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MG TD TF 1500 - A note of caution! Re: battery tenders

2 weeks ago I purchased a Schumacher brand on-board battery charger....
I have used them for other MG's and collector cars, none of which, were Positive ground cars....
After properly attaching the loop leads to the battery, and running an extension ac cord to the "pigtail", I dropped the open ac pigtail onto the firewall of the TD, and a big spark jumped....
I naturally was very disturbed by this, and rechecked the instructions, to make sure that there was no problem with Positive-ground cars....
Well, the instructions were clear, that this charger could be used on either type of ground....
So I sent the charger back to Schumacher , after calling them about it....
Recieved the replacement yesterday, in the mail, and it is exactly the same...
It seems, that on this brand, the DC ground (black) and AC ground (prong on triple plug), are connected together! Obviously, if the ground prong of the AC plug touches any metal on the car, it will create a dead short to the battery! Needless to say this is a very dangerous situation....
I returned the charger to O'Reily's , where I purchased it, and bought a "Battery Tender" brand, which uses only a two-prong AC plug, and no ground from battery to AC...Much safer.
Hope this makes sense to all, and be careful.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

I have 6 battery tenders from Harbor Freight, 7 bucks each and use them on all my cars, boats and lawntractors, never a problem.
Tom Maine (TD8105)

Tom
Exactly my point....Specifically, the "Schumacher" brand , is the problem...
I have used them for years, but this model will not be safe, when used on a positive ground car.
Edward
E.B. Wesson

This thread was discussed on 10/04/2011

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