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Battery maintenance

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Old Mar 23, 2020 | 03:46 PM
  #1 (permalink)  
twanger's Avatar
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From: back hills of NY
Default Battery maintenance

I've spent a bit of time screening this subject so as not to repeat the info but do not feel comfortable w/ my findings so here goes .
Installing a batt tender ---- remove both terminals , neg first , & hook up tender for a couple of days . To re-attach terminals --- pos first .
Is this correct ?

Thankyou
 
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Old Mar 23, 2020 | 04:27 PM
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onehundred80's Avatar
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From: Ontario
Default Re: Battery maintenance

Originally Posted by twanger
I've spent a bit of time screening this subject so as not to repeat the info but do not feel comfortable w/ my findings so here goes .
Installing a batt tender ---- remove both terminals , neg first , & hook up tender for a couple of days . To re-attach terminals --- pos first .
Is this correct ?

Thankyou
That’s what I do. Some do not remove the pos terminal, but I figure the wrench is in my hand so why not.
The pos terminal is short so I place a bit of wood under the terminal to keep it away from the battery.
 
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Old Mar 23, 2020 | 05:59 PM
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twanger's Avatar
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From: back hills of NY
Default Re: Battery maintenance

Thanks again 80
 
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Old Mar 23, 2020 | 07:12 PM
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Jim Holian's Avatar
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From: Alexandria, Kentucky
Default Re: Battery maintenance

I'm curious, why do you disconnect the battery terminal leads while charging or have a maintainer hooked up? I have a CTEK charger/maintainer and it direct's you to just hook up and charge. I have preferred to install the leads that have the eyelets on the battery leads that I have since they fit the small post's on both positive and negative battery lead's. Then when I want to charge or maintain all I have to do is plug in the lead from the CTEK unit to the wired in line's that CTEK furnished. Hope you understand what I'm saying. If you have a CTEK charger/maintainer your familiar with their leads. But again, why would you want to remove the battery cable's when you charge? To my knowledge, all that is necessary is + to + and - to -, plug in the charger and away you go. That way there's no risk of losing any memory caused by a disconnected battery.

Jim
 
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Old Mar 23, 2020 | 08:43 PM
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James1549's Avatar
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From: Cincinnati ( Delhi )
Default Re: Battery maintenance

I have never disconnected my batteries when having a tender in use, especially with the Crossfire. I still believe there is a pattern of Screem issues when a Crossfire sits for long periods of time without a charged battery.

James
 
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Old Mar 23, 2020 | 09:36 PM
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Valk's Avatar
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From: Aurora , ILL
Default Re: Battery maintenance

Originally Posted by James1549
I have never disconnected my batteries when having a tender in use, especially with the Crossfire.
I still believe there is a pattern of Skreem issues when a Crossfire sits for long periods of time without a charged battery.

James
I never disconnect mine either.
I feel that disconnecting and then later reconnecting the battery may suddenly power up all points on the car
and do harm to the sensitive critical SKREEM module.
Others here have also expressed concerns about a battery tender sending spikes of current while on a constant charge which also may do harm


 
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Old Mar 24, 2020 | 08:06 AM
  #7 (permalink)  
KeithTexas's Avatar
Joined: Jun 2017
Posts: 288
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From: Austin
Default Re: Battery maintenance

Originally Posted by twanger
I've spent a bit of time screening this subject so as not to repeat the info but do not feel comfortable w/ my findings so here goes .
Installing a batt tender ---- remove both terminals , neg first , & hook up tender for a couple of days . To re-attach terminals --- pos first .
Is this correct ?

Thankyou
I disconnect the battery when charging. However, my Roadster is never mothballed in Texas, so the battery is just disconnected for a short time during charging. I charge the battery every month since the Crossfire is so sensitive to voltage issues and it's a way to stay on top of the health of the battery.

I've been following Pizzaguy's process whenever dealing with the battery. I like the reasoning behind it. Maybe this is more applicable to removing and replacing a battery, but there is always a risk of a voltage spike when first connecting a battery charger. And there has been a post here about someone connecting the battery charger with the wrong polarities. It fried the Crossfire.

Here is a cut-and-paste from one of Pizzaguy's posts:

One thing we finally DID realize, was that we had fewer issues by using a neat trick to stop the inductive kick that happens when the battery is disconnected and the new one connected: Adding low resistance across an inductor decreases inductance. So, how do you do this? Easy, in order to more safely change the battery, do this (the steps in red are the "inductive kick" suppressing steps, the rest is standard safe practice):
1 Shut engine off.
2 Turn high beam headlights on, if you have fog/driving lights, turn them on as well.
3 Disconnect battery ground cable.
4 Disconnect battery positive cable.
5 Cover battery positive post (just a caution, if not just be careful to not lay tools across posts of battery - the spark can ruin your day).
6 Yank old battery, dispose of properly.
7 Put new battery in place, fasten down the clamp(s) and restraints that hold it.
8 Clean, with a wire brush, the inner contact surfaces of the battery clamps.
9 Pull off the protective cover from the positive post (that should be there on any new battery).
10 Place anti-corrosion wafers around the posts on the battery (or do step 14).
11 Connect positive cable.
12 Connect negative cable - some minor sparks will fly from post to clamp, do not be concerned.
13 Turn lights off.
14 Spray anti-corrosion spray on the posts and terminals (if you did step 10, this step is optional but never a bad idea.)

You have now down a "Throttle reset" as that information is lost without the battery in there. Some radio presets will also be lost unless you have a JVC radio.
 
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Old Mar 24, 2020 | 09:15 AM
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pizzaguy's Avatar
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From: Fort Worth, Texas
Default Re: Battery maintenance

Originally Posted by Valk
Others here have also expressed concerns about a battery tender sending spikes of current while on a constant charge which also may do harm
I dont' trust cheap Chinese electronics with my car's sensitive and expensive modules. You all can do what ever you want to, but again, Iv'e been repairing electronics to the component level since 1982 - no cheap assed China-made 'tender' is going to be connected to MY car.

If that does not answer the question, I don't know what else to say.
 
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Old Mar 24, 2020 | 10:44 AM
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dedwards0323's Avatar
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From: Upstate SC
Default Re: Battery maintenance

Originally Posted by pizzaguy
I dont' trust cheap Chinese electronics with my car's sensitive and expensive modules. You all can do what ever you want to, but again, Iv'e been repairing electronics to the component level since 1982 - no cheap assed China-made 'tender' is going to be connected to MY car.
Much as I hate to agree with pizzaguy on anything (HAH, HAH), I don't ever use a battery tender either.

Originally Posted by Jim Holian
I'm curious, why do you disconnect the battery terminal leads while charging or have a maintainer hooked up? I have a CTEK charger/maintainer and it direct's you to just hook up and charge. I have preferred to install the leads that have the eyelets on the battery leads that I have since they fit the small post's on both positive and negative battery lead's. Then when I want to charge or maintain all I have to do is plug in the lead from the CTEK unit to the wired in line's that CTEK furnished. Hope you understand what I'm saying. If you have a CTEK charger/maintainer your familiar with their leads. But again, why would you want to remove the battery cable's when you charge? To my knowledge, all that is necessary is + to + and - to -, plug in the charger and away you go. That way there's no risk of losing any memory caused by a disconnected battery.

Jim
Like Jim stated above, i​​f the car battery needs to be charged from idle sitting, I just hook-up my charger and let it do its thing.
 

Last edited by dedwards0323; Mar 24, 2020 at 10:51 AM.
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