It is just a general precaution in case you wrench slip and shots the
positive terminal to the chassis metal and ruin your day. I have a 1.5A
trikle charger for years. They are cheap in price and quality but gets
the job done. It is true that the DC output is not the cleanest but your
batteries wouldn't care. Further they smooth out the ripples (I should
call them waves instead) and your ECU will be protected.

Because of cheap transformer construction do expect them to get pretty
hot. Then tend to rely on a bi-metal swtich for overtemp protection.

- Vince

http://gipsyflies.home.comcast.net
1989 Vanagon GL Camper
1993 Mazda Miata (for sale)
1996 Land Rover Discovery
2005 Mini Cooper S

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of JD Foster
Sent: Tuesday, September 07, 2004 3:03 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Trickle Charger Hookup

This weekend I picked up a little trickle charger that I'd like to
permanently install and hardwire so that it keeps the battery topped off
whenever the westy is plugged in.  The question I have is with regards
to the instructions, which say to disconnect the negative terminal from
the battery when putting the charger on.

Is this just a general safety precaution or is it really necessary for
this application?