Djackson13

I had some previous posts regarding what to do regarding my car being parked in the garage while I am out of town for a two week period. I appreciate all of the great responses that were received. One of the suggestions was that I get a trickle charger/maintainer for the battery and just hook it up while I am gone. So, my question now is what your thoughts are on this. I was told that the charger that goes through the cigarette lighter is best. But, if the cigarette lighter only has powwer when the car is on, would the charger still be functional?
I do appreciate any and all responses.

vincheung

For two weeks, it wont really be necessary to connect to a charger if you will be returning it to daily driver use when you return. The cig outlets I believe are not hot when the vehicle is off so charging that way wouldn't work. Personally, I have had quick connect adapters directly wired to the battery of my motorcycles and cars (not the current w222 however), my trunk mounted batteries could be plugged in and trunk closed without issues with cables.

*edited w/ list of chargers I use

Noco Genius 1 - 1 amp (https://amzn.to/3Bqslbc) - I purchased the Noco 1 amp because I needed the lithium battery trickle charging option

Noco Genius 5 - 10 amp (https://amzn.to/3Y9kys9) - I got this because I needed faster charging one day, wouldn't have gotten this but I was in a pinch.

Schumacher - 2 amp - (https://amzn.to/3BjwZb9) - Cheapest and I think best option for standard/AGM car batteries, the Schumacher connections are all SAE, cheaper accessories like the quick connects, extensions, etc. I actually use this the most, rotate my motorcycles, second car, and a propane home backup generator battery. Noco connections are all proprietary which is an added cost.

BenzV12

We have got this one . I have not used 12 V socket or cigarette lighter to use a battery charger either but I think it would be better idea to plug it in garage or home

steinjr

is best in my opinion. I have the connectors under the hood and it's easy to add and remove the trickle charger.

kitchamp

I have a NOCO Genius GEN5X2 on my boat (dual batteries) and CTEK 7002 & CTEK MXS 5.0 in the garage for my vehicles. All have performed very well for me. I think the MB branded one suggested by BenzV12 is a CTEK 7002. The MXS 5.0 has a few more lights to indicate which stage of the cycle the charger is on, which is informative, but not critical. I've had better luck with NOCO and CTEK than with the Deltran Battery Tender line, which didn't last as long for me.

As a side note, by keeping the CTEK connected for a week or so my auxiliary battery malfunction error was resolved, but maybe that was a coincidence.