Summershandy Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 I'm curious if anyone else might be doing this. I bought a decent 6 volt smart charger and have periodically hooked it up to my battery while working on the car over the winter. Now that it's all back together, I was wondering if I could just hook the charger up to the other ends of the cables. The ground on the block and at the starter connection. The reason I ask is I have a battery hold down cover that is bolted down and also have covers on the battery connections. PITA to remove these on a regular basis. I have ALWAYS charged batteries disconnected. Just doesn't sound right to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen_Dyneto Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Sure you can do it that way, I suspect the majority of folks with under-seat batteries have been doing it that way since these cars were new. The only downside is that you miss the opportunity to check the electrolyte level in the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 As long as you don’t have any excessive current draw from an accessory like a clock you should be ok. A trickle charger only sends a small charging current to the battery. It’s common on motorcycles to do what you suggest, I used a trickle charger with external connection to the battery for years on my motorcycles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 I do have a clock and that's where the drain is. My smart charger is a little more than a trickle. I too need to keep a battery tender on my motorcycle with external connections as well during the summer. Guess my concern is any effects on the starter and wiring. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 I keep many of the cars here in our shop on Battery Tenders and for those with difficult-to-reach batteries, we install the pigtails that usually come with the Battery Tender unit--they're about 15 inches long and attach to the battery terminal bolts. Then the pigtail can be routed anywhere you like and you can just connect the tender when you park the car. For example, the battery in my '29 Cadillac is in one of the side tool boxes and the paint was getting chewed up with me going in and out all the time to connect and disconnect the battery. So I installed a cut-off switch on the side of the box on the underside of the car where I could reach it but didn't have to open the box. I also ran a pigtail out the side of the box so I can just connect the Battery Tender there without opening the box. The one on Melanie's Mustang peeks out next to one of the front fog lights in the grille and the one on my '41 Buick is accessible through one of the passenger-side hood vents. All virtually invisible but easy to reach without going into the car. Pull in, park, hook up the tender and it's ready to go next time. A Battery Tender should be able to keep up with the clock's draining the battery and it will always be ready to drive. I've had good luck with the Battery Tenders (we have about 30 of them here in the shop) and they do seem to keep healthy batteries fully charged. They won't bring a bad battery back from the dead and sick batteries can sometimes fool the tender into thinking it has a full charge. I'm also not convinced that disconnecting a battery and adding a tender is any better than just disconnecting it--we have about the same failure rate regardless of whether a tender was used. But for cars that are used often enough to not need the battery disconnected for long-term storage, the tender is a good choice that will keep it topped off for the next drive. Hope this helps! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexRiv_63 Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 What Matt said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 I hook my positive to the hot wire on the alternator and the ground some where that is a ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 We put these on the rear deck of the race cars so we can charge between heats. But you can put them anywhere. No charging system on most of our cars. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Remote-Mount-Battery-Terminal-Studs,1116.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 16 minutes ago, JACK M said: We put these on the rear deck of the race cars so we can charge between heats. But you can put them anywhere. No charging system on most of our cars. https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Remote-Mount-Battery-Terminal-Studs,1116.html I LOVE it when people put those on their cars--makes life so much easier, especially on cars where they hide the batteries in inaccessible places like under the bed of a pickup or buried under the custom upholstery in a trunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Matt Harwood said: All virtually invisible but easy to reach without going into the car. Thanks Matt! You've given me food for thought and another project LOL. Thanks for that pic too Jack. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Summershandy Posted June 9, 2018 Author Share Posted June 9, 2018 Now that Jack mentioned, I owned a 2000 Chrysler Concorde who's battery was in the fender well totally inaccessible. Chrysler had installed posts easily accessed in case of needing a boost or charge I guess. I used those posts with a solar charger, after going away for a month to find out when I got home my battery was dead. That car was full of ghosts..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 You can connect anywhere that connects to the battery. There are chargers that plug into the cigarette lighter, if it is "on" all the time this is as good a place as any for a trickle charger although the wiring is not big enough for a boost. I habitually connect the charger + to the battery then ground the - to the motor or body well away from the battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 On my Dodge 8, the battery is under the floor and the negative cable runs to the starter solenoid. I have a wing nut on that fastening so the cable can be easily taken off and a charger connected, with the earth clamped onto a dust pan bolt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 2 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said: I habitually connect the charger + to the battery then ground the - to the motor or body well away from the battery. That is the same way you should boost a battery. Prevents blowing a battery up and maybe blinding yourself or someone else. With my under the floor battery that is grounded to a starter mounting bolt and the positive cable to the switch on the starter all connecting for trickle charging or a boost (I have never been boosted but have boosted others) it is all done under the hood and away from any danger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jp928 Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I have a battery in the back, under the spare wheel, so access is poor. I ran a fused lead from the battery poles to a 4x4 type weatherproof socket under the rear licence plate, for my trickle charger. If I open the battery isolator to work on the car's electrics, the charger stays connected, but the car is safe to work on. jp 26 Rover 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friartuck Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 (edited) Hard wire a pig tail so access is easy. Remember to account for polarity and if an exposed connector contact might come in contact with the ground and short. I use MOLEX brand connectors with chassis mount version mounted in a bracket behind the dash. https://www.molex.com/molex/products/family?key=econolatch&channel=products&chanName=family&pageTitle=Introduction&parentKey=wire_to_wire_connectors Adopt a convention something like the pointed end is positive. Include a short pigtail to interface between Battery Tender molded connector to the MOLEX. All my vehicles are wired this way, so one charger can be used for any vehicle. Edited June 16, 2018 by Friartuck (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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