I want to put my xkr on a trickle charger so that it keeps the battery fresh. Is it safe to close the trunk on the wire, assuming it's out of the way of the latch? I don't want to leave the trunk open.

 

I have mine on a CTEK with the lid closed on the wire, no problems at all.

 

It should be fine with the lid closed, but you might cause a "crease" in the weatherstripping where the wire is pressed into the rubber.

And be sure to use a "tender" instead of a "trickle" charger. The tender will top off your battery only when needed, whereas a trickle charger adds the charge whether your battery needs it or not. This can result in overcharging the battery.

 

Buy a CTEK MUS4.3 ...8 step smart charger for best results. Available at Amazon.

No problem with rubber molding and the CTEK wire.

 

. Agreed on both remarks. I have been using a CTEK 3300 for three years with the trunk hatch closed. I drape a micro cloth towel over the rubber gasket and rear bumper and there is no depression on the gasket. The extension ( comfort cord ) which you purchase with the charger is very thin. Works great.

 

Thanks for the input. I've been using the same two chargers on my motorcycle and tractor for years and it's worked great year round, so I'll probably pick up another of those.

It's this one here:
https://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-SE...battery+tender

 

Looks to be the same as the Sears tender I got a few years back. It should do the trick as long as your battery is up to full charge . With the 1 amp charge rate if you are not fully charged it will take forever to go into float mode. It would work great on small batteries and should be ok with a charged battery.

 

I have closed the trunk with no issue with the seal or wire, it won't crimp it at all and damage the wire. I prefer to leave the trunk open as it keeps the Wife from driving off in the car with the maintainer attached. Sure, the trunk light stays on for about 15 minutes but it shuts off. With an overnight span the maintainer shows a complete charge.

One option also is that you could buy a quick connect wire and leave it attached to the underside of the charging posts, they are located behind the rear tire if you look underneath the car at the bottom of that portion of the trunk.

 

I have the extension wire. So, I place the wire from the posts in the car to the extension and then run the wire under the spare tire cover and bring it up just ahead of the trunk opening. feed wire out of the boot (trunk) and close it. Then attach the extension to the wire that is attached to the CTek. I made a reminder sheet out of yellow construction paper with the statement REMEMBER THE CTEK in black and red ink. Place reminder on steering wheel hub and the XKR is hooked up. Elapsed time about 15 seconds. And, no way are you going to forget to detach the CTek with the reminder. I leave the wire in boot (trunk) and off I go. Elapsed time to unhook 8-10 seconds.

 

As I stated above, I use a CTEK MUS4.3...8 step smart charger on all of my sports cars.

I never have to open the trunk or worry about the rubber molding. It takes me all of 10 seconds to connect. The CTEK unit is always visible to see the 8 LED's and the charging stages that the unit is in.

My plug & play connector is outside of the XKR.

My Jaguar is on the CTEK 100% of the time when not being driven.

..

 

An alternative way of not forgetting to unplug the battery tender before driving away is to loop the extension cord over the drivers side outside mirror.

 

I have mine connected to the wall behind, so if I ever DO forget and drive away, the cord will simply pull straight out of the connector.

 

As others have said, you can't really go wrong with a CTEK. I use them on both the XKR and the Lotus. I haven't done the cool routing thing yet, outside the car with the extension, so I just shut the boot lid without any issues at all. But the CTEK is a 'must have' item on just about every modern car that is not driven regularly year-round.

 

Same for me:bought the C-tek from Jaguar because I like paying double the price,haha!That said,I am very happy with the product after experiencing a depleted battery/Jag-under-warranty mobile mechanic to fix it.
My car didn't come with a 12V plug though (was it really an option at purchase-find that a bit light for a car like that) and Jag installed one (well done job I must say) inside the boot.As much I like the 'outside' plug,an inside allows you to plug in a mobile fridge...just an idea...
All that said,what a fan-tas-tic car!(XKR 2014-stratus grey-interior black,red stitching-black and perfo packs)