Quick connect for Trickle battery charger

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Mar 10, 2021
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My Battery Tender Jr came in with a "quick connect" adapter and was thinking, rather than installing it directly to the battery which is installed inside the trunk or at the hood where there's a post positive bar, I was thinking of connecting it to a positive live wire in the fuse box via piggy back fuse holder for easy access. Can I do that? Thanks for reading
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Yes, any always live lead that has wire gauge that can handle the amp requirements can be used for a trickle charger. Just make sure your trickle charger amps delivered is no more than a trickle if using a non-direct battery method.
 
Thanks Gon, sorry I wasn't able to reply quick due to some errands

I took a picture of the quick connect and the passenger fuse box info.
Anything "LIVE" greater than 7.5 amp in the passenger fuse box "when ignition is off" is OK?


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Why not just get the cigarette adapter for your trickle charger if you don’t want to mess with wiring?
Thanks Subie, I thought of that too, Cigarette lighter is not "live" when ignition is off. If I turn the ignition on, then trickle will be defeated by the car system's that will eventually drain the battery.
 
Piggy back fuse holders are not a good long term solution. The fuse box contacts are not designed to resist more than the weight of the fuse itself, not a dongle hanging off (with the vibrations of driving, especially) nor are they designed for constant insertion/removal cycles to swap the dongle and original fuse back and forth.

How convenient does this trickle charge hookup really need to be? I mean if driving infrequently enough to need the trickle charger, it doesn't seem a big deal to pop the hood, but if you really want some interior access method (then how is the wire going to get outside the vehicle, leave a gap in the door seal for the wire to exit?), then I would sooner tap into the wire itself, coming off the fused end of the circuit, that + and a chassis ground going to a DC barrel connector.

Next I would wonder if the interior is really the right place to put that, or if better to get a weatherproof holder for it and mount somewhere like in the grill... considering you're in Tx, probably not getting a winter iced-up grill very often to impede access to it. If doing something like that with grill access, no need to tap into the fuse box, just make the shorter run straight to the battery with an inline fuse near the battery.

Another option, rewire the lighter outlet to always be live, or depending on the circuit (what else it feeds), a parallel run to the outlet with a switch to make it live, and a blocking diode so it doesn't back-flow into anything else on the same circuit IF there is anything else on same circuit, OR find a place to put in another lighter outlet, make a (new, fuse added) run from a live circuit to that, though if there is any chance that at some later date, someone might accidentally plug a higher current device into that outlet, then better to make that a straight run to the battery with a series fuse, instead of the potential of pulling more current on the circuit tapped into, than it was designed for.

I'd do just about (within reason) anything instead of a piggy back fuse holder. In the grand scheme of vehicle maintenance and repairs, it is not that much work (or expense) to figure out and hook up something else, as long as you can DIY instead of paying a 3rd party for a custom mod.
 
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I connect mine to the battery and use it like a block heater plug... pull it out when needed and plug it in, and use a small velcro loop when not needed to secure it under the hood.

On the bike, I use the heated gear dongle that is permanently attached to the battery. Makes for easy Tender'ing..

PS: I'm a charger nerd... and Deltran's Tender is a decent device... holds a steady 13.10 volts in float charge mode (I own two and have mapped out it's charging logic).

My absolute favourite right now is this little guy... holds the ideal 13.6 volts on float, with a 5 stage charging process:


I own a dozen 6v/12v chargers. Some I don't like because of their float charge logic... I won't name brands to avoid a flame war ;)
 
one day last fall, the original battery failed in my Uncle's 2017(?) Continental(First year of the run). This car sits a lot, it's mainly his "going to church on sunday / any big non-work mileage" car. (self employed sales rep, has a diff lincoln for hid daily/work car)

you basically have to remove the cowl (or part of it) to replace the battery, and he was more comfortable getting the car jumped, and then taking it some where to get a new battery. I gave him a fairly universal charger ring terminal pigtail with a dustcap to take with him, and ask them to install it with the battery, so we could easily hook up a trickle charger if need be..

they( local store that does nothing but batteries) wouldn't even touch the pigtail. something something liability something.
 
The reason why I like the quick connect is to prevent sparks and at the same time having easy access. Every time I use the alligator clips it spark even with connecting the positive first and then the negative alligator clip. I guess my hand is not as steady as it used to be ;)

I guess my problem is over through the members of this forum. I love you guys fellow BITOGERS !!! (y) (y) (y)
circuitsmith got the idea but Dave9 made a followup about having 2 adapters, so I searched on if there's an OBD2 with quick connect and wallah. Thanks everyone for giving me lots of info !!!!

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-081-0154-DL-Connector-Maintainers/dp/B007KJ2RZK
 
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The reason why I like the quick connect is to prevent sparks and at the same time having easy access. Every time I use the alligator clips it spark even with connecting the positive first and then the negative alligator clip. I guess my hand is not as steady as it used to be ;)

I guess my problem is over through the members of this forum. I love you guys fellow BITOGERS !!! (y) (y) (y)
circuitsmith got the idea but Dave9 made a followup about having 2 adapters, so I searched on if there's an OBD2 with quick connect and wallah. Thanks everyone for giving me lots of info !!!!

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-081-0154-DL-Connector-Maintainers/dp/B007KJ2RZK
How the heck did I not know that exists!
 
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