Hello all, I have a 2013 GP that I am trying to install a battery tender and noticed the battery is enclosed in a box.

I thought I would ask what others may have done before I drill a hole in the plastic box and install a grommet and run the cable down to where the opening is inside the fender well.

Thanks!

 

I connect a battery tender to my car every 2 weeks and just open the battery box and connect the alligator clips to the terminals directly. I was told by the dealer that direct connection at the battery is best. I suppose that a more elegant approach would be to run the wires that bypass the alligator clips from the terminals out thru the box with a waterproof grommet.

 

Finally was able to remove the top of the battery box cover with the help of this thread https://www.northamericanmotoring.com/forums/how-to/241755-electrical-diy-battery-replacement-w-pictures.html.

Nuts on the top of the battery cables wouldn't come off completely however, there was room to attach another nut to the bolts.

Ran the cable down (I'll post photo' later) protected by 1/4" wire loom, down to where the fog light inside fender removable cover is.

Thanks
Drive it like you stole it!

 

Sounds as though you completed the install. We created a write-up about the topic as well:

Battery Tender Install

 

What size nut go on the terminals?

 

The terminal nuts on late model Minis will not completely come off so you cannot directly install ring terminals.

 

R56 Is a different animal.

 

Any idea on how long it takes a Battery Tender Jr to turn from red to green?

 

The nuts would be a second nut for the ring terminal. You don't need to back the original nuts all the way off. Does anyone know what size these are?

 

I use one on my bike, it only takes a couple of minutes for it to turn to green.

 

I was able to find this info directly from their site; hope this helps you out.

To be safe, assume that the batteries require a full 100% charge after the cells are filled. For example, a 16 Ah battery will take about 13 hours to get to the absorption voltage (constant 14.4 Volts). It may take another 6 to 8 hours to reach the float voltage (constant 13.2 Volts).