My 26 Nx+ is always parked inside my garage. Can you trickle charge the 12v battery from under the hood (open) in front. I am talking about connecting the positive cable to red terminal inside fuse box and the negative to the left side of the engine as documented (used for jump starting).

I’m thinking of picking up a trickle charger at Costco this week. I don’t want to do any mods at the back yet.

 

You could trickle from the front. In fact, Lexus OEM trickle charger is connected to the front and having a stock in the grille.

 

Grounding location is very important when changing from the front. I have read the wrong grounding location have caused some damage to the electronics. I have tried a few different brands of battery maintainers in the pass and found NOCO to work the best.

 

If you can, get yourself NOCO eyelet cable for the battery with the connector sticking out for NOCO charger, then whenever you need, just run a cable going through the rear window if you like and then connect straight to the battery in the back whenever you want.

 

Excellent idea guys. I will order the Noco 5. One more question. I was looking through some YouTube videos on the Noco five. Do you select regular 12V or “12V lithium” modes on the Nx when trickle charging?

 

I trickle charge my NX350h from the front when I know the car is going to sit for a week or more using the method You described. I use an old 1.25 amp Battery Tender Plus that I purchased 13 years ago for my Corvette (which I no longer own). The Battery Tender works like a charm!

 

On a similar note I found this charger that I bought 20 years ago. I have a few questions 1) can I use it to boost or to charge my 350h battery if it dies on me? 2) Can I use it as a trickle charger if I go out of town for an extended period? If so, how should I configure it ,regarding that 3-way selector switch on the charger. I know to be careful to hook up the postive first and the black on on block that's on the other side of the hood and motor. Any other advice? Thanks!

 

Unfortunately no. This trickle charger can be set to charge at a rate of either 2 or 6 amps which will only recharge your battery slowly so it's not damaged. You have a % of Charge indicator on the very left I see. There's probably a little needle that pops up into view to display the percentage for the battery. When it's close to or at 100% you could then remove the charger and try to start your car. PLEASE NOTE this device is not a 'SMART' charger, it will continue to charge the battery even once it's at 100%. It doesn't have any electronics to make it stop charging, which will then slowly damage the battery and begin to slowly boil off the electrolytic fluid in it. This recharging process with a device like this may take a couple of hours if it's not too far gone. Once you hook it up you will get a readout of the % on left. If it's showing maybe 80% or less I would switch it to 12V 6 Amp (where it's sitting in picture) if it's over 80% you could switch to 12V 2 Amp. It will take longer and recharge slower, this will do less harm to the battery. If you're in a rush just use 12V 6 Amp and it will get the job done quicker to get you going again. I would play it safe and just buy a new smart trickle charger if you think you will just be connecting it and walking away for a longer time, otherwise you have to keep an eye on it and stop the process when it reaches 100% on your own.

 

That all makes sense, thanks for the thorough explanation!

 

So you have 3 choices, 12v, 12v agm and lithium. The 3 use diff charging voltage so be careful. Use the first setting 12V when charging lead-acid battery in your NX. Noco is very well protected and safe to use, just make sure you follow grounding instructions.

 

Over the years I've read different info on this topic on these threads. If you are charging your battery on a 350h (hybrid) I recall that the maximum charging rate in the engine compartment not the back of the car where the 12v battery is.....is a maximum of 2 AMPS..... has anyone seen ANYTHING from Toyota indicating we can safely charge the 12v battery from the front of our Hybrid at a higher rate ? If so, would someone share a link ? Feel free to correct me if I am incorrect....
Thanks Gents

 

When you jump a NXh, the peak amperes is much higher than 7, so 7 amp is not an issue. Besides that, the maximum charging current is regulated by the charging circuit, not the charger. The noco chargers charge at full rate for a only a few minutes, then it steps itself down. I have a noco 5 amps and my meter only show 2 to 3 amp max.

 

Hey G Man... Ive got one of those high current lithium jump starters which has no problem reviving my SC430 V8 engine.... are you saying...in a pinch , I can safely jump the 350h from the front of the vehicle?.... just askin or has anyone who has actually done this had any issues ?

 

Those front terminals are for jumping your car with another car according to Lexus. Sometimes it is dangerous to connect directly to a dead car battery due to hydrogen gas discharge when a battery dies, any small spark could caused a fireball, I believe the Lexus batteries are vented. I have always used battery maintainers, not so much chargers, I have some lithium battery jumpers which works 50% of the time, depending on how dead the battery is I guess.

 

I'm a fan of the CTEK 7002...it jumped up in price but has never failed me. I trickle from under the hood.