twinreds

Even though I made a commitment to resist the temptation of making my newly acquired 928 some sort of a garage queen, it seems that winter is not going to let me be out with it for a while here in Michigan.
My question is: what is the best way to connect a trickle charger on my car (1986.5)?
Thanks all,
Miguel

skpyle

Hello twinreds!

I have a trickle charger harness connected to the jump post via a small fuse holder for the (+) lead, and the (-) lead goes to the ground point just behind the passenger's side ignition coil. I keep the whole thing tucked up under the lip of the fender, across the top of the radiator.

When I need to trickle charge the battery, just pop the hood.


Good Luck!

Seth K. Pyle

davek9

Hello there local

You can also just use the alligator clips that comes w/ most of them and clip the positive on the Jump post (after removing the covers on the post), this is located on the right side front fender by the large upper radiator hose, the ground can be connected to one of the two cross brace bolts on the same side.

Dave K

PS: Our monthly 928OC GTG in Ferndale this Wednesday night at Sneakers pub, come on down.
And if you are not on our mailing list, send me a PM.

StratfordShark

That's how I connect mine. The bonus is that the lead snaking out of the not quite shut bonnet (hood!) is a reminder to disconnect before driving. Friend of mine made such a neat concealed connector job wired to battery of his 928 that he forgot about it when driving off, and when the connector to the charger separated under the strain it took a chunk of paint out of his rear spoiler!

dr bob

If the car is going to truly hibernate, I recommend disconnecting the battery ground strap so it stays isolated during storage. Then connect the maintainer cables directly to the battery. The cars have a tiny but persistent parasitic drain current, enough that the battery will be "cycled" by your maintainer during storage. Isolated, the parasitic drain is gone and your battery won't cycle nearly as much -- same as "lasts a lot longer".

My car is fitted with a charging "harness" that connects directly to battery terminals. has a fuse in the positive side, and a plug-in connector for the maintainer behind the tool tray, right next to the battery ground strap bolt at the rear apron. I have an extension cable made with a pull-apart connector outside the rear hatch, with one of the "comfort indicating" connectors available for my CTEK maintainer. That indicating connector has LED's on it that display charge condition, in case something gets accidentally disconnected during storage.

I have a similar connector stuffed up in the fender lip in the engine bay, connected to the jump post with a fuse, and the ground connection immediately adjacent to the jump post. The end pokes out at the fender-bumper junction, not quite invisible but close. That connection is used during driving season when the car sits more than a couple days between uses. This connection is only useful when the ground strap is connected though.

----

Your thread title "trickle charger"... Use a true "smart" maintainer rather than a "trickle charger" during extended storage. The little constant-voltage or constant-current trickle chargers are less than ideal, where a smart maintainer will pulse-charge and periodically cycle the battery to keep it healthy during storage.

twinreds

One of my to-do items is to meet you in person and shake your hand. I've heard about you from the Munk's crowd (all good things).
I will try to go, but now I'm a hockey dad and Wednesday evenings is one of those commitment nights....
I will email you to get on the mailing list.
Miguel

davek9

Cool and thank you for the kind words, our group is fairly active so I'm sure we'll catch up sooner than later

I met another owner ('87 928) in Bloomfield off Long Lake on Saturday, he doesn't do Rennlist (yet) or any club events, so there are a few really local 928's out there, can't wait till spring

Dave K

linderpat

I follow Dr Bob's method. Two cars, no problems.

voskian

What dr bob said. I have CTEK maintainers on the 928, MB SL500 and Audi TT for the long NE winter and never an issue in the spring when it's time to have fun again!

R.Pires

Plug it and forget it, no matter how long....

davek9

What does the CTEK do in the event of a power outage, does it come back on to what it was set at or do you need to manually reselect the charging mode?

docmirror

I bought about 8 of these;


For boats, cars, tractors, etc. Waterproof and pretty solid built. Comes with a quick disconnect if you want to leave the pigtails on the battery/terminal. Also clips, and cig lighter attachment.

When I bought them more than a year ago, they were made in Mexico, but I think they are now China, so I would not buy this model anymore.

I had some Shumacher brand maintainers and had 100% failure rate with those, so no more of that brand.

davek9

Doc, so do they need to be reset in the event of a power fail?
From my limited experience with one at our "Shark Tank"(where you recently visited they do.

Just wanting to confirm as we may have a bad one, it did come w/ a car

Thanks,
Dave

PelicanParts.com

+1 on alligator clips. We use Battery Tenders on all of our in house cars/projects. They work wonders and do what they're meant to do. I actually just purchased one for my current track/garage queen. They come with both ring terminals and alligator clips for whatever you feel like using on the install. Waterproof too. Let me know if you have any questions.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/...pg9.htm#item38

jpitman2

I run a charge lead direct off the battery, fused, out to a weather proof socket under the rear licence plate - no need to open anything for access. Also have a battery cut off switch in the trunk area. I can isolate the battery from the car while I work on electrical issues, but keep the battery on trickle.

jp 83 Euro S AT 57k