Add A Charger Quick Connector To Your Battery

[Gadgetjq]

Note: These instructions with full size photos are posted on my Edge 'how to' site:
https://www.gadgetjq.net/edge/charge/quick_connect.html
 

Battery Charger Quick Connect   
(Almost) Never Be Surprised By A Drained Battery Again

The life of a car battery is a hard one these days.  It's under constant drain with systems always looking for a fob to unlock the doors, monitoring an alarm and even waiting for a remote start command.  That's just part of the battle!  The battery is obviously under the hood, practically on top of a hot engine and exhaust system.  In winter it's sometimes dealing with sub zero temperatures while summer heat tries its best to siphon off energy.  There is a huge assortment of battery chargers available.  The problem is hooking those things up requires attaching the charger leads to the battery positive connector and a ground someplace.  What if you mix those connections up?  At best the (modern) charger will flash a light or emit a beep to notify you of the error.  At worst friends and family will forever after be referring to you as 'Sparky.'  This cheap and easy mod ends the guess work, does away with alligator clips and (depending on your installation) might even eliminate opening the hood.  Here's how: What You'll Need If you hate wiring or just want to do this the easiest way possible, get one of these from Amazon.  The pigtail is already made up and simply attaches directly to your battery posts, no muss no fuss.  Note you'll need the matching plug on your charger or you'll end up snipping it off and doing the mod below. The Alternative  1 - Each male and female quick connector.  Commonly called 'pigtails' (shown at the top of this page and photo (left)) these are easy to find on eBay, Amazon and other sources.  At 10 for $10 it's easy to see this project isn't going to break the bank.  You'll have enough to do every car in the family fleet!  Several feet of 18 gauge wire.  Exactly how much will be determined by where you want to install your quick connect and the location of your battery.  This 50 foot spool from Amazon will be plenty for this project and probably many others.  It's good quality wire with one red and one black insulator making connections easy. 2 - Crimp connectors for connecting the wire to your battery and a vehicle ground.  If you use a spade type (as opposed to the ring type shown) you won't have to remove the battery connector or the ground nut.  Just loosen them, slip your connector over the bolt or stud and tighten the nut back down. Assorted simple items for splicing on an additional length of wire including butt splices or solder and shrink tubing (recommended) or electrical tape. A length of 1/4 or 3/8" plastic wire loom available at Harbor Freight, Amazon and other outlets.  This isn't required but produces a factory appearance for your wiring.  If you've done other projects under the hood you might have already used some of this product and can run your new wires through that.  1 - Battery Charger of your choice.  As mentioned earlier these come in all shapes and sizes and prices.  You pretty much get what you pay with multiple modes and ability to charge different types of battery.  You definitely want to make sure you get a taper charger that will start at whatever amperage it's rated for (usually 6 or 8 for home units) then taper down to 1-amp or less when your battery is fully charged.  That's to prevent overcharging and ruining your battery.   Another charger type is referred to as a 'maintainer.'  Again there are many available, probably the most famous is the Battery Tender brand.   Shop carefully because different maintainers might be designed for different battery types (flooded/gel).  These are low amperage and not really designed to 'charge' a battery though they will given enough time. Optional but strongly suggested an inline fuse.  Place this as close as possible to the positive battery terminal with a fuse size appropriate for the amperage of your charger's output.  I.E. don't use a 5 amp fuse if your charger puts out 8 amps.  I know, I know, but somebody's going to do it and wonder why their battery didn't charge.  How To Do It The Short Version: This is really all you're doing.  Below you'll find a very detailed step-by-step but you can skip it all if you can connect a couple of crimp connectors to a plug and (optionally) add a fuse.  The Detailed Version (for running the plug all the way to the front of the Edge) 1. Place the female quick connector where you ultimately want to install it.  Some will choose a location under the hood (mine pictured at right is between the radiator and headlight on the driver's side) while others might want to leave it accessible someplace in the grille so the hood doesn't even have to be opened.  With the connector in place, measure along your wiring path to the positive connector (longest run) of the battery.  Be generous with your measurement.  It's a lot better to have a few inches too many than to come up short and have to do another splice.  Note:  For this picture I removed the wire loom.  When finished the red wire is, literally, invisible. 2. With the measurement done and the appropriate amount of wire pulled from a spool splice your 18 gauge wire to the pigtail keeping track of positive (red) and negative (black).  You can use butt (crimp) splices or solder and shrink tube the connection.  As long as it's solid you'll be good to go. 3. Make your wire run along the most efficient path toward the battery.  If you'll be using wire loom you don't have to get fancy yet but you 'should' make sure the wire is running over or under any obstacles.  Notice in the photo (right) the Edge has a handy dandy ground point already located on the firewall.  Measure and cut your 'black' wire at that junction and add your crimp connector.  Do Not cut the red wire.   Loosen the nut, slide your connector over the stud and tighten the nut.  You're almost home. 4. Run your red wire over to the positive battery connector and cut to the appropriate length.  Add your crimp connector, carefully loosen the 10mm terminal nut, slip your connector on and carefully tighten the nut again.  I empathize carefully because we have not disconnected the negative battery cable.  If your wrench comes in contact with any metal part of the car you're going to get a huge blinding spark that will leave a mark on you or your car.  If this possibility bothers you, go ahead and disconnect the negative battery cable before starting the wiring process.  Note: For this photo I pulled the loom back so you can see the (blue) connectors at the battery and ground lug.  The 10 amp fuse is a little lower and out of the shot. 5. With your wiring run and connected it's time to make everything pretty so start tucking your wiring into the loom if you've chosen to use it.  This extra ten minutes of your time will really finish off the project.  6. You're finished with the car portion of the project.  Whether you need to take the next leap depends on your charger.  Some are already fitted with a quick connector.  If that's the case with yours and it's the same type/size you've installed (except it's the male side of the plug) you're finished.  If not, go to the next step. 7. It looks like we have a little more work to do.  You'll need to cut the alligator clips or 'other' style quick connector off and replace it with the 'male' connector you purchased for this project.  Before cutting take careful note of which side of the wire is positive (red alligator clip) and negative (black clip) and mark them if the polarity isn't already obvious.  Now cut the original connectors off a few inches behind the point the molded cable comes back together.  Doing it this way means you just have one part to store for the future instead of two.  8. Splice the male quick connector onto the charger cable again noting polarity.  9. You're Done!  Plug the charger (male) side of your quick connect into the car (female) plug then connect your charger to shore power.  If all of your connections were done correctly there won't be any red flashing lights or sirens, no black helicopters hovering overhead.  You'll have appropriate power and charging lights on your charger.  If you still have some daylight go add a quick connector to another car in your fleet...then invite the kids over to do theirs!  Better yet, hand them one male and one female connector along with a couple of crimp connectors and let them do their own.

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Edited May 6, 2020 by Gadgetjq
Added tip offered by other forum members

[1004ron]

I used one of these connectors which mate up to most battery tenders.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NCOKZQ/?coliid=I2UEK9HVWRX39I&colid=7FQZRUTL8DOG&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

Edited May 5, 2020 by 1004ron

[handfiler]

1 hour ago, 1004ron said:

I used one of these connectors which mate up to most battery tenders.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NCOKZQ/?coliid=I2UEK9HVWRX39I&colid=7FQZRUTL8DOG&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

 

I agree this is the better choice for a quick disconnect for automotive applications. I use them on both cars and on my bike.

Edited May 5, 2020 by 1004ron
corrected quotes

[2FAST4U]

4 hours ago, handfiler said:

I agree this is the better choice for a quick disconnect for automotive applications. I use them on both cars and on my bike.

I also agree that this is a way more simple solution than what "Gadgetjq" wrote about… My girlfriend has the same thing on her Mustang and it works fine.

 

Claude.

[Gadgetjq]

6 hours ago, 1004ron said:

I used one of these connectors which mate up to most battery tenders.

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NCOKZQ/?coliid=I2UEK9HVWRX39I&colid=7FQZRUTL8DOG&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

 

Hey guys, thanks for the heads up.  I saw those but couldn't find the mate for the charger side  I don't have a Battery Tender and my maintenance charger uses the same type of plug I used.  I guess it'll depend what people already have on the charger end. 

I've added your option (as a simple solution) to the web page version of the mod.

This may come as a shock to some but my drummer marches to a different beat than many others. I just enjoy creating a 'novel' way around a problem (or sometimes just create solutions where there was never a problem).  In the end it's fun, people read these things and, hopefully, develop their own ideas to match their situation. 

BTW, if anyone can find the plug that mates to that pigtail and isn't part of an existing charger please let me know! 
Cheers!

Edited May 5, 2020 by Gadgetjq

[handfiler]

5 hours ago, 2FAST4U said:

I also agree that this is a way more simple solution than what "Gadgetjq" wrote about… My girlfriend has the same thing on her Mustang and it works fine.

 

Claude.

Claude,

Your girlfriend has impeccable taste when it comes to cars ??

[Gmandude]

Why are you charging you battery like that? Is your electrical system having issues? 

[1004ron]

2 hours ago, Gmandude said:

Why are you charging you battery like that? Is your electrical system having issues? 

I have quick connectors on my three vehicles and connect them to battery tenders if they're going to be parked for more than two weeks.

 

My Harley is on the tender when its not riding season, and when we go on vacation whichever car we don't use for the road trip goes on the tender.

 

Recently when I was tinkering with the Forscan and ignored the warning to start or shut down, I left it on the tender overnight.

 

Some folks wont ever have the need.

 

[Gadgetjq]

12 hours ago, Gmandude said:

Why are you charging you battery like that? Is your electrical system having issues? 

No issues and I want it to stay that way.  When using FORScan I keep a charger plugged in just to partly offset battery drain.   If the Edge is going to be parked for several days I'll plug in a battery tender just to top it off and maintain a full charge. 

[Gmandude]

Ok well just remember the battery charging system is very complicated. Theoretically it should improve your Milo age because the alternator needs less pull from the engine but so should turning off you lights (DO NOT ADVISE WHILE DRIVING). Some 1/4 racers will take off the alternator to drop weight and pull from the motor but those are the ones that get towed to the strip.

[Gadgetjq]

2 hours ago, Gmandude said:

Ok well just remember the battery charging system is very complicated.

I think you might have missed the point of the mod.  It's purely for convenience, a very simple way to connect a charger if it's needed.   The majority of people will never connect something like this to their battery.  Heck, the majority of people will just wait until the battery dies then call Triple-A.  Then they'll visit a forum or Facebook group to complain about how their batteries just don't last very long.
This portion of the forum is for people who enjoy modifying their vehicles and this is just one tiny (and very cheap) way to do that.
Cheers!

[1004ron]

2 hours ago, Gmandude said:

Ok well just remember the battery charging system is very complicated. Theoretically it should improve your Milo age because the alternator needs less pull from the engine but so should turning off you lights (DO NOT ADVISE WHILE DRIVING). Some 1/4 racers will take off the alternator to drop weight and pull from the motor but those are the ones that get towed to the strip.

Did you mistakenly post this in the wrong thread - I'm not seeing the relevance to this thread, but maybe I'm missing something and you could explain.

[Gmandude]

Probably! I guess I’m getting old? 

[Gmandude]

I have a 4 amp battery tender that works great and some milled aluminum connectors to unscrew them but they are perma mounted on my back up battery to make sure it’s ready to go.

 

this post was issued for this topic haha.

[Gmandude]

This is the one I use on it. Tells the voltage and can quick connect the charger.