Battery charger question...

Mostly it depends on how you "winterize" or otherwise store the car you're charging.

If you use the battery disconnect in the car to "winterize", then your cigarette lighter plug will be disconnected from the battery, and you'll have to hook the charger directly to the battery.

Some cars have the cigarette lighter switched by the ignition. (Lighter doesn't work with the car off.) A lighter plug won't work with those cars, either. (Some mid-80s Alfas have oddball cigarette lighters where you put the cigarette in the lighter, rather than remove the lighter, so they don't have a socket for lighter plugs.)

But the cigarette lighter connector I put on my Schumacher works just fine on the 328. I leave the lighter connector and wire on a hook by the passenger window in the garage, and then have the AC on a switched power strip, so I just plug the DC cord into the lighter, and flip on the power strip.

I made my own cigarette lighter adapter, from parts from Radio Shack. They carry polarized connectors which match the Schumacher "swapable" connector ends, as well as a variety of cigarette lighter connectors.

The Schumacher has a warning mode if the connector doesn't make a good connection (red and green lights simultaneously), so you don't have to worry if the sloppy cigarette lighter plug made contact properly.

Of course, I actually use my cigarette lighter, so the socket isn't corroded from disuse.

When I installed the new stereo, I was thinking of adding a utility power plug, but the cigarette lighter works fine, so there was no need to punch holes in the console leather.

Another option for 3x8s would be to order a connector that plugs into the "trouble light" socket.
(There's a reference to where you can buy them, somewhere on FChat.)

 

As previously mentioned, the only reason not to, is if the cigarette lighter is switched with the ignition. I believe with the 360 forward (V8 cars), that is the case.

Otherwise there are a couple advantages:

1) Easy to access connection point
2) You will not forget to disconnect and drive off

You can safely close the door on the cord, as the thick rubber door seals will collapse around the thin cord without pinching.

Many inexpensive battery tenders come with the cigarette lighter adapter standard, like the Black and Decker and Duracell branded ones sold at the big box stores like Target. Around $25 which is a steal.

If yours did not come with one, you can easily make one up like previously mentioned, just go to your local "Radio Scrap" and get one of these: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3802148&numProdsPerPage=60

 

Any charger/tender will work as well as long as you don't disconnect the battery ground. Disconnecting the battery makes the car unstartable and prevents odd accidental discharges. Many tenders will not support a battery with lights left on. But it all boils down to your habits, not the tender.

I do leave my windows down in the garage and could never cope with having cords through the windows making for awkward entry.

If you really need a tender in the car, mount it in the spare tire area, connect to the battery through a fuse and shorten the ac cord to the tender. To use the tender, pull the battery ground connector removing all electrical drains or don't, your choice. Then connect an extension cord to the battery tender.

I prefer not to keep the charger in the car, so I have a short cable accessible under the parking light in the front bumper fused to the batttery. I use a standard Molex 2 pin connector which I have on 30-40 other things, ham radios etc.

Someday I will diode connect a 9v battery to the radio soas not to loose station presets when the ground is disconnected from the battery.

 

I've used battery maintainers bought from Harbor Freight for many years; cost about $7!

Buy a cig lighter adapter or use a plug from an old radar detector or other device you used to provide power via the cig lighter and cut the alligator clips off of the maintainer and attach the cig lighter adapter.

No reason to buy an expensive maintainer. I've used the above for many years on many cars and have never had a problem. Total cost should be under $10 or so!

 

I think that's the replacement for the one I used.
These: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3870003 mate with the DC connectors on my Schumacher, but you have to be careful of polarity -- the color code may not jibe, depending on which end you use.

The DelTran battery tenders have gotten good reviews, here. But they use a different adapter connector.
Actually, I think the newer Schumachers use a different connector also, now. But if you're rewiring the DC lead, you can insert your own connectors, or hard-wire lighter plug to the tender cord.

 

With a Deltran, I just cut the plug off the set of clamps which I never use, or alternately, off the set of ring adapters.

But easiest of all, is simply buy the Duracell or Black and Decker battery maintainers. They cost less than $25 at big box stores like Target, and include all three methods of attachment, including the cigarette lighter adapter. I have several brands and types of microprocessor battery tenders, from $20 to $100 or more, and they all work satisfactorly, so I see no need to spend a lot, and even the Harbor Freight is probably fine. But the Duracell and Black and Decker save one a lot of work...it is ready to go, right of the package with no splicing or running to Radio Shack.

 

It seems the thread has been split. See http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308967

 

Not exactly. This thread is about whether the lighter plugs work. The other is about chargers versus automatic tenders versus reconditioners -- a broader topic.

This one is just to answer the OP's question whether a light plug maintainer will work as well as a direct connection to the battery.

I think we've answered that one: As long as your lighter is "hot" when the car is off, it should work fine.

 

Just to round up, I note that the Porsche- branded charger, a CTek actually, is meant to be plugged into the cigarette lighter, so I suppose that method of charging is acceptable. On my Dino, I have a lead attached to the battery and which exits in one of the vent holes below the front bumper.

 

Another solution using the CTEK charger is to use their pigtail that attaches to the battery and mates to their cord. It has three leds that indicate battery condition of charge. Then you can disconnect your battery ground switch. I guess I would be concerned that the cig lighter connector would not always make contact....kinda like my cell phone charge does on occasion. FWIW

Jeff Pintler
89 348tb, 86tr, 99 360 3-pedal

 

The Porsche CTEK charger only comes with a cigarette lighter plug, permanently installed. I've bought an accessory cigarette lighter outlet and wired this so I can plug into the Battery Tender leads permanently connected to the Dino's battery (the Battery Tender failed after a few months). I note the regular CTEK charger comes with a choice of connectiors and leads.

The Porsche dealer's chief mechanic also advised not to disconnect the battery on my 2004 GT3, because this "confuses" the computer. I used to disconnect the battery on my 1996 993 when not in use, without problems.

Since the Dino has none of the resetting problems modern cars have, I installed a cut-off switch that allows me to disconnect the battery when the car is not in use.

The CTEK charger seems quite good. Except for the cars with racing (Varley) batteries, on which I use the specialized DMS charger, I use the CTEK that came with the Porsche on all the batteries.

QUERY: can one test a battery charger by attaching an ammeter in series with the battery and the charger?

 

You are correct, I should have realized it.

And yes, as you said, as long as the lighter is always hot the maintainer works fine. I've never had a problem and I have cars that sit for 4-5 months and fire up like the batteries were new.

 

Ditto the factory BMW battery tender (Deltran) also comes with a cigarette lighter adapter.
Rifledriver has repeatedly recommended that people not disconnect the battery unnecessarily on newer Ferraris, as the required "relearn" process for the Motronic can require considerable drive cycles to restablish. (I believe he was speaking of circa F360s and newer)