2 months away from Viper/continuous battery tender usage?

[vipertank]

I have a questions as referenced in the thread title. I'm leaving for about 2 straight months. I have the Deltran battery tender which I hear is the best one you can get. I'm still a little nervous about keeping it plugged in for such a long time. Should I be?

Should I be concerned about power outages, or rather, when the power kicks back on? We get those here during thunderstorms.

I have it plugged into a surge protector also. I don't want to bother anyone to actually start the car while I'm gone, and I think that shouldn't be a problem since it is summer, am I wrong?

How about asking a friend to simply turn on/off the surge protector with the battery tender every 2 weeks or something?

Thanks for your help, I'll take any suggestions into consideration. It's a 96 GTS btw.

[Redx]

I leave my deltran on all winter, and starts like brand new when it thaws, i wouldn't worry about it!

[swexlin]

Put your car in sleep or hibernation mode, and you don't even need it, especially in summer.

[ssgsnake]

I have used the Deltran for years and no issues I have cars with original battery that are from 2002 and no issues they are fine and no issues starting etc.

great product

[Steve-Indy]

A 1996 GTS does not have "sleep mode". That first appeared on Gen III cars (starting in 2003).

While I have several cars on Deltran tenders now, I do worry about lightning strikes. So, I always unplug the units if a storm is coming...or, if I will be away. I do realize that the odds of this issue happening are small, but finite. Standard surge protectors will not protect against lightning.

If you have a window in your garage, you can try a small solar panel made for charging cars.

[JonB ~ PartsRack]

HE WORRIES ABOUT LIGHTNING STRIKES !!!! Of COURSE he would.Otherwise, no-worries....I have my 1949 Dodge hooked up for 10+ YEARS !!! (We dont get much lightning)

[Steve-Indy]

JonB...I need to get you a Thunderbolt lightning detector for your nightstand...set it at 50 mile range and you will have plenty of time to get to your 49 Dodge to save it from this nasty entity!!

[TrackAire]

If you're worried about a surge of electricity hurting your car, IMO there is no way you have to worry about lightning since the deltrans cables going to the battery are so small in gauge they would instantly melt assuming any huge amount of current came through it.

I leave multiple cars & trailers hooked up 24/7 to either my C-Teks or my newest favorite, the NOCO Genius G1100.

[Steve-Indy]

I do need to try a C-tek...have heard great things about them.

By the way, I have seen lightning follow small wires into various electronic devices through the years...and, still do damage.

http://stormhighway.com/what_happens...es_a_house.php

[TrackAire]

I do need to try a C-tek...have heard great things about them.

By the way, I have seen lightning follow small wires into various electronic devices through the years...and, still do damage.

http://stormhighway.com/what_happens...es_a_house.php

Here is what I'm not 100% sure of....the lightning strike will come in the form of amps or volts (or some sort of combination).....I think the saving grace where the battery tendors wires would melt is the battery acts as a restriction, the amps and current had to go through that chunk of lead and acid matrix before it hits the PCM, etc. You can only put so much energy through the wire before it melts and I think the battery would act as a slower method of absorption giving the battery tenders wires a chance to melt.

In a house, everything is connected direct to the house panel, grid, etc.....the voltage won't get filtered down much. But that is only my guess....best not to let your Viper suffer a lightning strike.

On a side note, A clients vehicles got struck by lightning while driving and although it did cause some damage (the gauges got destroyed), they were able to drive a turbo diesel Duramax to the dealership. Electrons move in mysterious ways, lol.

[Steve-Indy]

Can't argue these good points...BUT...it costs me nothing to pull the plugs out of the wall. It may merely be a ritual for me, but it beats the risk of frying any one (or all) of the nine Vipers.

[Steve M]

I've used a Battery Tender for years (my current one is around 10-11 years old if I'm not mistaken), and although I probably should, I've never unplugged it during thunderstorms, and we've had some pretty close strikes. I've had no issues to speak of...it was used on my previous Camaro, and is still going strong on my Viper.

I think I'll go find some wood to knock on.

[Bugman Jeff]

Just disconnect the battery and it'll be fine. Two months in the summer is nothing for a sitting battery. If your battery looses charge on it's own in that time, you need a new battery.

[Vprbite]

If I recall my education correctly. You can't predict lightning. Basically, it's so strong it breaks the rules of standard electricity. The wires on the tender to small to carry a lightning strike? No shit they are. But that lighting could melt those wires and jump right to the car IF it's going that way. On a standard surge, everything at some point becomes a fuse. Hell, a light bulb is just a pretty fuze. But lightning is so strong it breaks rules and does what it wants. Like me. It will jump through the air without a conductor.

Is the risk there. Yes. But remember, lightning...for the most part...does not overly want to strike houses. It of course will. But it wants in the ground. And houses aren't always the best way to do that. Though depending on where you live it could be more common. I had a strike hit the house, or damn close a few years ago in my old house. It was about the loudest crack u have ever heard and then my dog had static around him. That was scary. Thought no electromics were damaged. (Didn't have a car plugged into a tender though) But if you are in a place where you get more lightning or it does seem to hit the house a lot, do you have a neighbor who could unplug the tender during a storm in exchange for a case of beer or something like that? Though I think the risk is low. Peace of mind is worth a lot.

[LmeaViper]

One Winter I took the battery out of the car and connected it to the tender that way. If by some slim chance lighting does strike and affect you then all you need to worry about is your battery and / or tender.

[vipertank]

image.jpgimage.jpgSo thanks for the replies/advice on lightning. The previous owner had a switch installed to disconnect the battery, (a hibernation mode?). I usually don't use it because it runs a little funny after a restart while the computer learns the codes and whatnot, but I guess it is better than a fried computer from a lightning strike. Any other gen 1 or 2 owners have one if these installed?

[thetalonguy]

image.jpgimage.jpgSo thanks for the replies/advice on lightning. The previous owner had a switch installed to disconnect the battery, (a hibernation mode?). I usually don't use it because it runs a little funny after a restart while the computer learns the codes and whatnot, but I guess it is better than a fried computer from a lightning strike. Any other gen 1 or 2 owners have one if these installed?

I had something similar on my Talon, but I still kept eating batteries Somehow. With the switch off, you are still going to slowly discharge the battery over a period of time.

Stupid question, if you have your floater/trickle hooked up to a GFI recepticle, are you still at risk during a lightning strike?

You can always give me the keys if you want...I can stretch her legs every couple of weeks and keep fresh gas in it:

[Bugman Jeff]

Stupid question, if you have your floater/trickle hooked up to a GFI recepticle, are you still at risk during a lightning strike?

Yes, there is enough power in lightning to jump across any circuit breaker. After traveling half a mile through the air, a 1/16" air gap in a breaker is nothing.

[Vprbite]

^^^^^bingo.

It does what it wants. Does it want to do that though? Are you regularly getting struck? Have you had other electronics get fried in the past? What I mean is, I feel like a devistating strike that jumps the tender to get to your car (which is not its most attractive target anyway) would probably blow your box, set your house on fire, fry everything connected in the house because if it's doing that, it's behaving like a caged animal. Do you have an AC unit on the roof (we used to do that out here in Arizona) because if so, that bastard is what will get struck. So anything on its power phase COULD be susceptible. But hell, like I said peace of mind is worth a lot. I don't even like to park where I can't see my car. And I started by saying lightning is at its core, unpredictable.

Perhaps just run it through a quality surge protector because a strong surge due to a near strike or power grid issue is much more likely IMO.

BTW. My grandfather got struck by lightning and was fine. Well, fine as he ever was. All of us from that side of the family have a bit of a screw loose anyway. So lightning is just kooky stuff. We can't even quite replicate it in laboratory conditions which is partially why we haven't figured out how to capture it.

[Steve-Indy]

Keep in mind that all strikes are not necessarily ones that hit the house directly...I would say that the damage done here likely came in on the power lines or the phone lines. And, YES, it has fried some components of an alarm system, one TV tuner, and a couple of small appliances. A strike on a tree just a few feet away from parents home did take out fuse box and a dryer. It happens !!

[Vprbite]

Yeah steve. I hear Ya. If it hits nearby, it could distribute itself down all the lines. But a surge protector (quality one) should help in that situation I would think.

[vipertank]

I have a lot of trees around the house, and a friend of mine had lightning hit a tree near his house (it basically split the tree in half, which then fell on his house) and he had sparks coming out of his outlets and whatnot. I'm pretty much worried about that scenario...I'd rather live with house damage or viper damage...not both. I think I'm going to take advantage of that battery shut-off switch the previous owner installed and just put the good ol' Gen II into hibernation for a while.

[vipertank]

Well, I came back home and something isn't right. I switched the aftermarket battery cut off thing back on and put the tender back on it; figured I'd get it fully charged before the 1st start...nothing. The deltran tender actually indicates that it is not connected to the battery properly. It is plugged in exactly the same as when I used use it 2 months ago. Maybe it is something with the aftermarket hibernation switch? Maybe mice chewed a wire? Any ideas out there?

[Steve M]

Have a multimeter? What's the battery voltage?

[SSGNRDZ_28]

If the battery tender isn't recognizing the battery voltage is likely very low. You might be able to revive it by "jumping" it with another battery or vehicle to charge it to the point where the tender will recognize the battery and then it will complete the charging process.