Hard wiring a trickle charger or battery maintainer?

B

Bad_Pritt

Veteran
I have read on a few forums that you can hardwire a trickle charger or battery maintainer to make it easier to charge the battery ... Some have a hardwire under the bonnet, some in the trunk, but I can't seem to find some decent examples of how it is done? With the winter coming up, I'd like to find a better way to charge/maintain my battery.

So... how have you done it and do you have any pictures? :)
 
Has anyone tried this one?

http://smartercharger.com/products/accessories-cat/ctek-comfort-indicator-panel/

CTEK_Comfort_Indicator_Panel.jpg
 
I have a CTEK comfort indicator permanantly connected to the battery in the boot and threaded through so it's visible above the carpet, it has colour-coded (red/amber/green) LEDs which flash about once per second to show you the state of the battery and lets you know if it could do with charging - the comfort indicator lead isn't essential as the charger comes with a similar lead with eyelets to connect to the battery at one end and the in-line plug for the charger at the other, just no LEDs.

When the car is on charge in the garage, the ctek charger sits in the boot and plugs into the comfort indicator, or normal lead, and the mains lead will loop over the boot sill enough for the boot to be shut (not latched) and the car locked - I wrap an old towel around the mains lead to avoid it rubbing on the rear bumper paintwork

If you want pictures, I'll see what I can do
 
The one you've just posted a picture of is the panel version - so you have to fit it somewhere, it might fit onto the battery box of an M

This is the in-line version

http://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-CTE-56382-Comfort-Indicator-Adaptors/dp/B002MT8S7E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1357381003&sr=8-1

And this shows it in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czAnCA8aXMs
 
But then you also need a CTEK charger? Or can you just buy a matching plug that you can connect to any kind of charger?
 
There may be other chargers that have a similar arrangement, or even a generic lead, but CTEK are the best chargers around and you can get the 3.8A one which is plenty good enough as a maintenance charger for under £45 on Amazon (and there are fairly frequent offers)

This is the comfort indicator installed in my car (the video I linked to shows how to install it)
CTEK_1.jpg


This it it in use to charge the battery - forgive the old rubber mats I use to stop things sliding around in the boot
CTEK_2.jpg


And this is how the car is left on long-term maintenance charge - I've lifted the cover back so you can see properly
CTEK_3.jpg
 
That looks pretty neat... Might just consider that. I'll inspect the car a little better to see whether I have a nice spot to install the panel version. Would be interesting to have it somewhere in the cockpit so I can see the state of the battery at any given time.
 
Another option could be hardwiring a battery tester in the glove box, and a simple universal connector in the boot to connect any type of charger (as I already have one anyway)
 
Hardwired a CTEK to a threaded ground stud on the firewall and the positive jumping post (had to add additional length of wire). Have it exiting at the base of the windshield on the left hand side of the car. Very easy to plug in/unplug and go.

ctek3300011.jpg


ctek3300001.jpg


ctek3300009.jpg


ctek3300014.jpg
 
In my TVR days the Cerbera boys would wire the charging point to either come out in the wheel well (but that means it gets covered in road grime) or in the grille area in the nose, which has the advantage that if you reverse out of the garage without disconnecting it, the cable should just pull out.
 
My c tech arrived today and I just popped it on

Hardwired to the battery with the kit that came with it

20130105_180225_zpsd3f1e6c6.jpg


20130105_180552_zpsa8aab8ab.jpg


And the wire happily runs through the rubber on the boot with it shut

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2
 
I'll probably hardwire a battery tester in the glove compartment and then mount a simple universal socket in the trunk to connect my current charger. If I ever need a new one, I'll definitely look for a CTEK with panel mount...
 
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