GEN 2 Trickle Charger Connection Point

[soulsea]

I looked in the owner's manual and searched the forum but couldn't find the answer.

Can a trickle charger/battery maintainer be connected to the cigarette lighter plug in our trucks or do I need to get one with battery terminal connectors?

I ask because I know some vehicles don't accept a charge through the lighter.

Thanks

 

[xBryanHoodsx]

How long will your truck be sitting that you would even need to think Anout doing this ??!!

 

[soulsea]

How long will your truck be sitting that you would even need to think Anout doing this ??!!

Sometimes up to three months or four months at a time.

 

[shapiroeric]

I would hook directly to the battery to ensure it works if there is no definitive answer about the cigarette lighter.....

 

[smurfslayer]

I would hook directly to the battery to ensure it works if there is no definitive answer about the cigarette lighter.....

Agreed. Also, make sure your charger is powerful enough. Typical lawn tractor or motorcycle charger might not do anything for your truck battery.

 

[EricM]

Agreed. Also, make sure your charger is powerful enough. Typical lawn tractor or motorcycle charger might not do anything for your truck battery.

Huh? All he's doing is keeping the constant 10 mA draw from killing the battery. It's not like he needs a 75A charger to keep up with that tiny draw. Any battery charger/tender will be more than enough.

I just pop the hood and hook it straight to the battery on stuff I have sitting for long periods. Simple, easy, no extra wires to short like if you added a remote charge lead. Only downside is you have to keep the hood up unless the battery is way down in the engine bay.

 

[smurfslayer]

Oh - I tried running a small (motorcycle size) tender on my Lightning, thinking that was going to help. It didn’t. I forget the exact length of time the truck was idle but it was about a month. The battery was there, enough for lights, not enough to start. Jumped it, drove it, drove again the next few days without incident.