I just bought two Battery Tender Pluses for Christmas from JEGS. I haven't started putting one on the '02 SS yet, but the '95 Z28 is giving me hell.

First of all, the ring holes were slightly too small, so I used a dremel to take maybe 1/32" off the insides and got the positive one screwed onto the positive cable's bolt. But then, when I go to attach the cable back to the battery, I realize the plastic portion of the terminal on the battery, and the plastic portion of the ring for the battery tender cable are touching and totally preventing me from tightening the cable back onto the battery.

I considered using the alligator clips and placing them as it suggests in the owners manual for jump starting the car (positive on the battery cable, negative on the alternator bracket) but it looks like crap and I don't want to do it that way. There's barely enough metal to keep the alligator clip attached to the positive cable and I don't trust leaving it like that for weeks.

Can someone, anyone, please, please, please post pictures of how they have their battery tender attached to their battery while it is still installed in the car? And give me any instructions or links to anything I should buy?

And please... I don't want to see Optima batteries with the posts on the top. I just want to see pictures of side-post batteries like these cars normally have. Nothing exotic. I want to get this to work and I've exhausted google on searching camaroz28, ls1tech, ls1, ltxtech, and ls1lt1 without finding much useful specific to '93-'97 muchless '93-'02 f-bodies.

 

I use the alligator clips. Just make sure you get them on good and you'll be fine. It's not like your going to be moving the car or anything so as long as they are on good they won't fall off. Who gives a crap what they look like? It's to preserve the life of your battery, not an appearance mod.

 

Well, I wanted to use the rings and leave the short portion of the wires permanently installed and use the disconnect part to make it super easy. That's what you're able to do with these:


The problem is, the metal neck on the rings isn't long enough to be clamped down in the process of the bolts being tightened back down to the battery. The plastic gets in the way.

 

I think the solution might be one of these:


found on this website:
Battery Terminals and Copper Lugs

Though that isn't 5/16" like what is needed. Does anyone know the name of that part so I can search on ebay?

 

Using the pigtail with the connector, I attached the ring on the red wire to the terminal bolt in the red positive box, black wire ring to a ground bolt. Been working great for 10years.

 

Injuneer, are you talking about the junction block when you say red positive box? I'm under the impression that since the owner's manual says that isn't a jump starting location (and since someone tried to jump start the '95 from that location with their minivan about 10 years ago and caused the battery to leak all over the place) that it might not be safe to do right there. But if that's truly where you've been doing it... I guess it works. Let me know if that's what you're talking about bud.

 

The battery Tender applies an amp or so - no problem through the terminal box. A jump start takes hundreds of amps - not good for the terminal box.

 

Guess that's my solution then. Thanks buddy.

 

I ended up making some how to videos I'll throw on youtube someday after I link them together. The '02 ended up being much more difficult because I had to enlarge the hole on the positive ring and I don't own a file and only own a pitiful excuse for a dremel.

Thanks Injuneer, your method seemed to work great.

 

For what it's worth, I also use that junction box for charging the battery, where I'm pushing 10-20amps through it.

 

Good to know! I'm glad to hear that more than one person has their car this way. It was very easy to hook up this way on the LT1.