Has anyone out there permanently mounted a trickle charger in the trunk? If so, where and how.
Thanks.

 

I have the Porsche battery maintainer and I just plug it into the cigarette lighter (which is always live).


Is there a reason you want to plug it into the trunk? If so, you should buy the Delran connector that attaches directly to your battery terminals and has a quick disconnect plug. The Delran maintainers all have a quick disconnect that you can plug into the connector directly into the battery. I did this on two of my cars where the cigarette lighter does not remain live after you turn off the car.

 

Long Islander,
I bought a Shumacher 1.5A charger/maintainer which doesn't have the ability to plug-in as the Porsche chargers do. I did install a disconnect near the battery terminals and decided to just connect and charge/maintain when needed.
Thanks for you input...much appreciated.

 

Trickle chargers scare me, reasons why and maybe someone with more experience with them can change my mind.
1. Had a Harley Davidson brand hooked up to my Fatboy for about 3 months with a 20ft extension cord (maybe the problem), it evaporated every bit of electrolyte.
2. A friend had one on his four wheeler, his shed caught fire and burnt to ground, he thinks that's what started

 

A trickle charger will keep charging your battery and simply cook it (not likely to start a fire though). That's why you need a battery maintainer that will charge it and then go into a very low maintenance mode.

 

Sorry,I shouldn't have used the word trickle, I meant maintainer

 

So I'd guess something wrong with the H-D battery or your maintainer. Once battery charge is achieved, a maintainer stops charging and switches to float mode. I've used both the H-D maintainer and Deltran (same product, just re-badged) and never had any issues with the H-D or the Porsche batteries.

 

Check out C-tek http://smartercharger.com/

They also offer a pigtail with a quick disconnect which is really cool.

AND....a $50 device that also pigtails, syncs via bluetooth to your phone and with their App tells you the state of charge. VERY helpful!

 

Left my 991 on Cetek charger/maintaner for 2 months while out of the country. Came back and no issues. Trickle chargers just keep going.

 

My 8series is on a Cetek charger/maintainer all year long (she's got 2 batteries and she doesn't like them being low), never had an issue for the last 7 or 8 years.

 

I use a Deltran "Battery Tender" dual model (http://products.batterytender.com/Ch...emisphere.html) in my garage when the car is laid up for winter maintenance/projects. My son has his 944 hooked up as well, and it has been flawless for the last two seasons. As mentioned earlier, these charger/maintainers are "smart" (i.e. they've got microprocessor controlled logic circuits that continually monitor power levels) and will not over charge a battery - it can be argued that they increase battery life.

 

I've used CTEK for years on multiple cars for many months, never any issues. Also used "Battery Tender" with no issues. I do plug it into a GIF circuit and check occasional.