360 battery tender! | FerrariChat

360 battery tender!

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by SrfCity, Mar 17, 2004.

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  1. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    Can anyone recommend a decent battery tender that can be picked up at say Pep Boys for my 360? I'm looking for something similar to what I have for a motorcycle, whereby you attach a seperate cable to the battery and then conveniently plug in the tender when necessary to juice up the battery. Grazie.
     
  2. colo348

    colo348 Karting

    Nov 1, 2003
    143
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Jim
    SrfCity,
    http://www.griotsgarage.com has some good battery tenders. It's not at Pep Boys, but the one I bought for my TR charges the battery, keeps it charged and is easy to use. You might check them out. Mine cost around $50.00 with shipping.
    Good luck,
    Jim
     
  3. GearHead

    GearHead Karting

    Jan 3, 2004
    76
  4. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    17,913
    USA
    Many brands already mentioned, but Schumacher is good to. Most all of them are pretty much the same. You are looking for 1 to 1.5 amp output, and it has to say either "fully automatic" or "microprocessor controlled", those are the magic words that the unit will stop charging when the battery is fully charged. At that point it gives just a very small float charge if any at all. If the voltage drops below a pre-determined point, it will begin charging again.

    Pick any one that suits you. Some come with various wiring options, clamps, cigarette lighter adapter, or a direct wire kit with ring tabs that bolt right to the battery clamps, then you run the "pigtail" out to a convenient spot to connect to the charger.

    BTW, the Griot's unit is a privately labeled Deltran "Battery Tender", that can be purchased from many sources, including Ebay. Deltran private labels for BMW, Harley Davidson, and several other manufacturers.
     
  5. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    Thanks guys. I went to Pep Boys and they had the Battery Tender Plus. I hooked up the cable to the battery and left the plug dangling but hidden under the dash. It's charging up the battery as I write. The unit was $69.
     
  6. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    17,913
    USA
    Sounds great, you're set!

    Now if you are the super cheap b*stard that I am, you buy it on Ebay for $40! :)
     
  7. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    OK, I will then return the other one ;)
     
  8. charliek

    charliek Karting

    Nov 9, 2003
    143
    Marlboro, New jersey
    Full Name:
    Charles Krop
    29.99 at Sears, works great
     
  9. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
    Owner Rossa Subscribed

    May 29, 2001
    17,913
    USA
    Charliek,
    Yup, that looks like a good one too. Not a Battery Tender Plus (one of the top selling ones around), but looks like it should do the job just as well...
    http://snipurl.com/5600

    Not sure if it includes the little ring adapters, but would appear to, since the clamps have the "quick disconnects". Can't knock that 3 year warranty either!
     
  10. charliek

    charliek Karting

    Nov 9, 2003
    143
    Marlboro, New jersey
    Full Name:
    Charles Krop
    Yup comes with quick connect to attach to battery or clamps. I have been using it on my Boxer no prob. My friend has one for each of his cars, 360, 355, P turbo etc. never any prob. Good luck
     
  11. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

    Jun 20, 2003
    6,687
    North shore, MA
    Full Name:
    THE Birdman
    I've got that Sears one too. Works great. I have the connector on a cable coiled up inside the spare under the bonnet. I pull the cable out, plug it in and close the bonnet.
     
  12. jimpo1

    jimpo1 Two Time F1 World Champ
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Jul 30, 2001
    24,510
    Dallas, TX
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    Jim E
    #12 jimpo1, Mar 18, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Here's the solution I just found for my 328. I've been having discharge problems for over a year, and was looking for an answer. I'd seen the postings on the old board about buying a Battery Tender and 'adapting' it to charge through the cigarette lighter. That was the approach I was going to take as I didn't really want to hard wire it in. I was in Wal Mart today looking for some other things and found this. It is "fully automatic" has "reverse hook up protection" and "automatically switches from full charge to maintenance mode". Best of all, it has 3 connector sets: battery clips, battery ring terminal, and CIGARETTE LIGHTER! It can permanently installed or portable. All for the low low price of $16.96.
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  13. 575Mike

    575Mike Formula 3

    Mar 11, 2004
    1,706
    Midwest
    Full Name:
    Michael
    If anyone has photos and/or detailed description of how this works with a 360 it would be greatly appreciated. I'm more or less a clutz when it comes to these things.
     
  14. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    575M,

    I assume you are referring to installation. It's very easy. Follow the manual for access to the battery. Install the cables to the battery. On mine they just bolt on and no need to move the battery at all. That's it, plug in the tender and your ready to go.
     
  15. ZINGARA 250GTL

    ZINGARA 250GTL F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 21, 2002
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    PA
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    Ken
    Real easy on a 360. The tender comes with a cord with eyelets as well as clips. Remove the battery cover on the passenger side and take off the nuts which hold the wire terminals (Don't dare udo them or you will lose your settings). Attach positive to positive and negative to negative. retighten the nuts. Drape the cord over to bar at the top and secure with a wire tie. Replace the cover. Ready to go. Works great for me. Cheers, Ken
     
  16. 575Mike

    575Mike Formula 3

    Mar 11, 2004
    1,706
    Midwest
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    Michael
    Thanks SrfCity and granat. I think even I can do this (famous last words).
     
  17. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    Follow up!!! After putting the tender on and charging for what took about 12 hours, I didn't realize the battery was so weak. Up until now, the car started every time so I didn't think much of it(driving about once a week). Well this weekend I drove the car with a fully charged battery and the F1 shifting was considerably smoother. I didn't realize the fully charged battery would have that effect on it. Very little jerkiness from a start. My recommendation is to get and use one!
     
  18. ZINGARA 250GTL

    ZINGARA 250GTL F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 21, 2002
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    Ken
    Twelve hours to come up on these is pretty normal for a first time use. After a trip it takes about ten minutes to on maintenance mode.
     
  19. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    granat,

    Why is it that it takes that 10 minutes or so to come up after a trip? I thought that driving gives it a full charge. Other than putting a battery tester on how do you know when the battery needs replacing?
     
  20. ZINGARA 250GTL

    ZINGARA 250GTL F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 21, 2002
    17,499
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    Ken
    Good Question. First, a tender keeps you at 14.5 volts, something higher that your alternater will do. Second, there is a sensing cycle where the tender checks out the battery. All this takes a little while to happen. It doesn't mean there is anything wrong with your battery. As to replacement, age is one thing and holding a charge is another. Getting your battery tested is a good idea so that you have a baseline from which to start as you use the tender. Oh yes. Yesterday, I was fooling around with my radio settings in the garage for awhile and left the tender hooked up. After a bit, it came on and charged back up (maybe ten minutes) because playing the radio drew the battery down below 14.5 volts. A good tender will prevent sulfating which is a result of drain-charge-drain over time. Perhaps some of the other fellows have a deeper knowledge than I and can give you a better answer.
     
  21. SrfCity

    SrfCity F1 World Champ

    OK, that helps. Thanks. Doesn't sound like there is anything to worry about then.
     
  22. ZINGARA 250GTL

    ZINGARA 250GTL F1 World Champ
    Owner

    Jun 21, 2002
    17,499
    PA
    Full Name:
    Ken
    Nope, nothing to worry about. One thing. These tenders are very slow chargers and take longer that the average trickler.
     

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