Battery Charging

[niceguy235]

Had the warning come up the other day about low battery.

I was going to replace it, but can I get away with using my ctek charger to see if I can get some more life out of it?

Must admit it only did it the once but thought it would be worth a go.

Any do’s and dont’s?

I am going to leave it connected whilst it’s charging.

[AGB]

Hey

How old is the battery? Expectations for modern batteries are about 3-5.

Is the car in regular use or is it left to sit for extended periods? If it's left, do you leave the CTEK connected? Have you metered the battery to know what voltage you're getting?

You don't say what model of CTEK you use but you'll need to run in Recond or Supply mode and depending on the model you have, it may not support this functionality.

Not sure if the battery is deeply discharged but you'll need to use a multimeter before you start because there is a threshold of about 6-8v, below which a CTEK won't recognise it. You can connect everything up and not get any indication of what's going on, only that it hasn't worked when you meter it or try and turn the car over.

I bought a Ring 612 smart diagnostic charger a few years back as the interface was useful for monitoring progress. You can find them for about £30-40 than the MSRP on the link and it has worked pretty well in your scenario.

I gave up on CTEK (I had them as OEM rebranded via Porsche) and moved to NOCO, more versatile and I carry a Noco Boost (sufficient to jump start 12v) + the connectors and build is more robust.

Hope this helps.


A

[niceguy235]

Hey

How old is the battery? Expectations for modern batteries are about 3-5.

Is the car in regular use or is it left to sit for extended periods? If it's left, do you leave the CTEK connected? Have you metered the battery to know what voltage you're getting?

You don't say what model of CTEK you use but you'll need to run in Recond or Supply mode and depending on the model you have, it may not support this functionality.

Not sure if the battery is deeply discharged but you'll need to use a multimeter before you start because there is a threshold of about 6-8v, below which a CTEK won't recognise it. You can connect everything up and not get any indication of what's going on, only that it hasn't worked when you meter it or try and turn the car over.

I bought a Ring 612 smart diagnostic charger a few years back as the interface was useful for monitoring progress. You can find them for about £30-40 than the MSRP on the link and it has worked pretty well in your scenario.

I gave up on CTEK (I had them as OEM rebranded via Porsche) and moved to NOCO, more versatile and I carry a Noco Boost (sufficient to jump start 12v) + the connectors and build is more robust.

Hope this helps.


A

Hi, sorry didnt get the notification!

I am fairly convinced it's the original battery from new so just over five years old.

The ctek i have is the MXS 5.0  and has been ok when i have needed it.

I think i read somewhere that once connected, it's advisable to shut the bonnet and lock the car?

I dont need to as we are secure with parking but i will if it is good practice

[DSGboy]

In my experience the CTEK MX05 is easy to use.  Best to use the dedicated contact to the car chassis for the -ve lead, rather than the traditional method of both charger leads directly connected to the battery terminals.
Follow the CTEK instructions and you can’t go far wrong.  If you’ve lost your copy ten you can view on the CTEK website.
YouTube is your friend too,
You can safely shut the bonnet of the car and lock the vehicle with the charged attached and active.

[Wayne.R]

Another one for NOCO chargers. I had used CTEK for years, until NOCO arrived.
Find the NOCO to be better built, more robust and also have a permanant eyelet fixture, that allows me to leave them on the battery and disconnet the lead, in order to use the car.

Easy.