Battery tender cables--do you leave your trunk open?

[dtsol]

Hi, silly question maybe, but when you leave your 911 plugged into a battery tender, where do you run the cables? Do you leave the trunk open a crack, or something else? I've never used a battery tender before. My car is a 1987 Carrera Cabriolet. Thanks!

[smadsen]

If the frunk light stays on you create a self defeating charging conundrum.

Either unplug the wire to the light or tape up the on/off button. Or just shut the frunk lid so it's smoothly pressed into the rubber gasket.

[wildthing]

Trunk open but latched on. Switch is depressed.

[Noah930]

I leave the hood up, either all the way or propped up with a scrap piece of wood. The frunk light has been disconnected. I've never had a charging battery explode (or heard of that happening), but that's what the instructions warn about, so I don't bother chancing it.

[dreichman]

I leave the trunk open but closed enough to trip the safety latch. On my car as long as I hear the safety latch click then I know the light is off. As others have mentioned disconnecting the light is easy enough too.

[Ctopher]

Put the hood down and latch the initial safety latch. It just needs to be down to keep light off. Been doing it this way for 3yrs with no issue.

CTopher

[DaytonaCoupe66]

Battery disconnect switch for me as the car sits a lot, particularly during our long winters. Takes a second to turn on or off. Then there's no issue with the frunk light, stereo memory, phantom parasitic draw, potential unfused under-dash shorts, etc... I zap it with the maintainer twice a month and get a green light within minutes. I typically keep the frunk closed as it's one less ingress highway for rodents.

[porsche930dude]

I leave it open a crack anyway but even more when on the tender. I dont leave it on all the time just every month or so if Its too cold to run it. Batterys explode when the gas builds up. It happend to somebody i think posted about it on facebook just recently. Iv heard alot of stories about batterys exploding after they are charged. Always disconnect the battery over winter and my trunk light is disconected anyway. Id take the battery out and put it inside but its bolted in so well.

[eastbay]

Originally Posted by Noah930

I leave the hood up, either all the way or propped up with a scrap piece of wood. The frunk light has been disconnected. I've never had a charging battery explode (or heard of that happening), but that's what the instructions warn about, so I don't bother chancing it.

Good idea about keeping the lid open, I do. Here is a picture of what happened to one of my neighbors 996 battery on a trickle charger with the frunk lid closed. Went kaboom with the turn of the key.



What a mess to clean up

[Tremelune]

Perhaps he should have invested the $25 in a smart tender...and an AMG battery...

There isn't much reason not to leave your battery on a modern tender if you aren't gonna drive it for a week, and the frunk isn't air-tight.

[smessing]

Optima Battery on Battery Tender and I completely shut the hood and have been doing it every winter for years.

[pmax]

Quick disconnect.

But that battery coding stuff is insanity on the later models.

[megerian]

I close mine just far enough to turn off the light

[GH85Carrera]

I have a battery tender on my 911. I have it plugged in, and the trunk lid lowered, but not locked down, the extension cord has plenty of room to not get squeezed.

I figure hydrogen is 1/2 the molecular weight of helium. There is plenty of space for the hydrogen to float off into the air with the trunk not sealed shut.

After 25 years of doing it that way I have never had the slightest worry. It is just maintaining the charged battery. If I was doing a full charge from flat, I would open the trunk and disconnect the trunk light. I have never had a flat battery on my 911 since I use the maintainer.

[Bill Verburg]

M
ost of the time, no

[jlex]

I used to leave the trunk lid down but unlatched using the maintainer during winter storage. When I found evidence of mice living in the trunk, I began closing it all the way on my '88.

[MichaelUD]

I removed the light bulb. Then closed the lid so as not the damage the electric cord.

[HarryD]

I routed the lead thru an unused hole behind the bumper. Keep the frunk lid shut to help keep out varmits.

[dtsol]

Thanks everyone—appreciate your suggestions. Battery disconnect switch seems like a no-brainer. Trunk latched but not shut if using a battery tender would work for me, as I have my car in a Car Capsule showcase, which creates a rodent-proof space.

[Mike Andrew]

Latched but not fully shut and no problems. At least, so far.