Battery tender and mounting it inside engine bay

[killerviper]

Hi folks,
99 RT here and I just purchased (waiting on delivery) a Deltran Battery Tender plus courtesy of recommendations on this forum. Also understand that its okay to connect it to the positive terminal under the hood + the negative terminal on the bolt under the washer fluid bottle.

Question is, in my old GTS (its been 12 years since I've sold it) the previous owner had a Carquest mounted as shown and all I had to do was plug in the connector to the wall plug, didn't have to open the hood at all.

Pictures below of it, can someone see if they can determine where it was wired to? that was very convenient and I never did look more closely at it since it worked like a charm.

You must be registered for see images attach

.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[TEALLIFE]

i dont mount mine on the car, that seems crazy....just use the same points for a connector that can be plugged into your charger outside of the car.

I can reach mine through the side of the hood and connect it without opening the hood.

 

[TEALLIFE]

i use a NOCO charger with this attachment mounted in the car

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GC008-Eyelet-Terminal-Connector/dp/B004LWWNLC/ref=sr_1_5_pp?crid=29UTV9RYY7BMA&keywords=noco+charger&qid=1707494762&sprefix=noco+char%2Caps%2C381&sr=8-5

 

[maverickagm]

Similar story here. My car came with an orange and black plug just behind the front bumper. I found out it's a plug for a CTEK charger so I bought one. I would just run the cable and call it a day

I don't have a gen 2, so I can't tell you specifically where to connect positive and negative, but whatever points you would use to jump start the car will work.

Many chargers have quick disconnect plugs. Just be cautious of any poor quality connectors. You don't want one where you could accidentally plug it in backwards. You also want one that has a weatherproof cap on the car side when it's not connected. These small details with the connector matter.

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[maverickagm]

You may also want to ask yourself, how weatherproof is that carquest charger? What ambient temperature is it rated to run at? How resistant is it to vibration? I bet at some point the heat cycles and vibration will crack solder joints and then kaboom!

 

[redtanrt10]

KillerViper, I've used a Deltan on all my Vipers (G1, G2, G3, G4 and my Comp Coupe). The 1's & 2's are set up the same way, 3's-4's same way too.

On a G1 or G2, put the positive on the Jump Post under the hood. My G2 is gone but on my G1 I use a bolt for the Negative that sits up on the bottom, parallel with the top of the side sill. The bolt you found should be fine and the Deltran will flash and error code if it isn't set up correctly.

When I drive the Viper, I just disconnect the two prong pigtail and leave the clips intact. If you put that remaining pigtail inside of the drives side hood guide it will stay put. When your ready to use it again just reach in and bring the pigtail back on the side sill.

Hopefully this makes sense, if not let me know and I'll post a picture. Mike

 

[Bonkers]

I have a a wire mount attached to the jump point, but i HIGHLY dont
recommend that. The jump point is thread sealed and has been
known to snap when trying to remove - breaking it can cause huge,
expensive, headaches. The other point too is that if your like me and
using a Gel Battery (like Optima) you need a much higher Amp charger
to keep the battery alive. I use a Battery Tender 5amp that i keep far
away from the car itself. Tenders can spontaneously catch fire, i would
NEVER mount one in, or even near, the car itself. Like Maverick said -
it gets hot and wet under the hood so you want your electronics to
be as waterproof as possible.

My suggestion is to either put a lead on the battery itself under the car,
or simply use clips on the jump points if youre running a typical lead
acid battery.

 

[Jim Myke]

My 98 RT/10 has the pigtail connected to the battery and it comes up thru the trunk floor, nicely done, rubber grommet seals the hole, all I need to do is plug the one way connector in, I put a shop rag on the trunk latch so the trunk don't latch and it's good.

 

[Bill W]

Ran mine from the battery behind the rear wheel (Gen 2) out the bottom cover. No drilling required as there is a convenient opening.

 

[killerviper]

got it, thanks for all the input! I have a deltran Battery tender plus on my 99RT I just purchased. It has a quick connect but with the alligator clips on the car end. I intend to use these below to wire the car end into the car and just quick connect the deltran to it as mentioned.

Deltran Tender:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00068XCQU?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Eyelet Terminal Connector:

https://www.amazon.com/NOCO-GC008-Eyelet-Terminal-Connector/dp/B004LWWNLC/ref=sr_1_5_pp?crid=29UTV9RYY7BMA&keywords=noco+charger&qid=1707494762&sprefix=noco+char%2Caps%2C381&sr=8-5

Just to clarify its okay to connect the car side using the terminal connectors above to the positive in the picture below, and the negative to the bolt under the washer bottle (using the bolts on the eyelets)

Thank you for the other recommendations, great alternatives I might look into!

I just dont want to open the hood everytime I put it on the quick connect tender with alligator clips

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[redtanrt10]

Killer, great work! My Deltran's all came with eyelets too, never thought about putting them on the Jump post and the ground post. (that's how I do my Comp Coupe but that battery is on the passenger floor). I'll have to see if the Deltran's fit, and if so make the switch down the road. Best wises and thanks! Mike