Anyone using a Battery Tender?

[reddirtcowboy]

I have a 2020 LC500 coupe garage queen here. A few months ago I got a Subaru Outback for my wife's grocery getter because she was putting too many miles on the LC. (11,000 miles in four years haha!) Actually it was because she was getting tired of me making her park a 1/4 mile away from the store front. Now she can jam that Subaru into a teacup sized parking spot and I don't care! 🙂 But now the LC needs a battery charge every now and then and I'd like to get a Battery Tender to keep the battery topped off 24/7.

So I have two questions. Is the original battery a standard "wet" lead/acid battery or AGM? Also, when using a trickle charger do you connect it directly to the battery in the trunk or do you connect it to the jumper terminal in the fuse box under the hood? All things being equal I think I'd prefer doing it under the hood so I don't damage the rubber seal around the trunk opening with the extension cord. Conversely there's plenty of room to come up underneath the engine compartment with the cable.

I appreciate any suggestions or advice.

Cheers!

[Dean2]

 

 

The above should help. Batteries are lead acid, at least up to 2022. As far as where to connect it, trunk to battery or under the hood to those terminals makes no difference. It is a matter of what works best for you. Use the quick connect cable and it makes it really easy to connect the charger when needed. You can also get Noco trickle chargers that mount permanently in the car.

https://no.co/products/charging

 

[reddirtcowboy]

Hey Dean, thanks for that article and for the feedback. I really like the idea of the on-board mounted charger but I'll probably go with using alligator clips on the jump start terminal under the hood. My LC doesn't get out of the garage much, just Cars and Coffee once a month and the occasional Sunday drive so a charger/maintainer is definitely needed. Btw just for giggles I looked online at the price of a Lexus brand battery...wow!...$1250 plus $200 to install. Uhhh, no thanks LOL! I don't mind going to the dealer for most things but when the day comes it'll be a Die Hard from Advance Autoparts for me.

Thanks again for the great article!

[RX400h]

Side note: My 2014 Mazda 3S GT's iEloop-required battery cost over $500 for the dealership to replace it. Many new batteries need to be reset at the dealership or with the right OBD II reader device.

A GR Supra battery must also be reset by the dealership, since the car's computer gradually increases the charge as the battery ages. When a new one is installed, the computer needs to know that. That battery is an AGM type. Since I am retired (sort-of), I make sure we drive each of our vehicles at least once per week. I love driving sportscars, so that is certainly not a burden. 😉

[Dean2]

22 hours ago, reddirtcowboy said:

Hey Dean, thanks for that article and for the feedback. I really like the idea of the on-board mounted charger but I'll probably go with using alligator clips on the jump start terminal under the hood. My LC doesn't get out of the garage much, just Cars and Coffee once a month and the occasional Sunday drive so a charger/maintainer is definitely needed. Btw just for giggles I looked online at the price of a Lexus brand battery...wow!...$1250 plus $200 to install. Uhhh, no thanks LOL! I don't mind going to the dealer for most things but when the day comes it'll be a Die Hard from Advance Autoparts for me.

Thanks again for the great article!

Glad the info helped. You can use the quick connect cable on the jump start terminals as well, they don't have to go on the battery itself. The reason I put them on mine was so I don't have to remove any of the under hood covers or the battery cover to hook up alligator clips each time I wanted to put the trickle charger on. On my LS you can't reach the battery terminals without opening the battery cover by the windshield.

Here is a picture of the LS460 Battery location. The panel with the Yellow sticker has to be removed at min to get alligator clips onto the battery.

 

[reddirtcowboy]

Just a quick update. I connected a Battery Tender Plus positive lead to the jump start terminal under the hood and the negative lead to a convenient body bolt a couple of feet away from the positive lead. But then I discovered that I can't close the hood entirely because the positive battery charger alligator clamp sticks up too much so there's not enough clearance. To prevent the hood from closing I put a small piece of wood over the hood release latch and this prevents the hood from closing all the way and I can still put my car cover on. Kind of annoying that it's not as clean and tidy of an operation as I envisioned but at least it's functional. In case anyone is curious, the battery was fully charged two weeks ago and yet it still took the Battery Tender 2+ days at 1.25 amp to bring it back to float voltage.

[Dean2]

50 minutes ago, reddirtcowboy said:

Just a quick update. I connected a Battery Tender Plus positive lead to the jump start terminal under the hood and the negative lead to a convenient body bolt a couple of feet away from the positive lead. But then I discovered that I can't close the hood entirely because the positive battery charger alligator clamp sticks up too much so there's not enough clearance. To prevent the hood from closing I put a small piece of wood over the hood release latch and this prevents the hood from closing all the way and I can still put my car cover on. Kind of annoying that it's not as clean and tidy of an operation as I envisioned but at least it's functional. In case anyone is curious, the battery was fully charged two weeks ago and yet it still took the Battery Tender 2+ days at 1.25 amp to bring it back to float voltage.

That is precisely why I suggested you connect the quick connect leads. Then you don't have any messing around with Alligator clips nor any issues with closing the hood. Mount the red lead to the under hood jump terminal, mount the black to any body mounted bolt.Glad the trickle charger worked though.

 

[care_mentor_288]

Has anyone tried to install a permanent solar trickle charger?

I'd like to in my '07 RX400h for when I'm out of town.

I'm thinking to install a solar panel permanently in the window. Maybe something like this? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DFD3RMS/ 

I read on a random truck forum that I might be able to plug it into the fuse box somewhere and not have to run a wire to the battery directly. 

1) Any advice on where to plug it into the fuse box?

2) Any advice on where to install it? (maybe up by the passenger sun visor?)

 

Maybe something like this:

[reddirtcowboy]

Several years ago I used a solar charger about like the one you have pictured to keep the battery up on a Class A motor home and it worked fine for a while but stopped working one day and I ended up tossing it. I just laid it on the dash and plugged it into the cigarette lighter which was unswitched. It was parked out in an open lot and got plenty of sunshine and it worked fine until it didn't. I currently have three Battery Tender solar chargers, all are larger than the one you have pictured, and all are used outdoors. They have been working trouble free for many years. One is used to maintain a deep cell RV battery in a Casita travel trailer, one is for a motorcycle, and a third one is maintaining an automotive battery that powers some 12v LED lights in my storage shed.

The one you have pictured doesn't put out much amperage. Dean's article above gives some info regarding the amperage required to maintain a charge so you need to a charger capable of at least maintaining a float voltage. And of course you'll need enough sunlight during the day. Facing south helps, especially in the winter.

I can't answer about the fuse box solution but Battery Tender makes a 12v accessory connector. Hope this helps.