[ronda]

Planning on spending 6 months in TV, for the first time this year.
Leaving a car home in the garage, at my house in NJ. Wondering if I need to buy a trickle charger?

Thanks

[Hoosierb4]

I've just been disconnecting the battery when we leave Indiana for the winter. It's cool enough in the garage to not be a problem. But, when returning to Indiana, I take the battery into an air conditioned area so it's not exposed to the high summertime temperatures down here. So far, so good.

[MrFlorida]

Not a trickle charger, but a Battery Tender, works only when the battery gets to a low level. I've used one on my motorcycle during the winter months when I lived up north.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

Not a trickle charger, but a Battery Tender, works only when the battery gets to a low level. I've used one on my motorcycle during the winter months when I lived up north.

Correct.

[RICH1]

battery tender ..., MR Florida is Correct

[ronda]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

Not a trickle charger, but a Battery Tender, works only when the battery gets to a low level. I've used one on my motorcycle during the winter months when I lived up north.

Thanks!! You are right, a battery maintainer, not a trickle charger. Question is do i even need that?

[Rango]

Originally Posted by MrFlorida

Not a trickle charger, but a Battery Tender, works only when the battery gets to a low level. I've used one on my motorcycle during the winter months when I lived up north.

You can buy an adapter to connect your Battery Tender to the OBD II port under your dash, so you won’t have to open hood and connect to battery

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Rango

You can buy an adapter to connect your Battery Tender to the OBD II port under your dash, so you won’t have to open hood and connect to battery

What is an OBD port?

I have my tender permanently attached to the battery. There is a short 2' or so wire adapter that will reach out under your seat. Just plug the tender into that. No need to "open the hood"...

[Malsua]

Originally Posted by JMintzer

What is an OBD port?

I have my tender permanently attached to the battery. There is a short 2' or so wire adapter that will reach out under your seat. Just plug the tender into that. No need to "open the hood"...

OBDII Port is usually in driver seat under the dash. If you've ever plugged a code reader into a car, that's the port it went into.

There are several legs on the port that are live to the battery. This is useful for tenders/chargers and things like dash cam battery packs that can keep a cam going for a day or so without discharging the main battery. It's useful when you don't want to run a wire through the firewall.

[villagetinker]

OP, newer cars have constant drain on the battery, so the short answer to your question is YES you need something to cover the constant drain. Removing or disconnecting the battery can be effective, but may cause problems with the cars computer systems for a while when reconnected, essentially they have forgotten all of their settings and the car may run very rough until the computers relearn their settings. You could call the car manufacturer for their recommendations. As noted above, a battery tender would be the minimum approach.

[JMintzer]

Originally Posted by Malsua

OBDII Port is usually in driver seat under the dash. If you've ever plugged a code reader into a car, that's the port it went into.

There are several legs on the port that are live to the battery. This is useful for tenders/chargers and things like dash cam battery packs that can keep a cam going for a day or so without discharging the main battery. It's useful when you don't want to run a wire through the firewall.

Ah, yes... Of course (pretends to know this even existed in a golf cart...)

[noslices1]

Originally Posted by ronda

Planning on spending 6 months in TV, for the first time this year.
Leaving a car home in the garage, at my house in NJ. Wondering if I need to buy a trickle charger?

Thanks

Don’t buy a “Trickle charger”, buy a “Battery Tender”. A trickle charger doesn’t turn off when the battery is fully charged, whereas the Battery tender shuts off when the battery is fully charged. Then if the voltage goes lower again, it turns back on.

[nick demis]

A battery tender is cheap money for an easy fix. Why not?

[Sparky25]

[yES

QUOTE=ronda;2015332]Planning on spending 6 months in TV, for the first time this year.
Leaving a car home in the garage, at my house in NJ. Wondering if I need to buy a trickle charger?

Thanks[/QUOTE]

[Jimmay]

You need a battery maintainer not a trickle charger