2012 merc amg

I notice under the hood there is a red sliding door with a terminal under it? Just want to make sure this is where to hook the positive terminal on the battery tender? Going to be storing the car for a while. I take it the negative lead should be hooked to the stud that goes directly to the body shown at the left of the photo? Just double checking on this, never hooked this car up to a battery tender. Hopefully the car sitting in the hot florida garage all summer will not be a issue, going to put some stabil treatment in the fuel tank. Hate not driving the car, but the roads are so bad up in Rhode island where I live summers, bent all four rims and popped a couple tires last summer. I'm going to take my 2015 VW TDI station wagon back and drive that all summer along with my Chevy pickup truck I keep up north. The AMG is a much better car for Florida where the roads are smooth. This way I'll keep the mileage down on the car too. Only have 44K miles which is not bad for a 2012. I plan on trading the car in when the 2017 Amg wagons come out if I like the new one so by that time in a couple of years I should under 70K miles on it, maybe around 64K miles. This will help with the trade in vs if I keep driving the car year round and had over 80K miles at that time.

PeterUbers

Yup I use that terminal post under the sliding door for my ctek charger... I use metal on the engine for ground ... The clips are very strong in the ctek

I "winter" my 63 for three months or four with no problems and it's been two years. Starts right up in the spring

2012 merc amg

Thanks Peter, I'm pretty sure the stud in the lower left of my photo is meant to be used as the Ground, hopefully my clip on the charger will fit over it as its pretty big.

My game plan is to take my VW TDI back to Rhode Island and hopefully if VW reaches some kind of settlement with the customers I'll get rid of the car and get a S550 Benz, I really should have done that originally over the VW last year. I like getting 50 MPG but the car has a lot of road noise and now this whole VW TDI thing has really devalued the car, I hope they make good on it, I really just want to get rid of the VW but can't do it until the air clears, no pun intended, lol. For now I'll just drive that car and preserve my AMG, might as well. The sound system in the VW (Fender) is the best I've ever heard in any car, so at least that drones out all the tire noise, the metal on the fenders on that car must be paper thin or something, never heard so much road noise. I really like the 2014 up Benz S550, super nice cars, very comfortable. I hope they have some new features for 2017, hope to get one new next fall if the 2017's are out by then. Good things come to those that wait, lol.

PeterUbers

I'll have to look for that ground stud later today, good call

You'll love the s550... That car is mint 2014+, nice choice ... The amg will be just fine on the tender; just make sure you angle the red clip as if it's straight up it may prevent the hood from closing

otakki

I have my BatteryMinder hooked up to the terminal just as you described: red clip to the metal piece under the red slider, black clip to the copper colored stud. I have done that for the past 6 years.

2012 merc amg

Great, you think I should just leave the hood open? Or would I be better off with it closed?

PeterUbers

No, close the hood

I tried the copper stud and it all worked fine... Nice find. Close the hood gently first to make sure you have clearance then when you're sure ... Slam it down

robl45

The copper stud is made for jump starting the car, that is the ground point. Maybe its just me, but I wouldn't leave the car hooked up to any type of charger while I'm gone for 3 months. Not saying it will overcharge or anything, but what if the charger malfunctions?

2012 merc amg

Been doing this for the past 10 years on cars never had a issue, it's not called a charger, it's called a battery maintainer, there is a difference. Also if the car was not left on the maintainer I think you'd come back to find the battery dead and all the air let out of the air bag suspension and the car practically on the ground, that could be bad.

So Peter if you close the hood all the way where do you put the Battery Tender? I was thinking I could put it on a little table I have next to the car? I normally have always left the hood open on the cars I have left hooked up to the battery tender, never had a issue leaving the hood different, is there a reason the hood should be closed on the Benz? I'm a little nervous with closing it that it may pinch down on the charging line.

robl45

It's still a charger. If someone is checking on it, that's one thing, but things can go wrong.

PeterUbers

I hang the charger on the wall in front of the car... You can run the wires so it won't be pinched...

You'll see it'll be good

2012 merc amg

Worse comes to worse it trips a breaker. These things are UL registered and a fire is pretty unlikely, the only time I find they get real warm is the first night they are on as they are working hard then to get the battery up to full charge, other than that they run fairly cool and just loaf along not doing much work. For this reason though I generally always hook the car up the day before and make sure the green light is on and the battery fully charged the next day before I leave. Lots of experience with this.

2012 merc amg

Thanks Peter. I think I'll locate the charger on a small stand I have next to the fender of the car.

otakki

I have done it both way. When the hood is down, I don't close it fully. The hood is usually just hanging. Sometimes, the hood comes down enough to hook onto the safety hood latch. At that time, I would just tug on the charging wires a little to make sure it is not pinched.

When I was shopping for mine 10 years ago, I researched into the difference between -Minder and -Tender. Both were priced the same, and I ended up going with -Minder due to its functions and features. Minder has the large AC adapter that plugs into any outlet. From it comes the charging wires that has two clips on them--very simple design.

PeterUbers

Good info

I read that ctek made the Benz brand tender so I just bought the ctek

I also use the ctek to charge my generator battery

The one thing I never understood is that do I need a separate tender for the second battery?

robl45

From my research, still haven't bought one yet, but Ctek would be the one to buy. They have the desulphate mode and they charge at a high enough rate that you can actually charge the battery if needed instead of just topping it off.

screw991le

Like said above, I would use the permanent plug on the battery. It is easier and more safe than using the alligator clamps to hold. Just screw it down to the battery terminals and never have to worry bout it. I leave the plug on all year round and then plus it in at my leisure in the winter or when I go away more than 2 weeks at a time. I also run a AGM battery too.

TBTech

Just to be clear you run two tenders one for each battery?

Thanks