Trickle Charger Question

[charlz]

I would just make sure to run the extension cord in an obvious way so she remembers to unplug it... of course getting her to remember to plug it back in when she gets home might be the harder part

 

[Travelover]

If the charger is permanently attached to the vehicle, replace the spring clips with terminal ends and attach directly to the battery. No spark, no explosion.

 

[Fixemall]

Or just put a deep cycle marine battery in it and forget the cords etc. I use marine batteries in my trucks and machines that I don't use often, rarely have a problem unless say your son and his buddies were running over pop cans in the driveway with your vibratory roller and left the key on for a week:confused2:

 

[N80]

If the charger is permanently attached to the vehicle, replace the spring clips with terminal ends and attach directly to the battery. No spark, no explosion.

That's what it has.

 

[g0rd0]

in reality there is no reason to keep any charger under your hood. Try this, bring the truck to a mechanic and have the battery tested for a dead cell (load test) and the alt checked for proper operation, you will find that there is something wrong with either or both.
If there is nothing wrong with your alt or battery then somewere you have a serious electrical problem that is putting a constant drain on your battery. And that can be just a pain in the *** or leave you stranded or in a worse case start an electrical fire

 

[N80]

So a battery should never go dead no matter how long it sits?

 

[jinman]

George, I don't know if your grandmother could raise/lower the hood on her pickup or not, but if she can, a disconnect switch might be just the thing to simply disconnect the battery completely from the electrical system when the truck is not in use. These are relatively inexpensive and hook to a battery terminal. The car's battery cable then hooks to the post provided. The knife switch is opened when the vehicle will be out of use for awhile (several days/weeks). The beauty of this device is you cannot forget and drive off with a power cord plugged in. If this switch is open, you aren't going anywhere. However, you have to open/close the hood and that can be a pain. There are probably ones that can be wired to automatically connect/disconnect with the key switch, but they would be far more expensive and complex to install. I like the ZORO# G2699243 model.

ZORO Tools

 

[whiskywizard]

then somewere you have a serious electrical problem that is putting a constant drain on your battery. And that can be just a pain in the *** or leave you stranded or in a worse case start an electrical fire

Rather thanan errant circuit causing the current draw, it might be just the normal loads that remian live when the vehicle is shut down.

There are a number of things that remain powered up on modern vehicles, including clocks, stereo memory circuits, and in more and more cases, parts of the vehicle's computer and sensors waiting for a signal from a keyless entry system. Newer vehicles draw more current than older ones, but even some older ones can't tolerate sitting for months on end.

This is one of the reasons many new cars are shipped from the factory with a small solar panel on the dash, plugged into the 12VDC accessory socket. This keeps the battery charged so you don't have to boost them just to move them on/off the truck or around the lot. The solar panel is removed during dealer prep.

I agree that he should take a good look to ensure there aren't any unusual loads, such as small lights being left on inadvertently, but if all looks OK, go ahead and install a battery maintainer as suggested in this thread, and connect it to the battery terminals directly.

 

[whiskywizard]

a disconnect switch might be just the thing to simply disconnect the battery completely from the electrical system when the truck is not in use.

I would go that way myself, but I guarantee you I'd get grief from SWMBO if she were driving it and had to re-set her clock and radio stations every time! :ashamed:

 

[N80]

She had one (a disconnect switch) put on her boat and it worked fine. I had not thought of that. But, I've already bought this charger ($25) so I'll give it a try.

She is probably going to give (or sell it cheap) this truck (03 4x4 55k miles on it) to my daughter when she goes to college. At that time I'll service everything.