(Original post was in the what did you do for your SC430 thread, but I thought this topic might be more useful as a stand alone)

Here is how I installed an external jack to make connection of a CTEK battery conditioner super quick and easy. I originally had a comfort connect eyelet connector at the battery, but that required popping the hood to make a connection. PITA, and I would only do it on occasion.

With an external jack, there is no need to pop the hood or run a cord into the car interior. I put the external jack and reddish cable in plain view entering the car, to also reduce the chances of driving off with the charge still attached. I have done that twice with usual under hood battery connection. Was not happy to notice my hood start moving while zipping down the highway. Vowed to never let that happen and went to putting something on the windshield any time the charger was connected. With the new external jack, it's much harder to forget. Plugging in/unplugging every time I use the SC430 became 2nd nature.

It is absolutely fabulous not having to life the hood or pop the trunk to connect the CTEK. With connection now so easy, I do it every time in or out of the garage. The CTEK charger cord hangs neatly on a little plastic hook when disconnected.

An equivalent should be possible with other battery minders. Just be sure you have an inline fuse near the positive battery terminal.



CTEK 56-353 MULTI US 7002 12-Volt Battery Chargers


Charger cord to SC430


Cord plugged into jack

To duplicate what I did, you will need....
1 CTEK 56-353 MULTI US 7002 12-Volt Battery Charger <-- the actual charger (includes battery eyelet adapter)
1 CTEK (56-304) Comfort Connect Extension Cable, 8.2 Feet <-- the extension used to route connection inside hood.

3/8 inch split loom sheating to protect the installed extension cable
zip ties
Silicone grease (to lubricate the jack o-ring and help ensure a water tight seal.

Hints:
Transfer the rubber stopper from the battery eyelet adaptor to the jack end of the extension cable. A bit of silicon grease makes sliding it over the big connector easier.
The jack is easily zip tied into place if you drill two small holes in an existing vertical portion of the plastic cover of the wiper compartment.

Depending on how you do your routing, some cable clips might also be useful. Plan your routing to stay away from hot or moving stuff.
In the SC40, I could run the cable assembly inside the compartment where the wiper assemblies reside.

On our Aston's, I needed to create metal brackets to hold the jack. Routing was unique to each model. On one, I could follow existing cable assemblies. Another needed more creativity to fashion my own routing. Goal was of course to make everything look factory installed.

NB. Buying the CTEK from Amazon makes warranty service essentially impossible. CTEK won't work with customers directly, but requires you to return to dealership.
I had one of three go bad after four years (normal CTEK warranty is five). Thankfully, Amazon was gracious enough to help out, but that was the Amazon CSR going above and beyond.

NB2. Cut your zip ties FLUSH. You don't want a sharp zip tie tab cutting you when you use the jack.

 

More detailed picts....



Jack is actually end of CTEK extension cable. Note the rubber stopper to seal when cord is disconnected. A bit of silicone grease helps further water proof here.



Zip ties through two holes secure the "jack" The right end of the split loom isn't visible because it ends under the plastic cover, but it actually extends PAST where the cable re-emerges. Gotta protect the wire.



Detail of zip ties. Two holes were drilled in the vertical plastic to feed the zip ties. The tie on the main jack body is super tight. The one closer to the cord end is left somewhat loose. That looser one merely helps prevent the jack from migrating inward.
(Zip tie ends are not yet cut flush)

SHEATED cable is run under the plastic cover of the wiper compartment.


Comfort connect eyelet adapter connects to battery terminals. There is an inline fuse on the positive lead. You can just make out the left end of my wire split loom. The split loom has also been wrapped in tape.

 

Awesome set up. I will do mine. Thanks for coming up with this. With the new digital charger-maintainers coming out, it makes sense for this set up. I used to move my traditional charger (heavy and sits on a cart) from car to car and of course you have to open the hood and close them after charging. And I like the digital readout of how many % charging until 100%, then auto switching to maintain.

 

The digital ones are a huge advance over the big, old transformer chargers. They won't charge an empty battery as fast, BUT the new digital chargers are perfect for maintaining a battery indefinitely. Advanced ones not only charge in different phases, but also test the battery for sulfation and perform a brief desulfation step before bulk charge and finish charging steps. They also switch automatically to an indefinitely safe, maintenance cycle that rechecks current battery state and tops up.

Old tech simply dropped to a lower "maintenance" voltage. That wasn't so for the battery in the long run.

 

 

Convenience and also to reduce risk of driving off with the cable still attached.
With the jack on the driver side, it is easily seen when you approach the driver side door.
Don't have to go to other side of car AND you have a red/black wire right in front of you as reminder.

The jack will actually pop apart on its own if you drive off accidentally, but I prefer to avoid that happening.

 

I have my set up done. I noticed that the older battery on the SC (vs IS) takes time to charge (relatively between the 1st 2 charging that I did). Then it switches to auto maintain.

SC IS 93% to full vs IS 85% to full. The SC battery installed Jan/18, the IS 08/17. Perhaps it is how big the battery is. The SC has more CCA.

 

On the battery kind is yours? Is that OEM? Mine is a replacement from Costco. Ok I got it, you have the battery sleeve (which i have dumped). I have however installed an insulation sleeve to keep the heat out of the battery.

 

Not OEM. IIRC this is one from O'Reilly's from a couple years ago.