[Jus Cruisin]

Originally Posted by JimGnitecki

CAREFUL! For 2 reasons:

1. The instructions say:

"The OBDII connector is a standard connection point to the battery on all new vehicles that will allow you to set the 5 watt panel on your dash and charge / maintain your vehicle battery from inside the vehicle."

That SOUNDS like you might need to first do something called a "5 watt panel" setting on your dash. Maybe some vehicles have such a thing, but does a Camaro?

2. The OBD2 port is designed to transmit low-amperage electronic signals, not transmit the kind of power to recharge a weak battery. So, such an approach might work to MAINTAIN a battery, but not to charge a battery that needs more than a very small current to recharge.

I'd find out more before going this way.

Jim G

Good point. I didn't really read it as I'm happy with my quick connect in the trunk. Someone is using it on a 14th gen F150 with apparently good results.

[JimGnitecki]

For anyone interested in getting a battery tender type of battery charger: Right now, on both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, the Noco smart battery chargers are on sale, with Black Friday pricing up to -33% until December 1st. I just bought a Noco TEN AMP version that handles 6V, 12V, lead, AGM, Lithium, battery recovery, etc because the pricing for the sale is that good.

The 10 amp version will keep the Camaro not only properly fully charged, but will also QUICKLY recharge a car battery that has become discharged.

Jim G

[JimGnitecki]

I just recieved my Noco 10 amp charger, and after reading the instructions (always good to do!!), connected it to my Camaro, slecting the "12 V AGM" charging mode.

It seems to be showing exactly the light sequence that the instruction tell you to expect. Since my battery was pretty well charged when I parked it a few days ago, the Noco very quickly (within a few minutes) got to "standby" mode where it maintains the battery as needed. A big square green lED light lights up when it gets to that point.

The directions highlight a nice feature that this model of charger has: It has a mode that enables it to be used as a 12 volt power supply for any 12 volt device for which its 10 amp rating is sufficient. The instructions point out that this mode can be used to retain all the ECM's current settings and values which would otherwise be lost when replacing the battery. That is a nice feature.

I THINK this means that when you are about to change the battery, you can simply connect the battery charger across the remote +ve and -ve terminals under the hood beforehand.

Jim G