[Tee-Dub]

I make a lot of short drives and have debated on getting a trickle charger for my car. Can I hook it up to the jump start terminals under the hood to charge the battery or would I have to get at the battery itself every time?

[Joeb427]

You can and don't use a trickle charger.Use a Battery Tender.

4. How is the Battery Tender Plus battery charger different from a trickle charger?

The Battery Tender Plus battery charger delivers 1.25 amperes during bulk charge mode, holds the battery charge voltage constant at 14.4 VDC during absorption charge mode until the battery charge current drops to 0.1 amperes at which time it then automatically switches to a float charge mode. During float charge mode, the output voltage of the Battery Tender Plus battery charger is 13.2 VDC, which is well below the gassing voltage of a lead acid battery. This keeps the battery topped off, while minimizing any detrimental effects to do gassing. The Battery Tender Plus battery charger is able to perform these complex switching functions because its electronic circuitry is controlled by an on board microprocessor.
Although they often appear to be a better economic choice for the typical consumer, trickle chargers do not have the advantage of sophisticated electronic control. Therefore, as they allow the value of charge current to trickle down to what appears to be safe levels, the output voltage of the charger rises well above 15 VDC, sometimes even going higher that 16 VDC depending on the charger type and the battery that is connected to it. Either voltage is well above the gassing voltage of a lead acid battery. If the battery remains connected to this high level of voltage for an extended period of time, even less than 1 day, extreme damage can be done to the battery. What appears to be a cost savings for the charger may actually cost several times the charger price in replacement batteries.

[Tee-Dub]

I've used a battery tender brand charger on all my motorcycles, but it fried one day when I had it on my Honda S2000. Stupid me, not knowing they had a 10 year warranty I tossed it in the trash. I manage a pawnshop and I have a brand new in the box Black & Decker "Smart Charger" I can buy very cheap. It claims "digital smart control" over charging and offers a float mode. It will do 2/6/10 amp charging and offers a float mode, although it doesn't state the output in that mode. Here is a link to the product, what do you think?
http://www.blackanddecker.com/Produc...roductID=15577

[txusa03]

Glad I found this thread. My e90 has been reduced to leisure driving maybe twice a week so I am looking to invest in a battery tender to keep my battery healthy.

[Joeb427]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

I've used a battery tender brand charger on all my motorcycles, but it fried one day when I had it on my Honda S2000. Stupid me, not knowing they had a 10 year warranty I tossed it in the trash. I manage a pawnshop and I have a brand new in the box Black & Decker "Smart Charger" I can buy very cheap. It claims "digital smart control" over charging and offers a float mode. It will do 2/6/10 amp charging and offers a float mode, although it doesn't state the output in that mode. Here is a link to the product, what do you think?
http://www.blackanddecker.com/Produc...roductID=15577

It's been raining for the last couple of weeks and my 335 is in the garage with a Battery Tender hooked up right now.
I've had this Battery Tender for quite awhile.
I used it in winters on a '69 Corvette I sold recently for many years.
I don't know much about the B&D unit.It's probably fine but if and when when my Battery Tender fries,I buy another one.
The Battery Tender brand is the one most used in the vintage car hobby.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by Joeb427

It's been raining for the last couple of weeks and my 335 is in the garage with a Battery Tender hooked up right now.
I've had this Battery Tender for quite awhile.
I used it in winters on a '69 Corvette I sold recently for many years.
I don't know much about the B&D unit.It's probably fine but if and when when my Battery Tender fries,I buy another one.

what is the name of the battery tender you are using?

[Joeb427]

Originally Posted by txusa03

what is the name of the battery tender you are using?

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...6641254&sr=8-1

[txusa03]

So if I understand, I should buy the one for 12V right? How about this Battery Tender Junior, you have any input on this? It is cheaper and smaller but I wonder how good it is compare to the one you posted.

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...=pd_sbs_auto_3

[Joeb427]

Originally Posted by txusa03

So if I understand, I should buy the one for 12V right? How about this Battery Tender Junior, you have any input on this? It is cheaper and smaller but I wonder how good it is compare to the one you posted.

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender...=pd_sbs_auto_3

12V
I don't know anything about the junior.
I wouldn't take the chance as it looks cheezy compared to the Plus but that's me.
Both have good reviews,though.
I'd go with the Plus for the extra $22.

[txusa03]

Thanks. I thought about the B&D of OP but there is not much reviews on it so I might go with BT as it seems a lot of folks are happy with BT based on review I have been reading. I am just trying to extend the life of my battery and I heard many people have never replaced their battery well beyond 100K miles (just wondering if they used any sort of battery tender). But I might give it a try.

[Tee-Dub]

BMW sells a unit and it is just a re-badged Battery Tender Plus, FWIW. I may give the B&D unit a try since I can buy it uber-cheap.

Back to my original question: Can I hook the charger up to the jump start terminals under the hood?

[Joeb427]

Originally Posted by txusa03

Thanks. I thought about the B&D of OP but there is not much reviews on it so I might go with BT as it seems a lot of folks are happy with BT based on review I have been reading. I am just trying to extend the life of my battery and I heard many people have never replaced their battery well beyond 100K miles (just wondering if they used any sort of battery tender). But I might give it a try.

Again,the B&D is probably fine but in the collector car hobby,the Battery Tender is #1.
Time,cold weather,vehicle sitting for periods of time,using in car item draining battery then charging constantly etc kills battery life.
Mileage,not so much.

[Joeb427]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

BMW sells a unit and it is just a re-badged Battery Tender Plus, FWIW. I may give the B&D unit a try since I can buy it uber-cheap.

Back to my original question: Can I hook the charger up to the jump start terminals under the hood?

Can't jump start.
You can buy one of those portable units for that.
They come in all price ranges from $60 up.
Here's one.

http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-DPP-6...6643687&sr=8-5

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

BMW sells a unit and it is just a re-badged Battery Tender Plus, FWIW. I may give the B&D unit a try since I can buy it uber-cheap.

Back to my original question: Can I hook the charger up to the jump start terminals under the hood?

+1 on your question for hook up?

BT is made by Deltran. I visited Deltran website and they are the official factory authorized manufacturer of Harley-Davidson and BMW battery charger (no wonder).

[Tee-Dub]

Originally Posted by Joeb427

Can't jump start.
You can buy one of those portable units for that.
They come in all price ranges from $60 up.
Here's one.

http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-DPP-6...6643687&sr=8-5

I'm not asking about jump starting the car. I want to know if I can use the jump start terminals BMW places under the hood for hooking up the trickle charger to maintain the battery.

[Joeb427]

Originally Posted by Tee-Dub

I'm not asking about jump starting the car. I want to know if I can use the jump start terminals BMW places under the hood for hooking up the trickle charger to maintain the battery.

My bad.
Yes.
The positive side under the red plastic cap and the negative just about on any bolt.

[txusa03]

y'all been very helpful!

[rchan07]

The BMW version of the battery tender hooks up to the cigarette lighter. Can this really work? Considering that I can only use the cigarette lighter when the car is turned on? Does anyone know?

[raj55]

CTEK makes one of the best battery chargers and reconditioners. I bought one three years ago and use it very often. I leave it connected to the car over a few days when I do not plan to use the car. They have a very good reputation in Europe. Recently a lot of imitation and cheaper battery reconditioners and chargers have appeared in the market but I'd go for the original since you buy this sort of thing only once. Besides it is much smaller than the imitation.

http://www.ctek.com/EN-GB/MULTI-XS-3600.aspx?p=features

[Craig@SupremePower]

anyone used this on their E90/E92?? I used it on my E46 for awhile with great success but wasn't sure if it would cause any issues on the newer platform vehicles....

[TurboFan]

don't use a normal trickle charger. Go with the battery tender. How short? It doesn't take much to start the car and recharge the battery these days. Not like an old carbureted / distributor engine

[2kaccordocoupe]

I have been using the older version of this on my bike for years, it also works great on my e92.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...%252C%2B2A.jsp