Battery Tender

[captngaryr]

I currently have a Battery Tender connected to my NSX, sort of. By that I mean, I removed my spare tire, disconnected the battery and connected the tender to the battery. I have recently seen posts where the owners left the battery connected and just connected the tender to the car via the jumper connection in the engine bay. What do most owners do? I was concerned that any electrical draw from the car might affect the tender (considering it's minimal capacity). Obviously, it is a lot easier to leave the battery connected, since you don't have to reprogram the radio and reset the clock in the spring. Opinions?

Gary

 

[pgilliam1]

First do a Search, then leave the battery connected and hook the tender up in the engine compartment fuse panel at the jump points as suggested in the manual.

 

[SFNSXguy]

First do a Search, then leave the battery connected and hook the tender up in the engine compartment fuse panel at the jump points as suggested in the manual.

+1 from me.

 

[nsxtasy]

The whole idea behind any automatic battery charger is NOT to disconnect the battery. The electrical draw from the car is not a problem for the charger; that's what it's designed for. And you want to keep the battery connected so that the security system is enabled. So don't disconnect the battery!

The main question is where to attach the charger. There are three main approaches. (1) You can attach it to the terminal post in the engine compartment fuse box and any nearby ground. This is easy to access, but may not permit you to close/lock the hatch (enabling the alarm) or to use a car cover. (2) You can attach it to the battery posts. This is especially easy for an onboard charger (the one that's about the size of a videocassette), but it's somewhat inconvenient to remove the spare and reach down to plug in an extension cord draped along the floor. For external chargers, it becomes rather inconvenient to attach, and you may or may not be able to close the hood and cover the car. (3) You can run a wire from the battery posts to a connector in an easily accessible location (such as just behind the front grille), and install a mating connector on the leads from your charger. This requires a little bit of work to install but once you've done it, is probably the most convenient installation to connect and disconnect, and allows the hood to be closed, the alarm to be enabled, and the car to be covered.

Incidentally, the recommendation in the manual for using the fuse box terminal is for jump starting the car, not for a battery charger. You can use it for a battery charger as well, with the advantages and disadvantages noted above.

 

[alum04org]

Timely inquiry, Gary.

I just came from the garage after hooking up a battery tender to the 2005 LBBP in fashion # 2 as explained by nsxtasy above (thanks Ken, I don't really want to disconnect the battery either). I ran an extension cord (HD enough) 15' from the garage wall AC outlet and under the NSX, where I dropped the tender AC cord below the radiator to plug it in. LBBP has not been started or driven since 12-22-10.
Imola has been on Tender Jr since early Jan same fashion.
Winter has been cruel this year. I drove 320 miles today and Michigan's roads are atrocious with potholes and frost heaves - NSX wheel benders.
'Prolly be a good idea to just leave the twins on battery tenders until May :redface::smile: but I know that won't happen.

 

[SFNSXguy]

What's a "frost heave"?

 

[rbilder]

What's a "frost heave"?

Those of us who live up Nort, where it freezes get the pleasure of snow, pot holes and frost heaves.

A frost heave is when moisture under the road surface expands and causes the road to "heave" or raise up. Basically they are mother natures "speed bumps."

Come to think of it, asphalt will also heave in very hot climates too.

But as for frost heaves, those of you down south don't ever get see them. Plus you can drive your cars year round... I suppose those of us who live where it snows can drive our NSX's, some do, but most seem to choose to part them for better days and road conditions. (the weather were I'm at is finally warming up, but the roads are a mess with salt, chemicals and sand/gravel.. so it sits with the expectation that spring is almost here).

PS. Good timing for the post... I meant to put my charger/tender on earlier, but haven't yet. I checked last week and the car still had power.

 

[TyraNSX]

There's a 4th way to hook it up & if you had bothered to search for "battery tender" there are 100 threads on this.
http://www.nsxprime.com/members/member_central.htm

 

[Malibu Rapper]

How about this thread?

 

[MadtownNSX]

I have my tender hard wired to the battery posts under the hood. They make tenders that have a three prong plug so you can just run an extension cord under the car.

 

[nsxtasy]

A frost heave is when moisture under the road surface expands and causes the road to "heave" or raise up. Basically they are mother natures "speed bumps."

Yup. That's also how most potholes form. Moisture expands when it freezes, and lifts up the pavement above it. Chunks of pavement are separated, leaving the pothole.

I have my tender hard wired to the battery posts under the hood. They make tenders that have a three prong plug so you can just run an extension cord under the car.

Yup, those are the onboard chargers I mentioned above.

 

[captngaryr]

Frost heaves? Oh, those are bumps in the road that make you throw up (heave, get it?).

Thanks for the input. My tender is all wired up to the fuse box and block in the engine bay. The power cord is dropped to the bottom of the engine bay where it connects to the extension cord.

 

[Jadams1]

I need to get a battery tender. I stored the car for winter (2+ months) and it needed to be jumped to start it. It was nice to hear it come to life from a long winters nap. I'll be on the road soon once the roads are free of sand. For you warm climate guys, sand is what we use to fill in the low spots between the frost heaves.