i will be leaving my clubman in michigan(garaged) for the winter and am wondering about a battery charger or something called a battery tender....the o/manual says a trickle charger can be used but is a battery tender better ?

 

Trickle charger is usually a small continous charge...
A tender is more complex, and imo much better...it will charge as needed as a trickle charger, but then stop....and restart...as needed. Some can be installed permantly, and a small plug left to connect it when needed...

 

I've used a Battery Tender Jr with my 07 MCS for the last 4 years (car has 20k miles; yeah not a daily driver). The OEM battery is still working just fine. I also use the BT Jr on motorcycles and other toys. I have a 10 year motorcycle with the original battery still going strong. It's been kept on a Battery Tender Jr for 8 years with zero problems. It only gets ridden a few thousand miles a year.

Like ZippyNH mentioned, Battery Tenders will bring the battery up to maximum capacity and then hold it there without over charging it.

 

get a Battery Tender Plus. bmw sells them, just with a 'bmw' label on it. amazon sells it for about $45 shipped.

 

Use a Battery Tender Plus on all our vehicles as needed - highly recommended!

 

Harbor Freight has them for ten bucks, but I've seen them on sale there for half that.

http://www.harborfreight.com/automat...ger-42292.html

Dave

 

Battery Tender® is one brand of trickle charger, aka battery tender (lowercase, no ®), made by Deltran. They claim that they have groovy features like auto on/off ("automatic float") to maintain your battery over time, which their competitors don't have. It's true that some very basic trickle chargers lack these features (e.g. the Schumacher SE-1, $13), but the majority of brand name, halfway decent quality chargers have the same solid state controls. For example, the Black & Decker BM3B for as little as $17 has the same features.

Personally, I've used Battery Tender Juniors® for years on my motorcycles, and occasionally on cars, and they work fine. The only one that failed was dropped from 12 feet onto concrete.

 

For those with a battery tender, what version do I want? The 12 volt?
Also can I run the tender to the battery while it's still in the car? Or does the battery have to come out of the car?

 

I use this one... Schumacher SEM-1562A. It comes with ring connectors that can be permanently installed on the battery, and has a quick disconnect to unhook the actually charger when not in use.

You can use it while the battery is installed, but (pardon my ignorance here) if 2nd gens have the battery in the boot like first gens I'd recommend ensuring there is ventilation from the car in case there is a failure of the charger causing the battery to overheat and release any gasses.

 

Gen 2 batteries are under the bonnet (front). I would assume if you have it hooked up while still in the car, do you need to disconnect the terminals from the car first? Also you need to disconnect before starting, correct?

Thx

 

Opinons I'm sure will vary... I leave everything connected in storage. As for starting, I do unplug the quick disconnect from the charger if I start it up, but in the past my MINI was buried under so much snow I didn't start it much over the winter. That problem has been fixed as my MINI has a new(ish) 16' long home for the winter.

 

As a side note... Many people would recommend putting the car on jackstands to protect the tires and/or suspension.

 

I use the Battery Tender Jr with mine. I leave the battery in the car. On the gen 2 cars it's under a flap, top left of the engine bay. I didn't like opening/closing the plastic flap over the battery so I installed the ring terminals that come with the Battery Tender, ran it out through the same rubber boot as some of the other wiring into the engine area. I still have to open the hood to hook up to the Battery Tender but it only takes a few seconds. I lower the hood down but don't latch it. I've started my Mini dozens of times with the Battery Tender still hooked up. I usually start the car, then unhook the Battery Tender and secure the hood. I put a little sign in front of the tach whenever I have it hooked to the Battery Tender just to make sure I don't forget and drive off with the hood unlatched.

 

I use a CTEK 3300. It has an automatic desulphate mode so can recover you battery if it is going bad. It goes on sale from time to time. I bought mine for $30CDN when it was on sale at Canadian Tire.

 

ok so i picked up a deltran battery tender 12v.
I want to leave the battery in the car (r56) because it looks like a pita to get the battery out of its plastic cocoon...
now question is does the mini have a negative ground system or a positive ground system? I cant tell if the pos or neg is connected to the vehicle chassis.

Also, for those who used the ring connectors, where did you connect them to? Under the nuts that lock the connectors to the battery terminals? If you can share a picture that would be great! Thanks!

 

The only Minis that might have positive ground systems are Minis--not MINIs.

Positive ground was, as far as I know, only used on early British iron. Everything in the last few decades has been negative ground.

I haven't seen the size of the ring terminals you are referring to, but under the nuts on the battery clamps sounds like a reasonable location for them.

 

i just connected both clips to the correct terminals and plugged it in. it shows its charging so I assume its good to go! thanks.