[JimGnitecki]

Does my photo below show the correct way to connect a battery charger to the Camaro?

If not, what are the correct connection points?

My Camaro has not been driven in a little more than 2 weeks due to snow, so I figure with the parasitic draws, I should put a charger on it.

Jim G

[Martinjlm]

That’s how my battery tender is connected at this very moment. Been doing it this way since 2017.

[JimGnitecki]

Thanks, Martinjlm!

Jim G

[JimGnitecki]

Oops! No, that connection method does not appear to work with my Battery Tender. The Battery tender model I have has a light that flashes amber when the Battery Tender appears to be connected but actually is not.

That amber light starts flashing when the Battery tender is connected to AC power, and continues to flash until a valid connection is made to the vehicle battery. Then, it turns solid (versus flashing) while the battery is actually charging. A separate green light goes on once the battery is fully charged.

I have just now tested the Battery Tender on my motorcycle, and it is functioning properly.

So, I am thinking that my Battery Tender is perhaps not recognizing the remote terminal setup under the hood on the Camaro as a pair of valid battery terminals.

How hard is it to connect to the actual battery terminals on the battery in the trunk? Will I need a "harness" to easily use the Battery tender there? I am asking because the openable "door" cover for the battery compartment appears to be far too small to span the distance between the positive and negative terminals. And given our wintry climate at this time of year, and the small but constant draws on the battery while the car is sitting for potentially weeks at a time between rides, I am assuming I may need to keep a Battery Tender connected to the car battery.

Has anyone else run into this issue?

Jim G

[taylorforschool@gmail.com]

I was planning on testing my tender as soon as I get my car back from dealer Mon-Tues. car has been sitting without a trans in it for 3 months. will keep you posted how my car quest 3amp tender acts with this method when I get her back

[Smokin19]

This is the 4th year I have always done it as you, never a problem.

[Trochoidal]

Hey Jim what brand and model charger are you using?

Did you put the car in transport mode?

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=454614

[Jus Cruisin]

I'm using trunk with direct access to the battery. Using a quick connect harness.

[Ventmaster]

+1 on the "looks good to me" opinion. I do stand the Positive clamp up with a couple of twists back and for to make sure it has good contact on that skinny terminal. I use a Sears 2amp Diehard trickle/maintainer.

[activeSS]

It's exactly how you should charge it unless you want to take the trunk apart, which is a waste of time.



A ground is a ground and the power to that point is "+" is direct from the battery.

[arpad_m]

I've used the method in the OP since 2018 and never had an issue. Previously I used a Camaro trickle charger and more recently a much superior OptiMATE 6 unit, both work perfectly fine.

[pauly1119]

I do mine in the same place.

[JimGnitecki]

This is getting more confusing by the moment. here are relevant facts:

- No, I did not have the car in "Transport Mode".

- No, I don't want to store it in Transport Mode if doing so requires starting it just before putting it into Transport Mode, as starting an engine for just a very short time and then shutting it down is very bad for an engine (Unless you knew it was going to be bad weather coming "sometime" the last time you drove the car and went for a long drive FIRST). It also consumes some of the battery's charge just doing the start process required to initiate the Transport Mode!

- My battery tender is LITERALLY a "Battery Tender" brand tender. It is the 4 amp model that has buttons to select 6 volt or 12 month, and Lithium or AGM / normal lead acid).

- The 4 amp Battery Tender is apparently NOT properly connected using the 2 connection points shown in my photo. I also tried connecting the negative lead to other unpainted metal parts nearby. Again, no successful connection.

- My battery was NOT "already discharged" in sitting for the 2 or more weeks. I know this because 2 hours after I posted this thread, I figured I'd better see right now if I have a weakened battery, so I started the car. It started normally, with its usual vigor. I then took it out for 20 minutes, staying in the neighbourhood where the city does NOT plow or sand or salt, so the car would not get covered with salt or sand. I successfully kept the engine rpm at around 1500, which let me warm the engine up over the 20 minutes, while keeping the snow off the body (just got snow inside the fenders and presumably on the undercoated chassis).

So . . .

Clearly, the battery was NOT discharged. But also clearly, the Battery Tender 4 amp model, which works just fine on my motorcycle, will not successfully charge my Camaro when connected as shown in the photo. But, is this because:

- The electrical path form those connections to the battery is too long?
or
- The 4 amp Battery Tender is just not strong enough to charge a car battery versus the relatively small motorcycle battery, especially when trying to do so through a circuit the length of the car? (The battery in the motorcycle is only 12 AH, and is maybe 6 feet from the Battery Tender)
or
- I have connected improperly somehow?
or
- There's something wrong with the positive terminal in my engine compartment?

Any thoughts?

Jim G

[JimGnitecki]

Found the problem! Blown fuse in the Battery Tender harness that I was trying to use!

When connected to the motorcycle, the Battery Tender connects to a harness that I had pre-wired onto the battery terminals. That harness allows me to simply plug in the Battery tender harness to the harness attached to the battery, quickly and simply without gaining access to the hidden battery. It also enables me to power a GPS on the motorcycle's handelbar from the battery, or a heated riding vest. That harness has an inline fuse.

To connect to the Camaro's front terminals, I used a CLAMP type harness, also fused, that I had only ever used once before. But that "once before" was to try to charge a battery that I knew was very weak. The charging attempt failed, but it failed, I now see, because that old motorcycle battery was SO weak that it tried to pull more amps than the 7.5 amp fuse in the clamp harness allowed (because the battery wasinternally shorted?). So, it had blown the fuse. I never realized that it had done so, and so the blown fuse was still in the harness.

The amber blinking light on the Battery Tender begins to blink when EITHER a connected battery is so bad that it won't accept a charge, OR when there is simply no connection. So, in the case of the too-weak motorcycle battery, it had correctly begun blinking because the battery was bad. In the case of the Camaro attempt to charge through a blown fuse, it began blinking because there was no valid connection because of the blown fuse. Two different problems created the same visual signal.

I have a 2nd clamp harness that I have never before used, and so I connected this 2nd clamp harness to the Camaro. Now the Battery tender is happily doing its job.

Jim G