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1) Directly to Battery Pos & Neg
2) To Post Beside the Fuse Box and Engine Bolt for Ground
I use a few battery tenders for different cars. One is pre-wired at the factory and has an outboard magnetic connector in the back bumper so the tender can be connected w/o running wires through open windows/doors/thunk, etc. On my other cars I always hook directly up to the batt with ring terminals. Less resistance than running through cig lighters. The more resistance, the hotter the tender runs, especially if it is inexpensive and/or too small for the batt in the car.
There is a wide cost spread between the entry level tenders and the top of the line ones. The top of the line ones don't usually overcharge (over 12.8v) so they are safer to use w/o having to disconnect the batt from the car. I did have a cheap tender on my C6, years ago, that overcharged the batt (something like 13.5v), car started, shook, a CEL came on. I shut off, cleared codes and put the HLs on for ten mins. Car then started and was OK. This is when I began researching and switching over.
The less spoken advantage for me is circuit protection. I've 4 cars and only two drivers so cars sit for long periods on tenders. Too much to lose if one overheats cooks and starts a fire. The extra cost for the tenders that put a lot of technology and design into circuit protection is the driving factor for me.
Today I used a CENTECH 63161 Float Charger (sold way under $20 at Harbor Freight, EBAY , Amazon etc)
to bring my C6 WALMART Battery up to Full Charge.
Light went from Red (Charging) to Green (Maintaining) ...I checked with meter and its at 12.10 Volts.
Ive been using the same model/brand to maintain my Interstate small 12 Volt Battery on my Honda Diesel
Generator with NO issues........
If it makes you sleep better buying/using some more expensive exclusive name branded charger
do your thing.......just reporting my satisfactory experience using the CHEAP Harbor Freight
alternative......(This is NOT the lowest cost $5-10 model)
My real name is still Chuck Sharin Auburn,WA
I'm not hiding behind my keyboard fearful that YOU
are going to steal my ID or my info
Hey Chuck. Have some bad news for you. 12.1 volts is NOT the proper voltage for a "12 volt" battery. Fully charged should be 12.7-12-8. If your tender is sitting at 12.1 all it is going to do is kill the battery it is hooked up to.
FWIW, my battery tender is even cheaper and easier to use, I don't own one! I just disconnect the battery when I store the car for the winter. Typical battery will self discharge 5% per month, getting down to 80% by spring won't hurt a thing.
I agree - @ 12.1v, it looks like his battery is keeping the tender alive instead of the tender supporting the battery. If there is a high resistance short in the tender or it is just too small for the size battery, it could be getting very hot as well. 12.1v would be there for a long time directly from the battery by itself with the tender completely disconnected.
Chuck - your second par might be the witness. If your charger is for a lawnmower or MC size battery, it might not be capable of getting a car sized battery up to 12.8v. Also, If it is, in fact, a charger, you might want to reconsider leaving it connected past a single charge and switching over to a tender as the green light might just be notification the first (initial) charge was accomplished and now the unit is staying idle (green) until it is recycled off/on again. If it doesn't have the circuitry to measure voltage drop, then it cannot cycle back on. As ExxWhy said, it'll eventually take your battery out.
I've found the $5 trickle chargers from Harbor Freight work fine. I keep them on all my motorcycles and have used it on the C6, although I drive all year long and seldom need it.
I have Battery Tender, a couple different types, and Ctek. I recently picked up a Ctek 4.3 MUS Test & Charge.
What I like about the MUS 4.3 is that they can recondition the battery and not just maintain it. The test feature on this new model can come in handy to determine if it is a failing battery or possibly and alternator issue.
I'll hook up my Centech 63161 again and check my Voltage again after it goes Green,,,,,,,,
I dont know the history of the Walmart battery in my C6.....
Ive had my float charger back on the 12/2017 Walmart Battery for several hours and the light
is still RED....but at 12.8 Volts ....hope it goes Green soon.............
Checking the INTERSTATE (cosco) battery used to start Generator maintained with same model
but different CENTECH Float Charger (Green Light) it read 12.9 Volts on Meter.....
Chuck Sharin / Auburn,WA
Last edited by CamarosRus; 02-05-2019 at 12:42 AM.
Shumacher maintainer $20 Walmart, been using it for 10 years!!!
I had a battery tender plus for 4 years and it died. It had a lifetime warranty but it was a hassle. I saw that CTEK had great reviews but were expensive. I went with the Schumacher from Walmart but it's the $40 version and have used it for 6 years. I was babysitting my buddies GT500 for 2 years and used the $20 one on his with no issues.
Really it comes down to personal preference as most brands work well.
I called Deltran this morning who mfg the .....Battery Tender® Junior 12V 750mA Battery Charger that INTERSTATE recommends. I was told that their float chargers would charge up to as high as 14.9 Volts, and then go into a maintenance stage
I then spoke to a tech man at Interstate Battery who acknowledged the above and didnt have problem with the 14+ Volts and added that I need to remove float charger and turn on headlights briefly to lose the "surface" charge before using my meter to check actual battery voltage .......
I happen to own 2 of the CENTECH 63163 (750Ma Output) Float Chargers and Im "experimenting" now to see what voltage numbers I get???
HF usually has $5 coupons for these. They get a 88%positive reviews. I've have 4 on my motorcycles, I pulled the wire out of one. $5? Who cares? It's been great for my bikes.
02-01-2019, 06:51 AM
