95_993

I put my small Schumacher battery maintainer (1.5A) to use. However, instead of connecting to the battery terminals, I made a cigarette lighter plug adapter out of a 12ft. lighter plug extension cord I had laying around...is this OK to do??

2nd question: The car has not been started in about 4 weeks (don't know what the battery voltage is, but assuming it's still pretty good). Is this too much of a load to use on the battery maintainer or can I just let it charge slowly??

Comments

Paul902

I think you should be OK....

http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/Wire-Gauge_Ampacity shows current carrying capacity (ampacity) for different wire gauges. Your sig lighter stuff is likely around 18 gauge, so no problemo with 1.5A charger.

I cannot speak about your Schumacher maintainer, but my Porsche one has charged my battery from dead flat. It took three weeks to do it, but one must be patient.

JimPA

For the last two years I've been running an even longer lamp cord (I think I got 16 ga) from my maintainer to a Radio Shack cigarette lighter plug in a infrequently driven BMW. Works fine.

95_993

Sounds like I am "good to go"!!

Bob Makela

On my 1996 993 the cigarette lighter doesn't work unless the ignition is turned. If yours is the same it means you can't just plug your maintainer into it you have to connect it directly to the battery terminals.

matt777

If the lighter socket doesn't work you can try the CTEK unit. I've been using a CTEK3300 charger which has a microprocessor in it. They are quite small. These types of chargers will not overcharge and come with a harness with ring terminals that you can permanently mount to the battery terminals. All you see in the trunk is a small plug protruding from under the carpet that is connected to the charger when you need it.

Rinty

I've used a 500 milliamp motorcycle Battery Tender on a big MB 300 SL battery all winter, and it worked fine. I now have it on my 993, which is in commercial storage until April 1.

cdmdriver

I was told by the guys over at Hollywood Speedo that you need to be very careful with battery chargers on 993's (even factory chargers) as they can damage the instruments circuitry. They recommend always unplugging the battery before charging.

ste993

I'm glad you asked this because I've been told the same and it would be so much easier to install the harness that came with my trickle charger and plug in as required.

NC TRACKRAT

I would imagine that they've probably seen a number of incidents, most from reverse polarity hook-ups. While I appreciate the input, I'm going to take my chances with the cigarette lighter socket. First of all, to disconnect the battery every time you wanted to put a trickle charger on it would be the proverbial PITA, not to mention screwing up the OBDII "drive cycle" if you were due for an inspection anytime soon. Using the cigarette lighter receptacle is my preferred port. It has nothing to do with the instrument cluster and is on a completely different circuit and fuse. BTW, using this method will allow changing out a battery without loosing power to the ECU.

Slow Guy

I've done it both ways with my Deltran Battery Tender. I made up a cig. lighter extension plug before I eventually installed the Battery Tender pigtail directly on the battery. I've used various simular setups on several cars and motorcycles and never had a problem (BMW's have a special plug like a cig. lighter just for uses such as this). I've used a BT for over 15 yrs. with no problems.

To test your 993's cig. lighter use something like a radar detector to see if it powers up, don't know why some would and some wouldn't.

jaholmes

I just got a black and decker maintainer from Home Depot. It was easier to get then the other ones out there. It has a few attachments and works well, cheap too. I am not using the Cig lighter because I can't get the damn thing to stay, so i'm using the clips on the battery.

Slow Guy

IIRC The cig. lighter is a different size (larger ?) on many Porsches and BMW's, that's why some electronic devices have a "sleeve" w/ the cig. lighter plug in case you have one of the vehicles with the larger lighter sockets. Some plugs will stay in w/out a sleeve, some won't.

95FL993CAB

Which unit did you get and what does it run if you do not mind? I guess you could always get a wider lighter adapter somewhere else and splice it in.

Paul902

I recommend that if you use the cigarette lighter input for your battery charger, that you do NOT disconnect the battery.