Recommendations on how to extend Battery Tender cable?

[elagache]

Dear mid-60s Buick electricians,

 As reported elsewhere, I have 3 amp Battery Tender trickle charger for my trusty wagon.  It came with a 2 foot long connector with rings to connect to the battery and the connector to plug into the charger.  It is available separately as can be seen on this link:

http://products.batterytender.com/Accessories/Ring-Terminal-Harness.html

The trouble is that 2 feet is too short to go from Biquette's battery to a reasonable location that I can tuck away the connector while driving, but still access it when I return to the garage.  I appear to have two options.  I could buy an extension cable with connectors at both ends, but the shortest of those is 6 feet long when I might need as little as an extra foot.  The other idea that occurred to me is to buy a second battery ring connector and carefully splice the two together to provide the extra length I need.

Has anybody come up with something more clever than this?  I would prefer to make no more than one splice and I would do this with great care.  It seems like a silly problem without any better solution than I've thus far imagined.

Thanks in advance for any electrical wisdom you'all might have! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[campfamily]

You could take the 6 ft cable and cut it in half, then remove four or five feet and splice it back together. Or, you could get a small zip tie and coil up the 6 ft cable until it is about a foot long.

[Brian]

I have extended them before.  I cut the ring terminals off the end that connects to the battery, then spliced on more wire by soldering/heat shrinking the connection, then put new ring terminals on the end of the wire extension. 

[Dr Frankenbuick]

I just put the cap on the cord and and tuck it to the side of the battery when not in use on the Cobra.

I use an extension cord to get the charger closer to the RV up in the barn.  That makes it easier to swap between the coach and chassis batteries. 

[elagache]

Dear Keith, Brian, Good Dr. and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Thanks for your suggestions!    However, I think people will understand the problem better with a few pictures.  Here is the battery in Biquette:



Unfortunately there are a lot of connections for all the after-market accessories.  You can see the Battery Tender cable going over the top of the battery and ending up in a section of white tape in the upper left corner of the picture (more on that later.)  Here is where the cable emerges from the grill:



As you can see, the cable is so short that it is barely long enough to get outside where I can connect it.

I just put the cap on the cord and and tuck it to the side of the battery when not in use on the Cobra.

Yes that does work fine and I am doing that when Biquette goes on an extended trip.  However, I was hoping to come up with an arrangement similar to what I have on our 2000 Buick Century.  I run the Battery Tender connector so it can pass under the bumper and I have a small cup made of PVC pipe to hold the connector when we are using the car.  When I come home, I reach under the bumper and retrieve the connector so that I can plug it in.  I would like to come up with something similar for Biquette so I don't have to open the hood every time I take her out or bring her home.

I have extended them before.  I cut the ring terminals off the end that connects to the battery, then spliced on more wire by soldering/heat shrinking the connection, then put new ring terminals on the end of the wire extension. 

That is what I was imagining.  I was hoping to avoid more than one splice by buying a second connector.  It would be cleaner and safer.

You could take the 6 ft cable and cut it in half, then remove four or five feet and splice it back together.

Yes I could do that, but I really need just a short section.  It seems a bit silly to stow away that connector when this area of the engine bay is already extremely crowded and will get a bit more crowded when I finally get around to upgrading the headlights.  That's why I was leaning toward a splice of some sort.

Where the cable is emerging at the moment, there is some rough metal edges that have scuffed up the wire insulator.  I put the white electrical tape as a temporary repair, but I do need to come of with something more permanent.  Here is one last picture:



At the moment the connector can be tucked in between the sheet metal of the outer fender and the grill and it seems reasonably secure, but what I would love to come up with is some way to push the connector out of site into some sort of a clip that would really secure it.  I would then like to somehow be able to retrieve the connector without having to open up the hood all the time.

Any new thoughts on my proto-FYI project? 

Thanks again!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Brian]

There is an easy solution then.  Buy the 6' extension, cut it to the length you need, and put new ring terminals on the end you cut.  No splices and you just made a whole new cable and can save the one on the car for another vehicle. 

[elagache]

Dear Brian and mid-60s Buick owners,

There is an easy solution then.  Buy the 6' extension, cut it to the length you need, and put new ring terminals on the end you cut.  No splices and you just made a whole new cable and can save the one on the car for another vehicle.

Why yes!  That's simple, more robust, and gets the job done!  Thanks! 

Now I need to figure out how to store this cable on the car somehow.

Cheers, Edouard 

[Super65lark]

I need one of these. Mine years old schumacher finally bit the dust.
But looking online, there are a whole bunch of types of BT. Then there are other companies. What to pick?

Looks like the BT 800 can be vehicle mounted and is around $40. What's everyone else using?

[elagache]

Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

I need one of these. Mine years old schumacher finally bit the dust.
But looking online, there are a whole bunch of types of BT. Then there are other companies. What to pick?

Looks like the BT 800 can be vehicle mounted and is around $40. What's everyone else using?

Okay, I hadn't looked into the Battery Tender 800.  Here is the specifications from the manufacturer's website:

http://products.batterytender.com/Automotive/BatteryTender-800-12V-800-mA-USA-Western-Hemisphere.html

This could be a real advantage, especially if your Buick doesn't have a permanent spot to "bunk down for the night."  I thought Ruthy had a spot in the garage though.  If so, you might want the same charger I bought for Biquette.  Amazingly, there are still for sale at Costco:

https://www.costco.com/Battery-Tender-Power-Plus-3-Amp-Charger.product.100241973.html

Here is the posting I did last year announcing the sale.

http://65gs.com/board/index.php/topic,3734.msg30135.html#msg30135

Alas the $10 discount is gone.  Still at $40 you get a 3 amp charger for the price of the 800 mA one.  Moreover, you have some other choices for the same price.  Amazon will sell it to you for the same price:

http://a.co/cAgy2Yi

The best price I could find on eBay was a 3 dollar's less.  Every other eBay offer was the same as Costco or more.

I have this unit mounted on the garage wall next to my trusty wagon and I have the same arrangement for our 2000 Buick Century.  Whenever either car returns for a day of errands, they get plugged into the Battery Tender and stay that way until their next outing. 

As before, you don't have to be a Costco member to buy the 3 amp charger and shipping is free.  So that is certainly an option, although you might as well pick the company you have done the most business with given that the prices are mostly the same.

Cheers, Edouard 

[GS66]

I really like the one I got at Advance Auto Parts for the features. It?s red with a handle and about the same price. I also have an AutoMeter one I like but it does not have the features. I do not connect to the car though as I rotate mine from vehicle to vehicle.

[elagache]

Dear Jim and 65GS.com savvy shoppers,

I really like the one I got at Advance Auto Parts for the features. It?s red with a handle and about the same price.

Can you spot which model you bought?  I tried to search the Advance Auto Parts website but they have a lot of chargers!  This link should bring up the list:

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/c3/battery-charger/15606?&beginIndex=0&sortBy=5&_r=0.0032544494984815264

Definitely a staggering number of choices when it comes to battery chargers.

Cheers, Edouard

[Super65lark]

Couldn't figure out why my maintainer would suddenly stop working the way it did. Battery has been reading good, charges up to 14V when driving. However it is approximately 8 years old.
Got another 12V battery and the thing starts right up. So I waited a few days, checked it, it reads 12.3 volts. I guess I'm in the market for a new battery... still works good for now but on it's way out.

[elagache]

Dear Iain and mid-60s Buick caregivers,

Couldn't figure out why my maintainer would suddenly stop working the way it did. Battery has been reading good, charges up to 14V when driving. However it is approximately 8 years old.
Got another 12V battery and the thing starts right up. So I waited a few days, checked it, it reads 12.3 volts. I guess I'm in the market for a new battery... still works good for now but on it's way out.

Well you got me thinking about exactly how long a car battery can last.  NAPA Auto Parts agrees with a number of other sources in this posting:

http://knowhow.napaonline.com/average-car-battery-life-time-change/

According to that: "The average car battery life can be anywhere from three to five years."  So if Ruthy's battery is 8 years old, she deserves a new battery. 

At least you don't need a new battery charger and maintainer!

Cheers, Edouard 

P.S. Just from memory, I sure believe that car batteries lasted signfiicantly longer than 3-5 years in the past.  Anyone else have that impression?

[Super65lark]

Officially stumped. Battery finally died, headlights wouldn't turn on. Got a new battery, interstate. Car starts right up.
Maintainer will work on tiny 12v scooter battery, but not this new battery.
What gives? 

[yachtsmanbill]

Is it an AGM (gell) battery? Those are funny when using a maintenance/float charge. Just a thought...  Bill