Trickle Charger

[LightingBlue]

This amperage will be insufficient to actually charge your truck battery. This will only come up once you have enough load to lower the charge in the battery at some point in the future when you really don't want to have problems.... And you'll look to this trickle charger and wonder why you have battery problems. See my post above.

Just want to share my experiences to prevent others from going through the same misery!

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[LightingBlue]

Anyone know if it's 'safe' to trickle charge the battery with one of these adapters? I used this on my vette in the past but wasn't sure if these trucks are any different.

https://www.amazon.com/SinLoon-Cigarette-Waterproof-Extension-Charging/dp/B073WW13PF/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1JFSZ0KP251NR&dchild=1&keywords=battery+tender+cigarette+lighter+adapter&qid=1588225804&s=automotive&sprefix=battery+tender+,automotive,148&sr=1-4

That thing should heat up like a fire cracker on 4th of July at that voltage and typical cigarette plug construction. Ticking time bomb? Possibly! Depends on how much you like to risk car fires. I would only use that with supervision and monitoring the temperature of the plug and if I felt comfortable with fire suppression. The 50 amp fuse on the plug is kind of funny.... Seems to be an unnecessary amperage.... But then again, i'm more familiar with 6v systems.

You will have to ask GM if there is any sort of load or heat cut-off built into the 12v socket. However I assume there isn't any and would only plan on using that as an outlet for very short periods of time, no matter the fail safes built into whatever you plan on plugging into it.

 

[dmeyer302]

I use a 0.75 amp Battery Tender around the shop. I charge batteries all the time with it. Yes it's slow...obviously...but for a maintainer low and slow is what you want anyway.

If you want to actually charge a battery, get a charger. For the maintainer situation, I see no problem with 1.5A or lower.

Now if you have something drawing more than your charger puts out, that is cause for reevaluation. More like figuring out what's causing the draw, not upping the charger.

 

[Fjsteven]

It seems to work fine. I don’t expect it to charge a dead battery. It does charge from whatever Ford sets the battery at to a full charge. The auto start stop works fine when i plug it in. If I dont, it tells me it didnt shut down due to vehicle charging. Battery and alternator check out ok per Ford so I assume they have stupid logic on the on board charging system.

 

[2019hotpepper4x4]

Are you guys running these because you don’t drive the truck everyday or is there something I don’t know? I use something similar on my motorcycle but just because it’s not run as often.

 

[AzScorpion]

Are you guys running these because you don’t drive the truck everyday or is there something I don’t know? I use something similar on my motorcycle but just because it’s not run as often.

Mostly because I don't drive a lot and when I do most of my commutes are short 15 minute ones. It doesn't give the battery enough time to really get a good charge.

 

[Texasota]

I’m a snowbird in the winter and the Ranger stays home. I’m wondering if one of these trickle chargers is a better way to go than disconnecting the negative battery cable as the owners manual recommends. Simply disconnecting the battery seems less risky than leaving the trickle charger plugged in all winter?

 

[Fjsteven]

I started recently as I’m barely driving since I can work from home. But I did notice the auto start stops works a lot more often now.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I’m a snowbird in the winter and the Ranger stays home. I’m wondering if one of these trickle chargers is a better way to go than disconnecting the negative battery cable as the owners manual recommends. Simply disconnecting the battery seems less risky than leaving the trickle charger plugged in all winter?

Hi Al,

I have uset a trickle charger, Battery Tender 2, for about 15 years when we left each summer for a 3 month trip in our RV. Never had a problem leaving this tender connected for extended time. That said, I have never had a vehicle with an AGM battery until now with my 2019 Ranger. I have had AGM 6 volt deep cycle batteries for about 5 years now in the RV for our inverter usage. They have served us well, but they take a special charging strategy setting on our inverter/Charger.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[JimH]

I use a 0.75 amp Battery Tender around the shop. I charge batteries all the time with it. Yes it's slow...obviously...but for a maintainer low and slow is what you want anyway.

If you want to actually charge a battery, get a charger. For the maintainer situation, I see no problem with 1.5A or lower.

Now if you have something drawing more than your charger puts out, that is cause for reevaluation. More like figuring out what's causing the draw, not upping the charger.

I had a Battery Tender that I used on my 1966 Corvair for when I wasn't driving it (only went to car shows, weekend cruises, etc). Kept the battery always charged and ready to go..

 

[Fjsteven]

Hi Al,

I have uset a trickle charger, Battery Tender 2, for about 15 years when we left each summer for a 3 month trip in our RV. Never had a problem leaving this tender connected for extended time. That said, I have never had a vehicle with an AGM battery until now with my 2019 Ranger. I have had AGM 6 volt deep cycle batteries for about 5 years now in the RV for our inverter usage. They have served us well, but they take a special charging strategy setting on our inverter/Charger.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

The way you said that makes it seem like the Ranger came with an AGM battery. Did it? If so I really missed something.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

The way you said that makes it seem like the Ranger came with an AGM battery. Did it? If so I really missed something.

Hi Steven,

Yes. It has an AGM Battery.

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

 

[Traneman]

Are you guys running these because you don’t drive the truck everyday or is there something I don’t know? I use something similar on my motorcycle but just because it’s not run as often.

My drive to work is 1.5 miles, so not much time to recharge the battery, and my Auto Start/Stop didn't run much last winter. And w/ Electric heat, yeah that keep the "Vehicle Charging" on often when I stopped.

 

[BButah]

Hi Al,

I have uset a trickle charger, Battery Tender 2, for about 15 years when we left each summer for a 3 month trip in our RV. Never had a problem leaving this tender connected for extended time. That said, I have never had a vehicle with an AGM battery until now with my 2019 Ranger. I have had AGM 6 volt deep cycle batteries for about 5 years now in the RV for our inverter usage. They have served us well, but they take a special charging strategy setting on our inverter/Charger.

best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

Hey Phil,
The Battery Tenders are fine with AGM batteries according to their website:

https://www.batterytender.com/Battery-TenderR-Plus

• Perfect for all lead-acid, flooded or sealed maintenance free batteries (AGM and gel cell).

 

[P. A. Schilke]

Hey Phil,
The Battery Tenders are fine with AGM batteries according to their website:

https://www.batterytender.com/Battery-TenderR-Plus

• Perfect for all lead-acid, flooded or sealed maintenance free batteries (AGM and gel cell).

Hi Bryan

Thanks!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retired

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