Battery Tender Pigtail Attachment Ideas
 

All:

My car is an '18 ZL1. Any slick ways to connect the quick-connect pigtail to the Battery so that the power cord can connect without having the trunk (location of battery) or hood (location of duplicate jumping terminals) open?

My body shop guy says that we really need to connect the tender to the battery since the hood terminals are too far away.

Thanks for your thoughts!

I connect my battery tender to the connectors under the hood when I store my car over the winter and no issues, if that helps. My 911 allowed me to use the cigarette lighter for the battery tender. Have been doing this for years without actually connecting to the battery itself.

Thanks for the reply. Did you find an opening in the grill, etc. to feed the power cord in to connect to the pigtail, or do you need the hood cracked open or closed on the cord? Thanks!

Go to hobby shop and pick up set of quick connect battery charging terminals.. hide where you want.. velcro up under grill opening somewhere ?

I just let the hood rest on them while it's stored but Vtor_ZL1's idea makes sense too.

I connect mine to the term block under the hood and last winter ran the cord out behind the front pass tire. This winter I plan to run the cord thru the hood latch opening and out the grille.

In my 12 ZL1 I used the grommet that holds the battery vent tube as a pass thru. I just poked a hole in it adjusted the length to secure it and sealed it up. Then I could push it in or pull on it to retract it. When needed I pulled out the pigtail under the car.

The batterysaver charger I use has a fused pigtail with a cover to protect the exposed leads. https://www.batterysaver.com/store/p63/2087

Haven't looked in my 2018 yet but I'm betting there has to be a similar venting for the battery.

I don't want to hijack his thread but I have a question.... I hooked up my battery tender to the terminal under the hood. The battery tender let's you know if it's charging the battery or if it's on storage mode. I hooked it up at night and the next morning it was still "charging". The battery tender was warm and I assumed I did something wrong because it should have been in storage mode. Maybe stealth7 is right and I need to hook it up directly to the battery? Maybe the small amps the tender provides isn't enough with the battery in the trunk?

You’re probably right. The resistance in the wire between the trunk and the engine compartment is probably too high. I’d try moving it to the trunk and see if it works better.

Or your battery is just low. Battery tenders charge at a very slow rate.

I have been charging my cars from the hood location for a long time no issues. I put a towel over the fender where the cord lays and a 1x4 wrapped in a towel under the hood latch so the hood doesnt shut.

Thank you guys!

I used the bolt on terminal connectors, the pigtail sticks out of the battery compartment insert in the side of the trunk. When I plug it in, I just rest the trunk lid down on it not fulling closing it with a microfiber between. This has worked great for 1+ years.

I am going to try to attach the quick connect under the hood, secure the pigtail and thread the power cord through the grill when in use. Just need to find the locations!