I'm looking for some advice from the group. I did a search on winter storage and the use of a Battery Tender trickle charger seemed to get very positive reviews. Could some one tell me how this works? Is it plugged in the cigarette lighter? Or would it go on the battery posts? I am afraid of leaving the hood open because of critters in the garage. The car will be store for about 3 1/2 months. Any advice on how to use the battery tender would be appreciated!

 

On my motorcycle the battery tender plugs into a regular house wall electrical outlet and the wires + and - go directly to the battery
I assume it works the same on a car and I'm sure the hood can be closed and the wires can be routed underneath easily

 

Get a digital one, not the little plug in transformer type - you can make the connection at the battery or under the hood at the jumper connections and still be able to close the hood.

Black & Decker Smart Charger line is pretty good and not real pricey.

 

The Battery Tender plugs into the wall and connects to the battery posts. You can run the wire over the grill and close the hood. I have one for each of my cars. They work great.

 

That is what I use as well. I take my battery out for the winter, set it on the workbench, and hook up the trickle charger (not saying you have to do that, it is just what I do).

 

Thanks everybody. The feedback is appreciated!

 

Bill:

I just put my car up for it fifth winter and I have been using the Automatic Battery Float Charger Harbor Freight to keep my battery charged. You can spend more but the principle is the same from the cheap expensive. Just clip it to the battery posts and close the hood; you can see the extension cord in the lower left of the picture.

 

I hook mine to the battery and run the plug right thru the lower grill holes. Hood closes perfect.

 

Don't trust a closed hood to keep mice out. I've not seen a mouse so big that they climb in over the grill anyway. The little $hit$ hop up the suspension or on the cover and find their way to the tasty wire insulation.

I'm putting mine in a U-Store this winter and will be putting a bunch of "sticky boards" along the walls near the doors so [hopefully] I can catch the little critters when they run inside.

 

All this talk of mice and I have never seen even one in the ten years I have had this house.
I even have two cats and they haven't seen one either.
They told me. lol

 

When putting the car up for storage, disconnect the battery. The computers on board remain energized 24 hrs. and drain the battery. Then install a "floating" charger on battery.

 

I just ordered a couple Harbor Freight floating chargers. They were only $7.99/each plus the same for shipping. I also prefer to keep the battery hooked up so all electronics are kept active and let the float charger keep the battery charged.

Thanks for the tip.

 

This is an important step in preparing for winter storage. Otherwise your battery will be drained down to nothing. I also run the plug under the engine and plug it into an extension cord. This way I can take the car for a ride on a good dry winter day if I want to.