So I’ve been driving my Tacoma for a bit lately and I left for vacation for a week, the 500 has been in the garage other than a few short trips. I’ve noticed it having a little weak start and with the recent cold weather I’m pretty certain the battery would be happy with and in need of a top off.

I was wondering if anybody has hooked up a trickle charger like a battery tender or a Noco to their 500 (or 350 too I guess)?

I have a 5amp Noco and was curious if there is anything special to look out for doing that other than just connecting the gator clips like you would normally do and just plug it in without pulling the cables off.

 

yes, I just put one on mine last week

Ive used the Battery Tender junior model for many years now with no issues on multiple cars...

 

I just use a battery tender and run the wires through the grill and use the alligator clips on the battery. Hood closed but not latched and have the car cover on for winter.

 

If the hood is not latched, does the car go to sleep? I'm not sure how things work with Lexus/Toyota. I'm figuring that you want the car to go to sleep so that it would minimize the electrical draw while the battery tender is attached. Or am I off base on this?

 

I assume car goes to sleep as no lights stay on and the battery tender goes to maintain mode. I believe all is good, someone else maybe be able to chime in. I could latch the hood but the way I ran the cord did not want to chance pinching the cord as it comes up through the latch area.

 

Well, the body shop left my hood open multiple times when my car was in for work, so I assume all would be fine if the hood was open. (Operating word: "assume")

 

And you are probably correct. The hood might not have a sensor on it that would indicate that it is "open". It might be different if you left one of the passenger doors open.

 

Every car I have owned since about 2005 has had an electrical drain when it is "off". It isn't enough to concern you if you drive every day. But, if it is an extra that you only drive occasionally you will suck the battery down and that crummy lead-acid battery in your vehicle will lose capacity that you can never get back. The extreme case is a dead battery that requires replacement. I got in the habit of leaving a trickle charger on the occasional vehicle. There are some magnetic disconnects available that you can usually place in or under the grill and just snap the 12v power cord to it from the maintainer. I now live in an apartment, no AC power available, no garage. So I have a 20w solar panel on the dash when I am parked.

 

yes the dash/system goes to "sleep" while the hood is open (technically its no different than if you had the hood shut, outside of obviously triggering the hood open warning)... & assuming you have the car on a tender you should be fine as long as you don't actively leave any lights or accessories on before leaving it sit

 

Would this be a good trickle charger?

 

the 2 brands that seem be the most highly recommended are Noco & Battery Tender (i've used the latter for over a decade)...

 

IMHO CTEK is the best This is the one I have:


Lou

 

Thank you for the suggestions.

 

Hoovey - for what it's worth, I use the CTEK on mine too (like Lou) and I LOVE it!!

 

Yes to the CTEK, as well! I had a Battery Tender, years ago, that internally shorted and fortunately tripped the supply breaker...no harm to the battery. Never used that brand again.