where the battery wire connects to it. You do NOT want a trickle but instead want a float charger. Look at Battery Minder they make great products but may not me made to withstand being mounted in the engine compartment. However they do have a solar powered float charger which may be just what you need.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2

THis leads me to guess that there is a diode or something that only lets current flow from the battery to the bus in that box, but not the other way...


I would be very surprised if there were a diode like that. Are you sure the ground point you used is a good ground?

There should be a thick wire directly from the positive battery terminal to that bolt on the fuse box.

Where does the manual suggest you connect jumper cables? There may be a remote jump start bolt you can use.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
Originally Posted By: JHZR2

THis leads me to guess that there is a diode or something that only lets current flow from the battery to the bus in that box, but not the other way...


I would be very surprised if there were a diode like that. Are you sure the ground point you used is a good ground?

There should be a thick wire directly from the positive battery terminal to that bolt on the fuse box.

Where does the manual suggest you connect jumper cables? There may be a remote jump start bolt you can use.


The connection is good. With a multimeter on the leads I attached, I get 12.65V. The charger won't charge the battery though... hook the charger directly up to the battery, it works fine.

Jumper cables go straight to the terminals on the battery. You can connect clips to the terminals no problem, but I want something a bit more permanent...

JMH

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Why not connect to the starter solenoid where the battery wire connects to it. You do NOT want a trickle but instead want a float charger. Look at Battery Minder they make great products but may not me made to withstand being mounted in the engine compartment. However they do have a solar powered float charger which may be just what you need.


Im not mounting anything in the engine compartment. All I want is a permanent wire connection coming out of the engine compartment, which I can attach the leads to the charger on.

I have a battery minder, BTW I just used the wrong wording...

Thanks,

JMH

 

[brianl703]

You can connect the charger directly to the battery by replacing the bolt in the battery terminal with something from this catalog. These products are specifically designed to connect additional wires to a side-terminal battery:

http://www.wirthco.com/pdf/Battery Bolts.pdf

You can order one here:

http://www.beachaudio.com/Efx/Pbts-p-304...GCID=C12585x003

 

[NYEngineer]

I had a flatbed that only saw sparatic use. Every time we went to use it, it required a jumpstart or charge the battery the night before. My brother is always looking for an easy way out and found a solar charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter. I made fun of his band aid solution, but know what? truck started every time we needed it after that.

Those battery minders, like mentioned above, work ok too.