Battery Trickle Charger, what to get?
 

I'm thinking about buying a "smart" battery charger or a trickle charger/maintainer for the Stang. I hear the tiny Group 40R/96R batteries can be depleted within 10 days of not being charged by the alternator and I tend to believe this due to the incredible amount of electronics found in the GT.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I am looking for a simple unit that I can just plop on the battery and forget about it for months on end and take it off during the spring/summer.

These CTEK battery charges look pretty nice.

http://www.ctek.com/US/home.asp

I was going to buy one for the group 24 battery in my 69 but then I put the car in storage and pulled the battery so no need.

If you have access to sunlight a Solar Panel works well. :nice:
It requires no AC or Attention. :hmm:
I use a 2.2 Watt Solar Panel that has kept the Battery at 12.2 volts all last winter, the discharge of the Mustang is counteracted by the Charging during the Day. Works well and can be left for Months (6 for Me). :grin:

Note: If the Car Alarm goes off you will have to recharge the Battery.
The panel does not have the Power to bring the Battery Back, just hold it.

I guess an even better product would be one of those 2/5/10A smart chargers but I hear that they don't always go into float mode! :(

I recommend the Battery Tender brand. I've been using them for the past 10-12 years without any problems. You can find some good deals on eBay, too.

Battery trickle chargers are great ideas as long as you are checking on them every 30 minutes or so. Just like many other highly powered electic devices they can tend to be prone to electical runaway. I recommend a battery booster. It's similiar to a jump start on your car, but is safer based on voltage regulation and it does not need to be plugged in all the time to work properly. Cheers

I'm looking for something that I can plug in and clip to the batteries and leave it there for 6+ months without worrying about a ka boom.

Sears has a nice new one that I like

You could always lock the passenger door by pushing the lock down by hand, then locking the driver door with the key in the door. This will keep the motion sensors and inclination sensors off, but still monitor the doors/trunk/hood for opening and sound the alarm if necessary. (this is all if you have the active anti-theft system) A friend has a GT with the AAT and left his in storage like that for 3 months, started right up afterwards.

I have the 3300 and love it, no problems on the Mustang.

My mom's boyfriend also has them on his '35 Ford Coupe and 56 Ford Custom 500 - both with Optima Gel-Cell batteries and swears by them.

I'm aslo looking for something less than $30-$40.

I bought one of these at Target when my battery went dead last winter. I just connect it every couple of weeks if the weather keeps my car in the garage.

http://www.amazon.com/Durabuilt-Volt.../dp/B000A3ZWAA

This might be what your looking for if you just want to leave it connected.

http://www.autobarn.net/vector-080bd.html

I have 4 "battery tenders" that I have used for many years. I have 2 harleys, the 68 vert and the 05 and have never had a problem with any of them. Just put them on and forget about them till spring. They run about 35-45.00.

428CJ: How is the Black and Decker unit? It's supposed to be made by Vector and looks like it operates on the same principle as the Battery Tender Jr. Is it up to snuff with all the electronics on a S197 GT (Active Anti-Theft, etc..)?

3 Battery Tenders here.......I've had them hooked up to the boat batteries for the winter months and haven't had any problems over the years.

I have a battery tender one for my motorcycle and a sears brand one for my stang.

I have two Sears manual chargers that have a 2A charger. I suppose the 2A charger might overcharge the battery if I leave it on for days on end.

I just wish the battery tenders were priced more reasonably. $40+ for a .75A trickle charger is rather pricey. I was hoping I could get something for $20-$30 max.

FYI

Harbor Freight has the small smart-chargers on sale for $4.99 each.

I just got this one on sale from Advance Auto for $22 (It was $27, but I had a $5 coupon): http://store.schumachermart.com/sem-1562a.html
http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.c...6_1924_2610929

There's a Black and Decker 1/2/6 smart charger on sale for about $33 (made by Vector) and a B&D 1.5A float charger for $30 all at Amazon.

I found that it's kind of hard to close the hood with the big alligator clamps. Ring terminals or smaller alligator style clamps are a better idea. The Harbor Freight charger I bought is very small (nothing more than .75A) and tries to keep the battery voltage at 12.85VDC.