Like many owners, I’ve always used a battery tender on all my cars. I routinely keep all my grounds clean but to shorten the charging distance on Miss Purdy from the passenger fender mounted jumper post to the battery, I connected a couple of 22 gauge wires to the Pos and Neg battery posts from under the rear battery door and up behind the factory tool panel.
After adding an inline 5 amp fuse in the Pos wire down near the battery post for accident prevention, I wrapped additional insulation around both wires, zip tied them safely in place behind the tool panel and soldered on a couple of electrical connectors to the remaining short pig tails. A straight terminal lug on the Pos wire was used so a screw on protective insulator could be easily installed or removed which allows access to the battery posts when needed.
To connect the battery tender during storage, the rear hatch is held slightly open using a small folded towel for extension cord clearance and the screw on insulator is removed from the Pos wire. So far – so good, after several years – I have yet to blow the protective 5 amp fuse.
One other comment - the signal wiring for the rear hatch switch was changed so it doesn't turn on the courtesy lights but still triggers the "Dash RED Warning light and Chime alarm" if not closed properly when the key is ON.
Good Luck - Michael
