Having had my battery replaced under warranty approximately one year ago, I am again getting ‘Low Battery’ warnings. And my warranty just ran out so I am out of luck in that respect. There is an obvious issue with the battery being able to keep up with the power hungry demands of our Defenders, as I have read numerous posts of other owners on their 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th battery during their ownership. So, I will be going the trickle charger route. I am thinking of tapping into the 12V feed that comes into the rear fuse panel, since I can route the input from the trickle charger out of the rear of the Defender, (still researching a suitable method and location) closest to my garage and 120V power source for the charger. Has anyone had experience or knowledge in connecting the charger in this method? Any thoughts on the viability of connecting through the rear fuse panel? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

I literally just bought this (see image below) and am going to route the connector that comes off the eyelets into the scuttle under the windshield. Then I can just plug in my CTEK.

Reason wy: I was charging mine on my Ctek overnight and realized this morning that I left the Defender unlocked all night (urban area here, it’s fine but a bad long term strategy for sure even in my driveway up by my house). Unfortunately with the hood cracked to put the alligator clamps on, the hood can’t be latched. That’s not great.

I don’t see any benefit or reason to go in the back -- seems overly complex and how do you get it out the rear door? I’m doing front with the extension cable here.

 

nashvegas, we think alike. Those same exact items are in my Amazon cart! Are you using the CTEK MXS-5 model? The 8 ft cable extension is still a bit short for me, as I back my Defender up to my garage door. I could park it front in, but I saw another poster here who used a magnetic connection. Benefit of that is that if one forgets to unplug and drives off, no problem, the connection is broken with no damage to components or wiring. I was planning on keeping my CTEK inside the garage, route the extension cable through an opening I will fabricate in the garage wall and use a magnetic connection on the rear of the vehicle. IIRC, the previous poster removed the rear taillight assembly and added the magnetic connection on that vicinity. If I can make that happen, do you think I can backfeed the battery through the rear fuse panel? Only other option is to use two of the 8 foot cable extensions to reach my underhood connection. I don’t think that should be a problem, as the trickle charger only outputs low wattage/amperage.

 

I use the NOCO charger for maintaining the battery after a few "low battery" warnings. Installed the eyelet permanent connection under the hood. I can route the connector to the shroud area near the wiper blade if needed with the hood closed. But I generally just open the hood and connect the charger that way I don't forget and just take off with it connected.

 

The magnetic connectors are great. Where I store a few cars, lots of people use them. There’s also a guy in Portland who makes and sells them online and they’re well done. That said, they’re a bit more invasive. You’re drilling a hole and usually running an extension cable. In my case I’ve got an outlet right by the RF corner of the Defender, so I barely need an extension anyway. The CTEK Comfort Connect works perfectly for that.

I’ve got Comfort Connect leads on a couple cars now. I’m going to install the one that comes on tomorrow’s Amazon truck this weekend.

As for chargers, I run a few CTEKs and have been very happy with them:

CTEK MXS 5.0
https://www.ctek.com/us/battery-char...24v/mxs-5-0-na
4.3 amps, AGM mode. I have two of these and they’re my general recommendation. Works fine on the Defender when it’s parked in different spots.

CTEK Multi US 7002
https://www.ctek.com/us/battery-char.../multi-us-7002
7.0 amps, AGM mode, plus a supply mode. This is what I usually use on the Defender, especially when running the GAP tool since it holds voltage steady.

Separate CTEK lithium charger for a bitchy Porsche with a lithium battery. Easy to spot since it’s silver.

I also own a couple non-CTEK tenders, including Battery Tender, and just don’t like them as much. BTW.

One note: avoid the CTEK “powersports” chargers. They look similar but are meant for boats, jet skis, side by sides, etc.

 

Thanks, nashvegas. I’ll probably go with the MXS-5 as it seems to be one of the most widely used for our Defenders. I need to do some ‘exploratory surgery’ on the rear trim panels, hoping to find a good spot to locate either one of the magnetic charge ports, or a hidden spot where I can leave the tail end of the extension cable. I also have a Boxster that only gets used a few days a week, so I will probably swap the charger between vehicles depending on the usage each week. I’m trying to make it as seamless as possible, and with the magnetic connections it will make it easier to switch back and forth as needed. Thanks for the valuable feedback.

 

That's funny. I have a Boxster as well and a separate charger for it that I plug into the cigarette lighter.

 

Funny. I have Defender and 911 and both cars have their own trickle charger. Porsche is simpler since it charges through cigarette lighter like @dsallean said. For Defender, I used under hood connector like C-Tek but went with Hulkman Sigma 5 (C-Tek Time-To-Go on my 911).

 

I hadn’t thought of using the cigarette lighter to charge the Porsche. I’m assuming that the lighter has unswitched power to it at all times for the charger to work. I’ll look into that method, definitely quicker to disconnect when heading out in a hurry. And less chance of forgetting and driving off, LOL.

Edit: Just ran to the garage to grab a voltage tester and verify that my socket had 12V. 👍 Thanks.

 

I have the same set-up except that I routed the connector in the recess area under the windshield. That way I don’t have to open the hood to plug-in the Noco charger.