C Tek installing Comfort indicator panel

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

PhantomF4

Active Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2015
Messages
343
Location
Somewhere south of Iceland
Car
R230 Thulite Red
I've been using my CTek charger to keep my SL battery in good health and have bought the extension cable with indicator panel to make connecting up easier.

I had originally considered cutting into the side trim panel inside the boot to mount the indicator panel but as the extension lead is 3metres long I'm wondering if the connector could be mounted inside the car to make access more convenient?

The stowage compartment behind the driver's seat seems like it may be a good place as there is a fuse box under a removeable panel in the bottom of the compartment, the only question being, how to get the cable into the boot and onto the battery?

Is anyone able to offer any practical advice?
 
In my experience unless the indicator panel is openly visible its a waste of time. Half the time opening the boot to hook up would cause it to drop to yellow. I use them on the bikes but just have the normal lead on the SL, poking out from the corner of the battery cover panel.
 
In my experience unless the indicator panel is openly visible its a waste of time. Half the time opening the boot to hook up would cause it to drop to yellow. I use them on the bikes but just have the normal lead on the SL, poking out from the corner of the battery cover panel.
My existing connector is like yours, in the boot floor. I was looking to be able to connect without going into the boot, hence the idea of using the storage bin inside the car. I had noticed the indicator can be inaccurate but that concerns me less than accessibility. Thanks anyway.
 
If you’re handy with electrics then mounting one of these on the outside of the car the quickest and most convenient method of connecting.

 
I did mine so that bonnet can be closed and charge panel is visible near the plug socket, I used extension and comfort connector on inner wing.DA26D783-1CFA-434F-B5E5-CB3966B30758.jpegA6B4237A-4AEE-453D-8F5A-17C76F1C4800.jpeg674DAFDF-5BF5-48A9-B42C-63711B9E6B2E.jpeg
 
I have an Ultimate Speed ( Lidl ) battery condition monitor on the battery of my S204, mounted (easily) so the thing is easily visible through the tailgate of the car. Don't know if this would be an option for an SL, but it cost me less than £10 so was a cheap option! They're rather more expensive on eBay ATM, but keep an eye on Lidl if suitable!
 
I did mine so that bonnet can be closed and charge panel is visible near the plug socket, I used extension and comfort connector on inner wing.View attachment 108977View attachment 108978View attachment 108979
That’s pretty cool, I may try that on our CLK. The issue with our SL (R230) is that the battery resides in the boot. I was thinking that having the connector inside the cabin would mean I could lower the rear drivers side window and run the cable to the charger. The car lives in the garage when not being driven so security is less of an issue.

Thanks for taking time to post photos though 😊
 
I don'tthink it's a good idea to zip tie power cord from the charger and the other cable connected to the battery.
cables should be rolled out for safety of charging.
letting your plugged charger hanging from the wall will put strain on power cord ends
 
I fitted this to the Datsun...makes life much easier
 

Attachments

  • Ctek (2).jpg
    Ctek (2).jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 11
They don’t recommend connecting the negative there, it should be attached to an earth elsewhere.
This is correct - the CTEK video suggests connecting the -ve charger to a body earth point rather than directly to the -ve terminal of the battery. I believe this is because the SOC sensor is mounted between the -ve terminal and the body earth. Thus connecting the -ve charger to earth will allow the SOC to monitor the charge. However, I am not convinced that on MB cars, the SOC monitoring is active when the engine is switched off.

To this point, I have mounted the CTEK charging connector to the body earth on some cars and to the -ve terminal on others (due to a lack of a suitable earthing point in the battery compartment). Both approaches seem to work just as well.
 
I don'tthink it's a good idea to zip tie power cord from the charger and the other cable connected to the battery.
cables should be rolled out for safety of charging.
letting your plugged charger hanging from the wall will put strain on power cord ends
Agreed, and CTEK sells a bracket that can clip onto a hook for around £12 to save the strain on the cable. An additional plus point is that there is space to hang the charging crocodile clips when not in use.
 
That’s pretty cool, I may try that on our CLK. The issue with our SL (R230) is that the battery resides in the boot. I was thinking that having the connector inside the cabin would mean I could lower the rear drivers side window and run the cable to the charger. The car lives in the garage when not being driven so security is less of an issue.

Thanks for taking time to post photos though 😊
I have the charging point behind the passenger seat in my R172 because the Aux Battery is located there. I simply purchased an extension CTEK lead (circa £9) and run this thru the door, allow the rubber door seals to crush the extension cable. If/when the cable breaks, I will simply replace the extension cable with a new extension cable! That said, it has been over a year and the cable still looks fine and working well.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom