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trickle charge qwest!

jalnjr

jalnjr

Experienced Member
Joined
3 October 2002
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so you got this high-parasitic battery drainer....
do "we":
1] disconnect the alternator prior to trickle charge, or
2] connect trickler at fuse box/manifold ground, or
3] connect trickler at battery[way behind spare...] directly, or
4] get a new battery, & move on, or
5] move to warmer climes, and enjoy the car year 'round

don't want to fry anything. what do i know, i'm a tooth monkey. :biggrin:
 
bails/"007". you hang the cord out the front, or plug in near windshield?? :confused:
no threat to alternator health???
oh yeah that's right you drive in nyc...you ain't afraid of nuthin'
thanks my man.

briank, any comment???
 
You can get a Schumaker trickle charger for about $30. I have one permanently installed like Bailey. I just run an extension cord up by the spare tire and plug it in for my 4 month winter storage. Car fires up instantly:).

HTH,
LarryB
 
Larry Bastanza said:
You can get a Schumaker trickle charger for about $30. I have one permanently installed like Bailey. I just run an extension cord up by the spare tire and plug it in for my 4 month winter storage. Car fires up instantly:).
Click to expand...
I have it too. It's the Schumacher model SE-1-12S, and you can buy it for $26.99 here.

It has a very short cord (like maybe 3 inches long) with an AC power plug on the end of it. Like Larry, I just drape an extension cord along the floor of my garage ending under the front end, remove the spare tire, reach down for the end of the extension cord and plug it in.
 
jalnjr said:
so you got this high-parasitic battery drainer....
do "we":
1] disconnect the alternator prior to trickle charge, or
2] connect trickler at fuse box/manifold ground, or
3] connect trickler at battery[way behind spare...] directly, or
4] get a new battery, & move on, or
5] move to warmer climes, and enjoy the car year 'round

don't want to fry anything. what do i know, i'm a tooth monkey. :biggrin:
Click to expand...

If you think you have a worse then normal drain you should have drain measured the problem fixed. The NSX can have around a 45mA drain which adds up to about 32 amp/hours a month. With the stock 52 amp/hour battery you should have around 1 1/2 months or more of sitting time.

1] Disconnecting the alternator is not necessary.

2] and 3] Either place is fine, I have used both just depends on which end of the car is closer to the outlet. Just don't jump start at the battery.

4] If you think your battery is bad/old/tired/don't like the color or weight have it tested. Most major auto parts will do it for free in the car but you may have to help them find it and remove the spare for access.

5] About the best idea of the bunch.
 
Last edited:
mystican said:
Guess I should have NOT bought the Battery Tender from Pep Boys for 70 bucks!
Click to expand...

I spent $70 for a super duper hightech Pulsetech trickle charger. POS thing can't even overcome the normal NSX drain :mad:

I now use my old Sears 6 amp charger and a timer set to turn it on for 1 hour a day. This setup keeps my battery well maintained through the 6 months of winter here in the frozen north.
 
I bought my Schumacher Trickle Charger about 3 years ago at a local auto supply store (I think Murray's). I have it hard wired to the battery posts with the supplied connectors. This is very easy to do once you remove the spare tire. The cord is only 3-4 inches long :mad: , but I usually leave it connected all winter. In summer, I wrap a baggie around the connector to protect it. It works as advertised.

If you can move to year-round warm weather, go for it! :wink:

Dave
 
Briank said:
I now use my old Sears 6 amp charger and a timer set to turn it on for 1 hour a day. This setup keeps my battery well maintained through the 6 months of winter here in the frozen north.
Click to expand...
In addition to the small Schumacher onboard charger on the NSX, I have a big, heavy charger for my other cars, which has cable clamps for the battery terminals. It's not as convenient as the onboard charger, but it lets me use it on multiple cars. I bought it for around $45 at Sam's Club. You can find similar units just about anywhere.

Both the onboard charger and the bulky charger have automatic charging functions, so that they automatically shut off (stop charging) once the battery is fully charged. This prevents overcharging (and avoids the need for timers).
 
e_nsx said:
If the battery is dead will this Schumacher charger bring it back or do you have to jump start the car?
Click to expand...
The Schumacher battery maintainer works just like any other battery charger, except that it only functions as a trickle charger. In other words, there is no "quick charge" mode like you have on most big bulky battery chargers. So, given enough time (a day or two), it will re-charge your battery.

However, keep in mind that when a battery fully discharges, it may have incurred damage, so that it can no longer reliably hold a full charge for extended periods of time. It can be tested to determine whether or not it is still okay.

Here's what I would suggest. Plug in the battery maintainer and let it charge for 24 hours (48 hours would be even better). There's no risk of damage, since the maintainer will stop charging as soon as the battery is fully charged.

Then, assuming your car starts, take it to your local mechanic and ask him to test whether the battery is okay and will continue to hold a charge. Explain to him that it was fully discharged but you recharged it so it's fully charged. If he says the battery is okay, then go ahead and keep using it (just re-connect the maintainer if you're not going to put it back in the car right away). If he says the battery is no good and should be replaced, then replace it.

Hope that makes sense.
 
e_nsx said:
Is it just me or is taking the bolts off the battery terminals a pain in the butt?

What do you guys use for future reference?
Click to expand...

I thought a thin walled 10mm socket would work?

I never like factory battery terminals as I always manage to stretch them. I replaced both my battery terminals with Lightning Audio terminals. You remove it by loosening the 3 allen bolts on top. Once they are on, they are on TIGHT. The cable is held on using centerpin technology and just will not separate from the cable no matter how hard you tug on it. The terminals attach to the post using a compression ring that tightens up around the battery post when you screw in the allen bolts.

Here are some pix:

9919battery.jpg


9919battery-2.jpg
 
mystican said:
Guess I should have NOT bought the Battery Tender from Pep Boys for 70 bucks!
Click to expand...

The Battery Tender is more than just a trickle charger. It cycles the battery which is much better. I have used Battery Tender's for years with my bikes and never had a battery problem or replacement.
 
Ive got a Sears trickle charger that was on my car when I bought it and it is simply unreal. I went 3 months without starting my car and she cranked right up.
 
So I guess the Schumacher model SE-1-12S is officially "nsxtasy approved", I'm about to buy it now. ;) Ken, what do you suggest the wire running through? I guess I should ask that if I close the door leaving the wire between the door and door jam, would it damaged the wire and the Rubbering trim??

I liked to stored my car with all windows closed. And if this charger works good, I might leave my alarm system on.
 
OK, I am sold. Yesterday, Saturday, my wife was going to drive our NSX to work. It had been parked for 3 weeks w/o being started. I uncovered it and went to start it and it was dead.

Fortunately, I have an old Sears battery charger, so I put it on for an hour and the car started fine and Ann Marie had no problems during the day.

But I do not like the idea of a regular charger being hooked to the car so I just ordered the Schumacker trickle charger and after reading all of the above endorsements, feel quite comfortable that was the right choice. Aside from that, DeCosse has one on his NSX and he knows his stuff!

Also, the car has the factory original battery, car is an '01. Probably time to consider a new Optima battery too.

Another problem solved!
 
I have been using this one for a couple of years now:

http://www.autopn.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=123&idproduct=18944


I like it because you can mount it to the battery box and leave it there all year if you want. I just put it under the hood up against the spare tire and feed the extension cord from the bottom so i can close the hood while the car sits and charges.

I purchased it at walmart for $17

-MC
 
NSXDreamer2 said:
So I guess the Schumacher model SE-1-12S is officially "nsxtasy approved", I'm about to buy it now. ;) Ken, what do you suggest the wire running through? I guess I should ask that if I close the door leaving the wire between the door and door jam, would it damaged the wire and the Rubbering trim??

I liked to stored my car with all windows closed. And if this charger works good, I might leave my alarm system on.
Click to expand...
To install the Schumacher onboard charger, you bolt it next to the battery. The power cord is only about 3-4 inches long. There's no need for any wires to go to the interior of the car, and the car stays locked with the alarm on. The only long wire going to the charger is an extension cord that you will need to run from the power cord of the charger to the wall outlet. What I do is leave the extension cord along the floor of the garage under the NSX, with the outlet underneath the front end. After pulling the car into the garage, I remove the spare tire (I have to do this for access to the power cord from the charger), then reach down to the floor and grab the end of the extension cord, plug in the charger, and close the hood. Obviously, don't forget to unplug the charger before driving the car away. (If you're like me, you will forget to do this exactly once before learning your lesson. ;) )
 
NSXTASY:

You can delete the step of removing your spare tire by using a coat hanger wire (opened) with a hook at the end which you place the female end of the extension cord in (under you car) then pull up from the top to grab it.
 
D'Ecosse said:
Just to clarify Michael, I favour & have a Battery Tender model, not the Schumacher
Click to expand...

I also use and favor (favour for the Europeans) the Battery Tenders. There is no bulky unit left in the car and I've extended the wires to the front of the car. I don't have to open anything up to get things charging, just find and open up the weatherproof connector, plug it into the base and I'm ready to go.

I went for the Battery Tender Plus model. It comes with a hardwired plug in solution as well as a clamp on connector with the plugin to the unit. So I can use it on two of my cars as one car is always sitting in the garage. Plus you can order extra harnesses if you need them. They cost just a bit more than the Schumacher's but it's money well spent. You get a 10 year warranty vs 2 and it's just a slicker setup. You can get it for $33.95 + shipping at mawonline.com.

Other than the $7 difference in price, it's a win win decision over the Schumacher.
 

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