Like many motorists my car is not going to get much use over the near future.

I have been given a CTEK charger and before using it I would welcome some advice.

1 Is it suitable for my car?

2 If it is what is the correct procedure of connecting it up?

Many thanks in anticipation

3 hours ago, Llwyngwernog said:

Like many motorists my car is not going to get much use over the near future.

I have been given a CTEK charger and before using it I would welcome some advice.

1 Is it suitable for my car?

2 If it is what is the correct procedure of connecting it up?

Many thanks in anticipation

does your car have an agm or Efb battery?

also does the cteck have an agm or cold mode on it?

 

if it has an agm mode, then you should be fine.

Whatever you do, do not do a reconditioning cycle, that will likely kill an agm.

 

https://www.ctek.com/storage/ma/3f8cf34932cc46889f1d189ca335379c/cd879e35fdd145898b6b99c549c40292/pdf/7F18A34BA7A2CF91AC9F5404D8EB07FE2E6CAA66/MXS_5.0-manual-low-UK-EN.pdf

Edited 25 March, 20206 yr by cheezemonkhai

Many thanks for the link ...

Regards

A note for connecting up to the battery terminals - with the charger unpowered, connect Red/positive charger lead to positive battery terminal, then connect Black/negative lead to the bare tab mounted on the firewall bulkhead - NOT the negative battery terminal. The same precaution applies to connecting up jump-start leads.

Thanks ...have done this as per instructions in user handbook .

Battery charging ok 

Regards

 

Its the same CTEK charger I have.. there is a AGM mode.. front panel has an indicator. Just look on the picture you posted OP

To make life even easier I bought comfort connector extension lead and the CTEK 12v/cig lighter adaptor, the sockets are live with ignition off on Octavias so you can charge off this.. no messing around under the bonnet. Charger lives locked in the garage flying lead comes from under the garage door goes under drivers door job inside the car done

Perfect

How long do we think the battery is good for if we don't use our cars for weeks? So far we're looking at 3 weeks at least.

48 minutes ago, JimmyUK said:

How long do we think the battery is good for if we don't use our cars for weeks? So far we're looking at 3 weeks at least.

I left mine parked on my brothers drive last year for 4 weeks whilst on holiday in the US, started with no problems - still had original battery fitted in 2015.

46 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

I left mine parked on my brothers drive last year for 4 weeks whilst on holiday in the US, started with no problems - still had original battery fitted in 2015.

I'm sure in most cases if you usually use your car for commuting/some distance daily this will be fine leaving a few weeks.

Our car for instance doesn't get used for commuting and usually only short distances during the week (pre-corona lockdown) - so over the winter months we've had issues with the battery being low so the car shuts down follow me home lights, interior lights etc and then at times reporting charge 12v battery on the maxidot. The warning signs are usually there way before in that even on a slightly longer weekend run the stop/start would never kick in.

Its never been bad enough the car has never started though luckily and also I didn't want it to get to this state. So its been on the charger a couple of times over the winter months just to fully top up the battery

I also stuck it on the charger when we went away first two weeks of march (while we still could luckily) - I know instantly when the battery is good as once up to temp the stop start is very aggressive at cutting the engine again

4 hours ago, Scotty72 said:

I'm sure in most cases if you usually use your car for commuting/some distance daily this will be fine leaving a few weeks.

My Octavia usually only gets used once a week for shopping (20 mile round trip) plus once a month for a visit to friends, family, etc. - it's definitely not used for a daily commute.

I've been thinking about this a thought "I can just go out for a half hour run" but that is very much not recommended in current times. Delivery times for ctek chargers on Amazon are end of April! Does anyone have any recommendations for a useful charger that can be acquired in a matter of days from a shop that is open?  I like the idea of a cig socket charger but these don't seem easy to find apart from Amazon.

Hi,

 

you could try one of these, I use one on my bike to keep it in good condition over the winter

 

https://www.aldi.co.uk/auto-xs-car-battery-charger/p/090030347442700

 

See if your local store has one.

 

John

On 27/03/2020 at 11:25, Scotty72 said:

I'm sure in most cases if you usually use your car for commuting/some distance daily this will be fine leaving a few weeks.

 

 

19 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

My Octavia usually only gets used once a week for shopping (20 mile round trip) plus once a month for a visit to friends, family, etc. - it's definitely not used for a daily commute.

 

Yes, it doesn't need daily use, so long as the use that it gets it is driven far enough to charge the battery as much as possible. I would guess 10 miles each way is enough to do this, between turning the engine over..........

.........so possibly ok for a few weeks as mentioned so long as everything else on / in the car is behaving normal.

 

I usually recommend a solar charger for anyone worried about their battery condition, or a normal charger. I use both for same reasons as Scotty.

55 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

I've been thinking about this a thought "I can just go out for a half hour run" but that is very much not recommended in current times. Delivery times for ctek chargers on Amazon are end of April! Does anyone have any recommendations for a useful charger that can be acquired in a matter of days from a shop that is open?  I like the idea of a cig socket charger but these don't seem easy to find apart from Amazon.

 

I think ECP is open online and delivering............

 

It wouldn't be difficult to connect an old 12v plug to a new (or older charger), instead of whatever clips it has. It is only four little wires to strip and connect up.

15 minutes ago, Tilt said:

 

I usually recommend a solar charger for anyone worried about their battery condition, or a normal charger. I use both for same reasons as Scotty.

 

11 minutes ago, Tilt said:

 

I think ECP is open online and delivering............

 

 

 

Thanks. Do solar chargers need to be stop/start specific? 

Something like this work?

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/ring-solar-power-battery-maintainer-549777741

Any views on this idea (sitting here bored). Caravan (obviously not being used and parked next to the car!) has a solar panel that maintains the leisure battery over the winter.  Could I disconnect it from the leisure battery and run extension leads to the car? Car has EFB battery,  caravan charger has a option to charge AGM or "normal"

41 minutes ago, MarkyG82 said:

 

 

 

Thanks. Do solar chargers need to be stop/start specific? 

Something like this work?

https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/ring-solar-power-battery-maintainer-549777741

 

28 minutes ago, GreenMachine1.6 said:

Any views on this idea (sitting here bored). Caravan (obviously not being used and parked next to the car!) has a solar panel that maintains the leisure battery over the winter.  Could I disconnect it from the leisure battery and run extension leads to the car? Car has EFB battery,  caravan charger has a option to charge AGM or "normal"

 

 

Not sure..................Google probably your best friend for advice on this guys. 

4 hours ago, GreenMachine1.6 said:

Any views on this idea (sitting here bored). Caravan (obviously not being used and parked next to the car!) has a solar panel that maintains the leisure battery over the winter.  Could I disconnect it from the leisure battery and run extension leads to the car? Car has EFB battery,  caravan charger has a option to charge AGM or "normal"

There’s no reason why it won’t work or at least slow the rate of discharge down. For EFB, set it to normal mode and connected as the manual states. AGM batteries need charging with voltage limited to 14.8v max.

 

 

Looking into getting one of these chargers and the Ctek brand is a favourite but there are a few problems with power button giving up fairly early into it's use. Any suggestions as to particular models people have good reports of.

Lidl/Aldi ones are excellent, made by the same factory as the Ctek ones because the membrane switches also cause problems! After suffering for years with mine I bought 10 or so PCB mount switches for £1 delivered and replaced the original one, it now works better than even when I bought it new, the switch always was dodgy, an easy fix.

Yes we had a Aldi one, lasted for years and then it wouldn't run through the options via the button. Attractive price. Expect Aldi will have them on the shelves before long.

Edited 28 March, 20206 yr by benterrier

That was exactly my problem from day 1, would work after a while & got worse & worse when not used for any length of time.

 

A very easy & cheap repair, ideal Coronavirus project!

I think i'll use my daily walk tomorrow to get to aldi.

On 27/03/2020 at 08:09, JimmyUK said:

How long do we think the battery is good for if we don't use our cars for weeks? So far we're looking at 3 weeks at least.

Generally, a battery in good condition will still start a vehicle after 30 days stand time. That’s the usual spec for OEM battery performance and electrical architecture. They can go for 6 to 8 weeks in some instances and still crank it over but the risk of a non start increases. After this, there are no guarantees and best not to push it this far.

 

AGMs can be discharged below the point they will crank an engine and be left as long as 30 more days and still be recovered with a full 24hr charge but it would be better to check and charge all battery types once per month with a mains charger to be safe.

 

Short trips to and from local supermarkets won’t provide enough engine run time to recover a discharged battery. Revving up the engine does not add more charge.

 

i reckon if lockdown continues for 3 months or more, breakdowns and RAC/AA call outs will rise in about 5+ weeks time.