Battery Tender - Confirmed Applications

[J_Maher_AMG]

I tried it, the lighter ports on the GT350 are always hot so a charger will work with the car off.

As far as Battery Tender vs CTEK. I have had BT's for 12+ years. Never one problem. I also have a CTEK 3300. Both extension cables are expensive. The BT has much longer cords. You need more shorter cables if you want to use the CTEK.

The CTEK tends to get pretty warm, Not sure if that is normal or not, It also seems to have some QC issues. The case seems flimsy. It does work fine and it does do desulfination (sp?). Not sure that matters unless you run your battery dead often.

On my 16, I hardwired my CTEK to the battery and used an extension to run the cable through the grille. On my 17 GT350, The connector is routed under the spoiler so it's very cover friendly and no need to keep your window cracked or your hood up. Below are he pics from my 16. My 17 is wired the same except the connector is under the splitter.

^^ABSOLUTELY! Ctek all the way.
I have this tender, the extended cable and the lighter adapter. So easy, literally plug it in and forget it. I always check on it when I go into the garage to throw out the trash or recycled to make sure all is well. Always worked great for me.
(****Just a side note,I do have a 2013 Roush Stage 3, so I'm not sure if the lighter adapter option will work for the S550 Mustangs. I was told it wouldn't. :shrug

Mike, as Stage 3 mentioned, I read before that the lighter port wasn't hot so that it wouldn't work that way. But your CTEK unit does indeed work through that port?

I don't think there's any way to run the wiring from the lighter adapter to the outside of the car without either having the window cracked a little or the trunk open slightly correct?

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[J_Maher_AMG]

Thanks to everyone else who have posted and listed tenders/chargers that have worked for you guys! I did not realize that there were chargers with the brand name "Battery Tender", so I realize the thread title may be more specific than I had intended

If I can get a concrete confirmation that the CTEK will work through the lighter port I will almost certainly order one of those. My father had one come with his Vette and it worked great for him, and it used by a lot of high end car manufacturers as OEM chargers as well.

 

[Mike02z]

Mike, as Stage 3 mentioned, I read before that the lighter port wasn't hot so that it wouldn't work that way. But your CTEK unit does indeed work through that port?

I don't think there's any way to run the wiring from the lighter adapter to the outside of the car without either having the window cracked a little or the trunk open slightly correct?

Yes, My CTEK stays flashing even when the car is off and plugged into either lighter port. I plugged my wife's phone in and it is NOT charging in either socket with the car off. I feel there is no way to use the lighter port for a charger. You'll need to hard wire it.

Pics to show it will not power devices when off...

Plug is supposed to light up blue when powered.



Showing phone plugged in but not charging

 

[harsh]

I got the CTek MUS 4.3 and a separate cig lighter adapter and it works in my car for about two hours after the ignition is switched off, after that the charger disconnects and goes into sleep mode. The 12V aux in the console is only hot when the ignition is on. I'm pretty sure I've read other owner accounts of the lighter plug being always on, even when they don't want it to be. I'm not sure you'll know until you try. It would have been nice if I could have tested it first, but the adapter is about $10. It's always possible I'm just doing something wrong, but I couldn't find much info online myself.

ETA: Not just me, then.

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

Yes, My CTEK stays flashing even when the car is off and plugged into either lighter port. I plugged my wife's phone in and it is NOT charging in either socket with the car off. I feel there is no way to use the lighter port for a charger. You'll need to hard wire it.

Pics to show it will not power devices when off...

Plug is supposed to light up blue when powered.



Showing phone plugged in but not charging

Hmm, maybe I'm being retarded right now, but I understand it doesn't charge your phone, but will it charge the car? As the last poster mentioned, some have said that after 2 hours the lighter port is no longer a "hot" connection?

I know you mentioned you have your CTEK hardwired to your battery, but if you were to plug it into the lighter port and leave it, would it continually charge the battery when the battery drains down, even after that 2 hour time frame??

I might be coming across as a bit dense, but appreciate the patience haha don't want to order something to realize it doesn't work

 

[Mike02z]

If there is no power to charge the phone that means there is no path to the battery so charging via the lighter ports will not work. If the phone charged with the car off (Mine has been off for 2 days now) it will pass the charge to the battery and the lighter plug would work. Unfortunately, it seems the GT350 will not be able to be charged long term via the lighter. You need to hard wire it.

For those interested, here is where I mount the CTEK comfort connector that goes to the bat. The little black plug hanging is how I seal the connector off while driving.

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

If there is no power to charge the phone that means there is no path to the battery so charging via the lighter ports will not work. If the phone charged with the car off (Mine has been off for 2 days now) it will pass the charge to the battery and the lighter plug would work. Unfortunately, it seems the GT350 will not be able to be charged long term via the lighter. You need to hard wire it.

For those interested, here is where I mount the CTEK comfort connector that goes to the bat. The little black plug hanging is how I seal the connector off while driving.

Thanks for the clarification Mike, at least now we know for sure the lighter port is not an option. Curious, if you got the CTEK unit, is the cord long enough that it could be run like you have it and then still reach back behind the car? If not, I'll just use an extension cord with a powerbar, should be fine like that I would assume?

 

[Mike02z]

Thanks for the clarification Mike, at least now we know for sure the lighter port is not an option. Curious, if you got the CTEK unit, is the cord long enough that it could be run like you have it and then still reach back behind the car? If not, I'll just use an extension cord with a powerbar, should be fine like that I would assume?

I needed 2 extension cables. One was used from the battery connector to the underside of the splitter and the other goes from the CTEK to the connection under the splitter. I purhased 3 in case i decide to back my car in. I also used split loom to make the wire look more OEM under the hood.

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

I needed 2 extension cables. One was used from the battery connector to the underside of the splitter and the other goes from the CTEK to the connection under the splitter. I purhased 3 in case i decide to back my car in. I also used split loom to make the wire look more OEM under the hood.

Just curious, could you have used a basic extension cord from say the outlet to the CTEK plug instead of that second extension cable?

I might be an engineer, but when it comes to anything electrical, I swear my head is full of rocks :lol:

 

[Mike02z]

Yes. You can use an electrical extension to get the CTEK closer to the battery. I keep mine in a mount on my wall. You can see it below.



It would probably work better if I turned the CTEK upside down but my OCD won't allow that

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

Yes. You can use an electrical extension to get the CTEK closer to the battery. I keep mine in a mount on my wall. You can see it below.



It would probably work better if I turned the CTEK upside down but my OCD won't allow that

That picture just made my night, because it is something I would do too LOL dam OCD man, it gets so many of us :lol:

Thanks for the confirmation Mike, at least I can order with some peace of mind

 

[Tank]

For those interested, here is where I mount the CTEK comfort connector that goes to the bat. The little black plug hanging is how I seal the connector off while driving.

Hey Mike,
Thanks for posting the pics and all the other info. Did you consider using the o ringed connections the CTEK came with to hard wire to the electrical junction red lead (pass side front fender) and ground at the fender? I was considering the comfort connect but thought why spend the extra $$ if I already had a permanent connection.

Thanks again:cheers:

 

[Mike02z]

No problem guys. Glad I could contribute.

There are multiple ways to tap into the battery. The way I connected was with the ring terminal direct to the battery. The ring connecter fits nicely under the clamping screw. The hot wire also has a fuse. I did need to seperate the red/black a bit more to reach both positive and negative terminals. There is enough wire to get the connector out of the battery box.

This is how it looks on my previous 16 GT. The 17 GT350 is wired exactly the same.



The flash makes the connectors look yellow but they are really orange. I have some felt tape I may use to cover it

 

[THX 138]

Yes, My CTEK stays flashing even when the car is off and plugged into either lighter port. I plugged my wife's phone in and it is NOT charging in either socket with the car off. I feel there is no way to use the lighter port for a charger. You'll need to hard wire it.

Pics to show it will not power devices when off...

Plug is supposed to light up blue when powered. [...]

Just wanted to add my thanks for this post. I've had my car hooked up to a Porsche battery charger via the lighter/accessory port, which has an LED light to show that it is charging the battery when I plug it in. It never occurred to me that this "hot" port would go "cold" after a certain period of time. I just figured the LED was going out because the battery was fully charged. Since I won't drive my car in the Indiana winters, it is very likely that in the absence of this information, I would have come out to the car in March and found a very dead battery. I owe you a beer or three! :cheers:

 

[J_Maher_AMG]

[MENTION=24389]Mike02z[/MENTION] Hey Mike, I put off ordering the CTEK unit as I was able to keep the car out a bit longer than expected. However it is now stored and I am looking to order what I need from their website and have a question for you; when you say you hardwired to the battery, I am assuming you used a CTEK Comfort Connect? If so, which option did you select, M6, M8 or M10? I would assume M8 but would like to confirm before ordering, as I will hardwire mine in a similar fashion to how you have yours! Link to item in question below:

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

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