Battery plug in cord on Beetle?

[hake0305]

My NBC has died on me twice today. The battery is only about a year old and was checked out about 2 weeks ago and tested fine. I have a stereo system with an amp hooked up to the battery. It has been hooked up for 7 months now. But lately I only drive the car about once a week or less, so I think the lack of driving it and thus recharging the battery is allowing the amp to drain the battery.

My question is if there is a plug for the battery that I can use an extension cord to plug the car into the electricity when I am not using it.

I could not find any reference to one in the manual, but I know my mom's basic Neon has one, so I figured I would check here to see if anyone knows if there is one and where I would find it.

[Smileybug]

Don't think there is one. But you can buy a trickle charger for the battery that you hook up to the battery and plug into an outlet.

[yoyorob]

another option might be one of the solar powered trickle chargers commonly provided when new beetles are purchased new from the dealer. they're occasionally available online for pretty reasonable prices....

gl

[wawalker]

It's probably a block heater on your mom's Neon given where you live. There is a brand name battery maintainer called "Battery Tender" that has a good reputation and is made in several different models and sizes. You can hook a permanent lead up to your battery and then run it down say to a spot on the lower grill where a small plug would be the only thing exposed which you would simply attach to the tender when your NB is parked--convenient and no need to get under the hood every time. It would charge the battery, then when fully charged it goes into a battery maintenance mode--so it's "smart" as in you never need to worry about overcharging.

[Toad]

i bought a little trickle charger at interstate when i was having battery trouble with my fox. it came with both clamp and ring connectors. I put the ring connectors on my foxs battery so it would be an easy plug and play.

The charger was only 30 cbucks or something, and i keep it with the clamp connectors (i dont know where i put the ring ones) in the audi if i ever need it.

[ej2005]

I have the same problem with my NBC. I bought used last year and has a cheap battery in it. I also don't have the radio code. So, I do not want to disconnect the battery and replace at this time. So, I have a battery tender Jr. and bought a cigarette lighter socket which attached to the tender. You can charge the battery this way and the key does not have to be on. Lighter socket is hot all the time, so I just plug in the battery tender every few weeks during the winter months and it kept the charge up. Some times it may take awhile to get the charge completed, but you can technically leave the charger on all the time, as it does not overcharge the battery as less than 1 amp I believe.

[macdave]

A Ctek charger would work.

This

Amazon.com: CTEK US 800 12V Smart Battery Charger: Automotive

or this

Amazon.com: CTEK Multi US 3300 12V Smart Battery Charger: Automotive