Battery Tender

Again Winter unfortunately is coming. I bought the C-Tek charger when I bought my 360, how are you guys hooking your batteries up if you don't have the pre-wiring? Are you connecting at the battery, or at the jump start location behind the driver's seat. Does the battery need to be completely disconnected to charge? What is involved for a DIY pre-wire set up, if anyone has photos if they have done it themselves?

 

I just posted a pic to this exact issue in Q&A, I believe it's the new owner question... Personally, I hit the switch and remove the battery, easy and safe.

 

I use a charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Works perfectly on all my cars.

 

Ok, let me throw out a third (and fourth) way. I've either used the supplied clamps and gone to the battery. Or I've clipped them off and crimped on round lugs. Then I've mounted the box wherever it fits based on which vehicle. Oh and yes when using the clamps it generally is on a vehicle with a battery that is actually accessible and is obviously a temporary setup.

 

with the 360 you can plug into the lighter to keep the charge.
the 550/575 you cant . my 430 has prewiring to battery

 

what type / name brand of charger do you use that plugs into the cigarrete lighter?

 

Mine is a Porsche branded charger which I have owned for more than 15 years. I have one for each of my cars that sit for more than a week at a time.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I use a Battery Tender Plus, it works very well. Though not included with the tender, they do offer an optional cigarette lighter adapter. http://batterytender.com/accessories/cigarette-lighter-adaptor.html

 

+1

I hard wired a quick connector to the battery that I then plug into the charger as necessary. Works great. Quick and easy and the quick connect and wire hide easily under the passenger dash when not in use.

 

Yeah, it's a nice tender. Mine is hard wired, too. It's hooked to the terminals under the panel behind the driver's seat.

 

Ok 1 more question. I found an adapter for my CTEK 800 to plug into the cigarette lighter. Do you need to keep the battery switch in the trunk on to keep power to the lighter or turn it off when you are charging?

 

Yes, the factory battery switch (knob) must stay on. In other words, all you have to do is plug the charger into the cigarette lighter and shut the door.

 

My car came with the factory batter tender. I know that it plugs into somewhere under passenger dash. But I can't seem to locate the terminal? Where is it? I've looked everywhere under the passenger dash. No luck. Is it possible that my 05 f430 didn't come prewired for battery tender? Maybe previous owner bought the factory tender after?

 

It may be behind the kick plate in the passenger footwell. That is where the battery is located, so remove the plate. It will then be obvious if the charger is hard wired to the battery.

 

dksu- If your car came with a factory battery charger, it came with a manual on how to use it. The early F430s came with a large, clunky charger and late ones with a small CTEK. Some illustrations on them and where the connectors are.

Taz
Terry Phillips
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I have a 3 prong pigtail coming out from behind the 360 driver's seat. Anybody seen that before? Not sure what I would hook to it. Bill

 

Unlike what what the picture depicts for f430, I found the hookup in the luggage compartment. In the compartment right below the driver side windshield.

 

+1 My 2006 430 was in the luggage compartment below the driver side. PITA.

 

The earlier F430's (2005 and 2006, I believe) were available with an optional factory battery charger (the clunkier one mentioned by Taz above) that DO connect where dksu and Jeff suggested. The photo below is from a 360, but the set-up is the same for the earlier F430's.

My car is a 2005 with the factory charger, but I've switched to a CTEK model, connected in the passenger footwell like in the later F430's, to make the process easier.
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Best way to charge the battery IMO is with a BT+ directly connected to it. I hardwired my new Optima with an extension BT pigtail, and routed it up and thru the right 'hood' hinge (along with the windshield washer hose), and looks factory. It was a PITA to route it since there's a second firewall, but found a vent and was able to fish the wire thru. Under the hood's edge (next to the windshield) is the best location to avoid a muddy connector (it's protected, but still), plus don't have to kneel down nor open the car to charge the battery.