I work for a top 500 fortune company (#65 Caterpillar) and when it comes to electrical wires we always go by the "If it moves, don't let it touch, if it touches, don't let it move!" policy when routing our wiring harnesses. It's a really good rule to stick to!

I'm an accountant that was not fortunate enough to do this stuff growing up. Your content is invaluable to me, every bit. And it's there 24/7. Thank you.

Cody, Thank you for doing the simple videos of stuff that normal 20 year olds should know. I'm 27 and my father is an aircraft mechanic. The last thing he wanted to do when he came home was to break out his tools and change his oil, or show me how to tend batteries, or even change a starter for that matter. You are filling in the gaps of everything he taught me, and the small stuff that he forgot to show me how to do. Thank you!

In case you're wondering, those connectors are called SAE connectors. Not only are they used for battery charging, but are also often found on radio equipment and a few other things. Biggest thing is to always double check the polarity! You can mess it up if you're not paying attention, because it's the same plug on both ends.

Dielectric grease on that male and female connectors will save you!!!! Those things corrode so fast, I know from experience. Ever since i thought to use the grease I haven't had one go bad on me since

Just a note on those pigtails. I got one that had the built in fuse, from the manufacturer (same one Wranglerstar is using), the fuse had a manufacturing defect, which makes it look like the battery is bad, or there is something wrong with the charger if you have a brand new battery like I did (after replacing it and rewiring the same bad cord). So then after getting a second trickle charger, and getting same problem, I finally swapped the pigtail and that resolved problem, so then I noticed the fuse, and on a lark swapped the pigtail back to the "bad" one and changed the fuse, and everything worked. So $150 and many hours and frustration later, bottom line is *check the fuse first!*. I'm sure obvious to you reading this now, but at the time it wasn't to me.

Yes it's simple but it's about finding and sharing working systems that are easy to replicate. Thanks for the vid :)

You cut off the red/black markings. I suppose you will find out in the end.

Since you cut both ends at the same time how did you keep up with the proper polarity? Or does it matter?

As mentioned by others, polarity seems like it would be a good topic to cover when installing 2 pin SAE quick connector.

Some red electrical tape around the positive wire before cutting the factory leads would be a nice step to add for us guys who are more amateur than you. I like the "how to" videos. It's getting back to the basics of your channel that I remember from back in the day. I've been watching since I was 17 in 2012.

"Why is there never time to do it right, but always time to do it over?" Great quote from an old timer I am lucky to call a friend.

Cody, very good video!! 👍 One thing.... You obviously did it correctly, but for the uninitiated; correct polarity of the pigtail would have been good to mention. 😉 Take care & thank you for what you do. ☺

The first video of yours I watched was charging a battery with a chainsaw. It would be great content to remake

I use XT-60 connectors on all my stuff. They are kind of the new popular connector with small lithium polymer packs so they are easy to get and are rated for 60 amps.

I'm glad you go into depth with your videos. I'm 23, a carpenter and builder (jack of all trades) haha but I am young still and have a lot to learn. I have learnt a lot watching your videos and just really appreciate the content. Thanks Cody! Keep up the great work

I am one of those young guys still learning basic skills and tricks. Thank you for taking the time.

Cody I enjoyed the video but something you forgot to mention, is paying attention to the polarity of the wires for your charge circuit. If you hook up the charger backwards you can either damage the battery or damage the charger. Because you cut the wires long you should be able to go back to the ring terminals that were original and look for the ribbing on the side of the wiring jacket, depending on the manufacturer sometimes the ribbing is on the negative side and sometimes it's on the positive side, so that's how you can identify your polarity if forgot to take note of what one was positive and negative. Cody I enjoyed the comment about the photo shoot out there on the property, last month I turn 62 and I have thought back about many of the people I worked with and it's funny that some of the people that I worked with, the ones I remember are the ones that offered the Helping Hand when I was new on a job they gave me the little tips and hints of how to do a better job. Then there were the few that wouldn't tell you anything but were there to belittle you when the job the job was done wrong. And I think a lot of the guys that are belittling the video are armchair quarterbacking it.

Cody, Thanks for sharing this video. I just put a new battery in my 1977 Yamaha XS 650 and the pigtail would be nice for off season storage but the battery is easier enough to remove and I keep it in my shop which is heated. Thanks for sharing your knowledge as always.

Care to redo it? Drive the cable close to the handle bar to power your GPS while on the go.

Good to know that they have different types of plugs for lithium batteries! This is the first time I’ve seen a set of new connectors. Thank you for showing us your up on these things.👍

Anyone else notice the Rolex? Great video, I bought a battery tender for my lawn mower a few months ago and I did not do this. Looks like I have a Saturday afternoon project!

No matter the subject ,I am always impressed by your how to videos. It's great you are sharing your knowledge with the next generation, and the folks who might not know. Thank you.

Pro tip: Cut your positive lead about a half inch longer, so you don't confuse them after you've chopped off the colours. Of course you could choose the other wire, but I didn't want to leave a negative comment.

What I like most is the advice on the little things like tools and procedures. You just keep building my confidence

So, does it autodetect the polarity or did you just get lucky?

Great tips, as usual, thx WS! Fwiw, I might have just *installed the "slightly too big" factory charger wire ends underneath the bikes battery cable ends.* I usually try and do this also because the battery cables are strong and stiff and when you tighten down the screw/nut, *you won't smash & twist the delicate accessory wire ends.*

If anyone is looking for a good tender that is inexpensive the Black and Decker 6v/12v charger is a great buy for $15 on Amazon.

I would place e piece of heat shrink before crimping to prevent further splitting of the conductors. Great Vid as always.

Great vid! I've been gathering the components to make a solar powered battery tender for a quad bike. I hadn't thought of the pigtail idea but I can see how it will save me some work to install it as you did.

Love your channel Cody. My favorite binge. I had the advantage of a mother a d father who taught me everything from the shop to kitchen , chain saw to stove. Thanks .

Dad use the same connector set. Over 40 years. Whenever he ran low, he would just order a gross of that particular connector. About 10 years before he retired from appliance repair, we built about five kits. One for each utility bucket of tools that we took out.

Did you loctite the screws? You mentioned it but cut around it after saying about doing things right the first time, and in the back of my mind that question came to mind.

I just got one similar to that on special from Northern Tool. I don't know if it works on lithium ion batteries, because I didn't think to check. I'll have to dig out the instructions, or look 'em up online.

I am a professional diesel truck technician and I absolutely hate looking at the battery box and seeing 20 different little ring terminals (all different wrong sizes of course) birds nested everywhere :/

Thanks! So say I had multiple power sources for my coach battery, shore, alternator, and solar, do they all just connect at the same time to the battery?

50/50 chance of getting the polarity right, AFTER you cut the original ring terminals off without marking them!~!

Ive tried alot of the cheaper wire strippers and the Snapon ones seem best. I always find that the cheaper ones dont cut insulation enough and it just stretches it out so i bought a second pair of snapon strippers for home

If the other end of the battery cable is a ring terminal, it is sometimes easier to connect your charge wires at the solenoid and frame ground so that you don't have to fuss with the charge wires when you change the battery.

Wow. I've found my mondial hps a real freaking pain to get to the battery (eg when attaching an alarm). I have that "pig tail" attachment available but always assumed (I'm showing my ignorance and laziness here) that this was a computer hookup. Great info Cody, thanks.

Hey Cody, we don't make mistakes, we just like to do things twice LOL Cheers from Tokyo!

This mentality that you speak of isn't just on KZfaq it bleeds into everywhere and everyday life.... take a job for instance ....you have people that come down hard on new employees for not just knowing something for no reason...... It is a mentality that I do not understand nor agree with... Everyone has to start from somewhere and that's okay.... Thanks for all your demonstrations Cody!

Thanks Cody! Your video reminded me. I need to get a pair of battery pliers. I use them enough in my RV. And other applications. That I can justify owning a set

Thanks for sharing Mr Wranglerstar, great to learn from you as always!

I did the very same thing with usb on my motorcycle. I used self tapping screws and mounted it to the bike frame. I put mine right between my tank and the neck.

Ya know? Most people iv dealt with complain because they have to go back to things and do what ever they did again, Well its mostly because they didnt do it right the first time

A little " thing " i'll share with you - and others. My 20 year old manual lead acid type 1.5 amp charger would top off the charge at 15.8 volts. A little high for small motor cycle or scooter batteries, over time - like a winter. it would slowly boil the water out of the battery. Your modern li-po batt is a whole different animal. I bet it tapers the charge very nicely to a float charge when it sees the voltage rise. My dumb charger would just keep on going until the water boiled out. The solution i found was a small wall transformer, for a small item that was 12.5 volts at 100 ma. Cut the plug add clips and let it go all winter, no load voltage was 13 or so volts and it must output DC not AC volts. Lead acid type batteries only. The 12.5 volt transformer would let the battery voltage rise to around 13.5 or so, with low current it will not harm the battery, you could even get away with a 50 ma transformer. Works on car batteries as well. Battery tenders have voltage sensing and taper the charge as the voltage rises, but if you don't have one find a 12 volt wall wart add clips and there ya go. Just be sure it is a DC output transformer.

Well said. In order to know we must first learn. Different people, different levels.

What is the book that you use to reference old hand tools? I am looking to order a copy but I’m drawing a blank on the name.

Couldn't agree more with the opening bit on being knowledgeable. My favourite saying when I train someone is this; Understand that what you understand is not understood by others. I'm never going to know more than someone else, and someone will always be better at something than I am and vice versa. I do find especially on the internet and in person, humility and modesty are traits hard to come by these days and I will say it irks me a little when I encounter those egos. It seems gone are the days where things are left at the door.

If you've ever owned a motorcycle, you know this is a MUST have. Otherwise, you're likely to not keep it charged and end up buying a battery every year, or worse, get stranded.

I like the thing you do like mechanic with Rolex on your wrist. “Tell me you’re rich without telling me you’re rich” lollllll

Cody, We, I include us, as fathers have not always done our best jobs at teaching our son's to be men. I saw that in my deployments to other countries and would hear from my soldiers comments like: "Look at all the foreigners around us" and telling the indigenous people to "Speak English..." when we are in their country. This is fostered by not understanding that the world does not revolve solely around that individual. We have a responsibility to teach our sons to understand that in the world, we have to be responsible participants, not deserving overlords. Keep doing videos like this for those who don't have that skill. You have had more breadth to your experience than most others. Share that and continue to elicit additional information from those of us that may have more experience, to chime in for more clarity or detail. Love your channel. God Bless you and your family.

sae connector

0:30 why i love this channel. Truly appreciate it.

What’s the name of that stripping tool?

Some very wise words and some great information. Thank you, 👍up

I use those connectors on my machines. Online when I buy them theyre listed as SAE connector.

Right off of the amazon page: The unit is built-in 2 color LED indicates stage of charging, so very easy to use. FLASHING RED: not charging battery, reverse battery.

I totally agree. In fact i am wrute my kids a book about hunting how what when and where. Even though they both hunt yhey do not know everything

The comment about grandstanding in the very beginning struck a chord with me. When you're young you kind of just assume that everyone who doesnt know what you know as a guy is weak or not a real man, heck Ive done this myself. Thank you for making me look inside of myself, deffinetely something Im gonna start fixing about my character

Here's a time-saving tip. Don't cut off a device's polarized output cord connectors unless you are immediately able to label at least one of the conductors. I like heat shrink tubing because it's an expensive are available in a range of sizes . Also, do not connect a simple passive USB adapter cord to any of the charged batteries. Use a converter with an active regulator

I can't believe you did it that way! I would have done it...just kidding. I appreciate all of your videos. Thanks!

Crimp-on connectors have never worked for me. I have to tin the stripped wire lead, crimp the connecter on, solder the two together, and use fresh heat-shrink as needed. Always. Cycles, speakers, cars, trucks.

Very cool! I am definitely going to do that for my lawnmower battery.

I have always heard the connectors called a "2 pole flat connector" or "2 pole trailer connector"

Could have used a small washer and not had to cut off the factory ends.

Polarity identification! very important step overlooked. Especially if people are learning from this video

I don't claim to be an expert at everything. I know you'd wipe the floor with me when it comes to polishing off a liter bottle of Scotch myself in an evening

hi cody you might want to rethink the terminals on your battery charge fly leads, the fitted ones were the right size for the current they will have to deal with, your much smaller ones will not take the amps going through the battery, and it doesn't matter if the charge fly leads are connected to a charger or not, your small connections on the battery will not take the amperage put on them as they are connected directly to the battery leads unfused, they will be the weakest linc

I purchased a battery tender on package says battery has to be fully charged initially for it to maintain it correctly so apparently it doesn't work on half charged battery. Does that make sense ?

A fella that knows a good way to keep time without a cell phone. Nice choice!

Great video as usual. Hoping you can put that battery tender on Wranglermart. A few of my riding buddies and I were just talking about upgrading our bikes batteries and staying on top of the maintence for longer life and less trouble. That way all win with the purchases. Keep up the great content.

SAE TO SAE 12V-24V Quick Disconnect, I use an extension for my motorcycle so the plug is by the handle bars for easy charging and easy to USB power adapter....i also use a "SAE Quick Disconnect Wire Harness Panel Mount" for a very clean and easy to use charge point for larger equipment (side by side, tractor, etc.)

I watch this channel to learn new skills or improve my methods of doing things. Mr. W. . YOu're touching on subjects that are very pertinent. There are young poeple comming up who don't know things. There are older adults who also have holes in their skill sets. EVERYONE has blind spots. Enjoy the videos and hope folks learn what they can. Its all good and it all helps make life just that much easier.

Do you prefer the device in your thumbnail or in the video?

This system works great for me. Been using it for about six months.

Cody, glad you put the armchair quarterbacks in their place! My wife knows nothing about battery tenders.

Them connectors are now 15 for 50 bucks there really process gauging at napa now for the ring conectors

Thanks for the video on the truth!!!! Loving it.

Can I charge a lith ion battery with the old style charger. It goes down to 2 amp??

Great idea. I have several of these pigtails around. And...several dead batteries. I will do this!! God bless my friend.

I like your intro about the superlative nature of people you run into online. 99 times out of 100 these people are just critics they don't know how to create they don't produce anything they set back and look at what others create what other people work on and produce and try to find fault to give them some meaning in their shallow empty lives. I think Mike Tyson said it best when he said social media has made you all too comfortable with talking s*** to each other and not getting punched in the face for it.

Polarity

I'd call it a 2 pin trailer connector or just quick connect you can buy them at walmart

Cody I love your rant!! Very well said! I’ve known how to do stuff on your channel but you’ve brought another view to it. You’re a very good teacher as well! God Bless!!

What watch are you wearing these days? Looks good. 👍

Completely in jest, I can't believe you didn't use a nut driver.

Hi Cody, I think they're called bullet connectors. Don't tell KZfaq!

Apparently it doesent select the battery type. It was flashing yellow cause you have to plug it in, make battery selection by pressing button and then connect to battery then it will be constant yellow when connected and charging and will flash green every 20 sec I believe as charging.

Plug Type is an SAE... Ring terminals place the one with the biggest gap at the bottom and stack up, then you don't need to terminate again... If you don't want it flapping about open the connector around the frame and put on the cap looks like you have enough room for it.

You can get lineman's pliers with that style of crimper built in. Three tools in one instead of two!

Thanks a bunch for showing us your mistakes! Such simple things that I wouldn't of thought of, now i won't make the same mistakes. Great video, and very relevant introductory comment about commenters throwing shade on other people! Cheers!

Great video mr w keep up the great work

The only thing you need is the CTEK charger it does it all for you

Hello. Enjoy your weekend

I've got an Optimate 4, very happy with it

why did you cut these terminals so far from endings? 14:11

Check out the Noco Genius chargers. They’re designed to work/charge just about any battery you would come across.

Wow, I learned so much, thank you for creating this video.