On 12/31/2013 10:29 PM, Rufus wrote:
> Smarty wrote:
>> On 12/31/2013 12:09 AM, Unquestionably Confused wrote:
>>> On 12/30/2013 3:56 PM, Smarty wrote:
>>>> Having owned C5 and C6 convertibles which have been stored for the
>>>> winter, I have become accustomed to using a trickle charger directly
>>>> connected to the battery for many years. The rest of the car has been
>>>> disconnected and only the trickle charger has been connected to the
>>>> battery.
>>>>
>>>> The new C7 battery is no longer under the hood. It is in the trunk,
>>>> and
>>>> not as easily to disconnect and trickle charge.
>>>>
>>>> My question:
>>>>
>>>> Can I trickle charge via the cigarette lighter socket or another
>>>> auxiliary power 12 V socket which the car also provides? Or do I
>>>> have to
>>>> get into the trunk, remove the trunk lining, and then connect directly
>>>> across the battery as I have previously done for the last 15 years
>>>> on my
>>>> C5 and C6?
>>>>
>>>> Any advice would be appreciated.
>>>
>>> Turn off the car, open door, remove ignition key. Plug something into
>>> the accessory socket. If it works, you can trickle charge via that
>>> outlet. If it's dead, so are you hopes of trickle charging in that
>>> manner.
>>>
>>> Most of the trickle chargers available these days (battery
>>> maintainers) have both battery clips as well as a plug and socket. Why
>>> not just connect a lightweight cable and plug to the battery? Summer
>>> months, leave the plug capped and cable stowed next to battery.
>>> Connect it to the maintainer cable in the winter. That's how I do it
>>> with my C5 and formerly did it with my C4.
>>
>> Thank you for the helpful advice. I was concerned that the 12 volt
>> sockets had diodes or some other method to prevent a current source to
>> drive them rather than use them as a source of current. I also worried
>> that the modern technique of disabling a power port when the key is off
>> may, as you have indicated, disable the port after the engine is shut
>> down.
>>
>> I like the idea of a direct connection to the battery, and indeed did
>> that very same thing on both my C5 and C6. In both cases, however, I did
>> not make such an attachment when the car was in the warranty period. I
>> merely opened the hood and used the alligator clips / connectors
>> directly to the battery.
>>
>> With the C7 battery concealed under trunk carpeting, this does not
>> appear to be an option, although I may actually find it to be easier
>> than I think. I have not pulled up the trunk carpet to really research
>> this carefully, and felt my "best" option for the warranty period would
>> be to use one of the 12 volt sockets.
>>
>> The C7 actually has a 12V port in the trunk, and perhaps this one will
>> stay alive after the engine is off. I intend to test this as soon as the
>> trickle charger and accessory cigarette plug cord arrive.
>>
>> Thank you very much again.
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>
> ...your C7 has a key?

Similar to the C6 and C5, in having a fob used as a remote control as
well as a key. The only difference in the C7 is that the key is hidden
inside the fob, and can be extracted by a simple motion. In the older C6
and C5, the key was a separate item and was not designed to be stowed
inside the fob..