3 hours ago, AlanB1987 said:

Thanks for explaining, I bought ctek charger, but when is fully charged on cars dash is still shows me 70% and then it keeps between 40 n 60%

Cant understand battery is ok or not

should have bought an Optimate 

I will get tomorrow new battery, I hope starting problem will go away

I use the DEFA ChargerKit 1204 because I have an Webasto heater for my previous Yeti ( soon a new Octavia Scout  TSI190 deliver time estimated to W44 and with same charger kit installed)

This one compensate for my short trips to work and use of the heater who consume battery.

The absolute best charger for Nordic winter time and it extend the lifetime of the battery

 

https://www.defa.com/product/chargerkit-1204/

 

Seems a decent deal?

 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exide-12-7-Car-Battery-Charger-Conditioner-12V-7AH-5-Stage-Smart-Charging-/232242988803

 

https://www.exide.com/eu/en/product/exide-battery-charger-127

 

Eurocarparts are cheeky, it's £59.99 on their website...

 

 

Edited 27 January, 20197 yr by silver1011

I've been following this thread with interest.  With the type of battery and stop/start system on the Octavia am I right in assuming that the battery cannot be charged correctly with a normal charger and only a smart charger should be used ?  I do quite a few short journeys at this time of year and my stop/start never works.  Seems ok when I do long journeys during the summer though.  Would it be a good idea to get a smart charger to keep the battery good at this time ?

I bought smart charger , cos I have long cranking issue,when I charge battery car seams better,does less long cranking, that is my excuse

Smart chargers are often available in Lidl and Aldi for a fraction of the price, on other forums it was stated (claimed) that they were made by the same people to the same spec.

 

I have been using one for 10 years but I did need to replace the tactile membrane switch on the pcb (about 5 pence) when I got fed up with it faffing around, works like new again.

 

Does a good job of reclaiming batteries but limited in current output, for a fast charge of a completely flat battery I use an older traditional more powerfull Aldi charger.

 

Recently swopped out the 2011 Bosch battery on my vehicle with the one I have had on standby, the cell voltage had dropped and after charging with the traditional Aldi one it would drop to under 12v quickly after the charger removed, gave it a slow charge and condition with the Lidl smartcharger, its been sitting outside in an unheated outhouse and I've just checked and its still at 12.7v as it was one hour after the conditioning charge, I may put it back on the vehicle.

I got one from Lidl and it's very got,works fine without any problems  and paid £15, so bargain

CTEK MXS 5

25 minutes ago, TheWanderer said:

CTEK MXS 5

+1

(well I have the 5 and the 7, both work very well) but I do have a Polco EBSC12 that works better.

 

Either way you need a smart charger for these things. I have a couple of the best 'dumb' chargers and they don't cut the mustard

4 hours ago, silver1011 said:

Seems a decent deal?

 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exide-12-7-Car-Battery-Charger-Conditioner-12V-7AH-5-Stage-Smart-Charging-/232242988803

 

https://www.exide.com/eu/en/product/exide-battery-charger-127

 

Eurocarparts are cheeky, it's £59.99 on their website...

 

 

 

A 7AH charger would be no good for a car or even a moped, might charge the battery on my home alarm system though 

 

Somebody needs educating at ECP

 

 

 

Edited 27 January, 20197 yr by SuperbTWM

20 hours ago, SuperbTWM said:

A 7AH charger would be no good for a car or even a moped

 

So why does Exide, who've been making batteries for umpteen years, say that it is ?  Surely they're more qualified to say that.

Just now, silverden said:

 

So why does Exide, who've been making batteries for umpteen years, say that it is ?  Surely they're more qualified to say that.

 

I think you missed the point a bit. There is nothing wrong with the charger, just the ebay listing.

 

AH is a capacity so saying its 7AH is wrong

 

 

Energy = Power * Time

 

People often confuse amp with amp-hour, or kw with kwh. Former is power a certain something can deliver, eg. 7 amps for the ebay listed charger. The battery we have in our Octy are 70aH, meaning when fully charged and no battery degradation, it can hold 0.7 amps for 10 hours.

 

Don't you just love SI units? We'll get more of this when we switch to EV. kW is the motor power or charge speed. kWh is the battery size. How long does it take to charge 21kWh battery at 7kW? How long does it take to discharge a 80kWh battery when using a constant 20kW on the motorway? answers are so easy to calculate.

On ‎27‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 22:45, SuperbTWM said:

A 7AH charger would be no good for a car or even a moped, might charge the battery on my home alarm system though 

 

Somebody needs educating at ECP

 

 

 

 

They made a typo....

 

 

it should be 7A......which is more than adequate...

I just bought another Ctek MXS 5 latest red mode button auto temp adjustment model - I can't find my other one I owned post moving house.

I bought one for a good price with extensions leads (toolbox pack) and got a cig socket adaptor too - just awaiting delivery.

I have an auto XS branded one from aldi which works really well, however is croc clips only (can't fit extension leads or eyelet connectors) and is currently residing on my motorcycle battery keeping that topped up.

I'd recommend the auto XS one too as its cheap and does support AGM (which I have on my bike too) but I want the Ctek one and the comfort connector system for the start stop system on the car.

41 minutes ago, fabdavrav said:

 

They made a typo....

 

 

it should be 7A......which is more than adequate...

Yea, thanks for stating the obvious  clearing that up

If the battery was OK then I would be looking to see what was either dragging it down by measuring the current going out of the battery while it was just sat there with everything closed and the alarm on ! Eg it could be the glovebox light stuck on, or it could be the alternator not giving a good charge out ! As a quick test of the alternator put your headlights on for a couple of min with the engine off and the lights should stay bright, start the car and switch on the heated rear window so your putting a good load on the battery and the alternator normally wines as you Rev the engine above idle ! If you have a voltmeter on charge the volts should be around 13.5 volts. Cheers Stuart

Am currently looking for a charger to charge the battery in my Superb. Had to get the RAC out the other day. Their check said the alternator was okay, just the battery wasn't.

 

Anyway, I bought a CTEK MSX5.0, to charge - and hopefully resurrect - the battery, but despite going through all its phases, and the LEDs all lighting up in a row, the battery wasn't actually charged at all! Car wouldn't turn over, my multimeter says 11.2V. The battery might well be knackered; but if so, the CTEK didn't detect it and indicated it was good to go. No use to man nor beast.

 

I've returned the MSX5.0 to Amazon for a refund and am considering the Optimate 5 (battery is 70Ah/780CCA Bosch S5).

 

Fitted a new battery in the meantime, but I want to keep it topped up through the winter.

I'm surprised a battery in that poor of a condition indicated ok, especially at a voltage that low. That said, its a charger not a battery analyser/tester, it needs to have some leeway in design otherwise anybody with a slightly tired battery wouldn't be able to charge the damn thing

 

How long had it been connected? did you have it in AGM mode?

 

 

Well, yeah but 11.2V is not fully charged so something's wrong. It was connected for about 11 hours.

 

I would disagree with you in that it is marketed specifically as a battery analyser/tester as well as being a charger. It says in the manual that it analyses and tests the battery so that it can apply different charge types.

 

Maybe it was just faulty. Lots of people recommend them, so they can't all be bad I suppose.

 

I replaced it with an OptiMate 6 Select, and it's better constructed, with longer leads so the unit can be placed outside the engine bay (the CTEK's lead were too short), but it's a more expensive unit.

 

Anyway, it's currently charging the same dodgy battery, will see if it revives it, or declares it dead, or doesn't do either.

 

 

I have a Ring smart charger, but when it was £30 and I had £30 Argos vouchers, which stacked with £5 back for over £20 spend.

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7094538

 

My battery died during a trip, had to call AutoAid to boost the voltage to start up. Root cause is probably due to a bug somewhere that left the lights on after I moved the car in the car park. When I got home, I hooked this charger up. After ~24 hours, it threw error indicating battery fault. But it had sufficiently charged the battery and the second time hooking this up, over a few days, it had fully recharged the 12v. I've not had any problem since.

 

I plan to hook this up every month over winter to keep the battery fully charged. Good charger, weatherproof to allow me to use it on driveway and perfect cable length for me.

It's just finished, and shows a flashing red #8 led, = battery's knacked. At least it detected it 👍

Just for reference, this one gets my vote. I have used it and its nice and simple to use for different batteries and works well.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07793CK5K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Suaoki Car Battery Charger and Maintainer 4 Amp 6V 12V Fully Automatic 8-Stage Charging for Cars Truck Motorcycle with LCD Screen