PSA - Don't use a Battery Tender Jr. on your Z

Troyz

I would be more concerned about letting a 370Z sit for 3 months over battery issues.

Chuck33079

In places that snow, it's very common for people to put their sports cars away after snow starts falling and take them out again in spring. Did I misread your post somehow?

__________________
2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

Mt Tam I am

I had to replace my 2009 battery already too. I never used the charger but never checked the fluid level either, and it was low. Tons of heat on track days coupled without maintenance = new battery for me.

__________________
Nissan Motorsports 34R Oil Cooler. Stillen CBE. Hotchkis Sport Sway Bars. KW Variant 3 Coilover System. Stillen Gen3 CAI. Michelin Pilot Super Sport. Stillen Brake Ducts. Carbotech™ XP10/XP8 Pads. Z1 Front Rotors. Z1 Stainless Brake Lines. Two degrees of camber

The BlueMax

I was checking the water level 2yrs ago in the summer & one cell was low & you could see some deterioration occuring but I bought myself some more time by not only using distilled water but by adding a little more acid with it. It has lasted this long but I would be surprised if I got another year out of the factory battery.

__________________
The Blue Max

Verda7junior

Is anyone using the extended storage switch in the fuse block? Nissan expects the car to be stored winters in colder climates and knows that it has a parasitic drain during extended storage and provided an extended storage switch to stop the drain. You just pull out the switch and it cuts power to a few electronic control modules to reduce the current drain. It is actually just a fuse with a big plastic case around it with locking tabs on the side. It's on pages 8-24 & 8-25 of my 2012 owners manual.

__________________
Red 2012 370Z Base Sport 7AT, ExoticSpeed CBE, 13.0@109(sold) Q50RS400AWD 12.2@116 JB1 CBE

tjlazer

You can add the Battery Tender 800 to the list of ones not to use with the 370Z.

I can confirm that the Battery Tender Plus works perfect with the 370Z, been using it for a while with no issues. Just tried the Battery Tender 800 the past few days and it will not charge the battery. Green light comes on like it's topped off but the battery is low.

__________________
2009 370Z Monterey Blue,Nismo Conversion,RE-11's, K&N Typhoon intakes,Blue Kickplates,Homelink,FI 18" CBE,ERZ HFCs,Hotchkis sways, Swift Spec-R, EVO-R Highwing, UPREV

kenchan

naw, troyz's just being troyz.

my car hibernates 4months sometimes up to 5-6months depending on weather. no issue. 40psi+ and on flatstoppers.

SouthArk370Z

I'm inclined to believe that you have a bad charger. I'm not sure exactly what the parasitic load is but it's not that much and being a sports car has nothing to do with the situation.

How did you test it? I would use two meters - one measuring volts (with and without the charger) and the other measuring current.

__________________
Steering Lock Links - Search The370Z Bookmarklet - FSM @ NICOclub
Mankind has progressed past the need for war but we haven't evolved that far. - NachoMahma

Vaughanabe13

It's possible the charger is bad, however I followed the procedures given to me by the manufacturer and the charger is supposedly fine. I also used the same charger on my other car (97 maxima) and it was working fine and the light changed to solid green after a couple days (and I verified the battery voltage on the maxima had increased). So I really think it would be a waste of time to try another BTJr when it's a substantial annoyance to drive 4 hours just to get access to the car (round trip).

And yes, modern cars these days have lots of processors and computers that are drawing power when the car is off. It's entirely plausible the quiescent draw of these cars is higher than typical. On the phone they told me flat out that the Jr. would not work properly on this car, so regardless of whether or not I buy the Plus version I'm not just going to ignore what the manufacturer says about their own product.

__________________
2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black.

kenchan

and my G and Z are both modern cars and are floating fine, so as many others who use battery tender on their modern cars. so to me, if it's not the battery tender, and if it's not your battery, then it's your car.

did you say you bought the car used? if so, there might be a reason why the original owner sold the car..

im not sure if doing a PSA from one bad experience on your one car is a good idea or not? not enough proof or testing when you are probably the only one person with a z that mentioned having problems with the battery tender? i could be wrong but i dont remember reading any other z owner here complaining about the battery tender?

and the sales assciate you spoke to at deltran. probably just wanted to get rid of you.

my suggestion is you check youtube on how to test parasitic drain. some cars (even stock) have more drain than others.

Vaughanabe13

The PSA part of my post is because the manufacturer that makes the charger said it isn't supposed to be used on the 370z. Their words, not mine. Take that information as you will but I have already verified my charger is not faulty and neither is my battery/z. Making claims that my Z is somehow damaged from the previous owner is beyond asinine. Especially since "parasitic load" isn't damage in the first place, and there's no way the previous owner sold the car because of that. I actually know the reason the previous owner sold is because they couldn't make the payments. Not that it matters at all.

Those of you who claim your battery tender jr. has been working just fine on your Z - Have you actually verified that with a multimeter? And was this during long term storage or were you also starting up and/or driving the car during the storage period? I have no access to my z in the winter so a tender is my only option (or nothing).

__________________
2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black.

SouthArk370Z

All valid points. Plus, at the price of trickle/float chargers nowadays, probably not worth the time/effort to troubleshoot.

But there does appear to be something wrong somewhere. I'm not familiar with the BTJr but, judging by the comments of those who are, it should do the job. If it's not the charger then I suspect you have an above normal parasitic load for some reason. I'd put a meter on it and check - if for nothing else than my peace of mind.

Please keep us informed as to what you find out. My curiosity is piqued.

__________________
Steering Lock Links - Search The370Z Bookmarklet - FSM @ NICOclub
Mankind has progressed past the need for war but we haven't evolved that far. - NachoMahma

Troyz

I would think it might be better to drive them around (if possible) to keep the tires round and the gaskets good at least once every 6 weeks even if you can't get out of 2nd gear.

Chuck33079

Plenty of people in this very thread seem to disagree.

__________________
2011 MB Touring-Sport-6sp-Nav/GTM TT/FI TT TDX/JTran/Kosmic/Eibach/Hotchkis/SPC/CSF/RPS/SoThatsWhereAllMyMoneyWent

kenchan