Trickle charger ...

[Deleted member 126251]

I have both MXS 5 & Start/Stop. As you probably know, the Start/Stop only has 3 lights, check, charge & care. The MXS 5 has 6 yellow lights & 2 green lights. Once 4 yellow lights illuminate, you can use the car, but if you wait until the first green light illuminates, its fully charged. On mine, I find after the first green light comes on, it takes a week or so before the last green light illuminates, this means its in pulse mode which monitors the voltage & gives it a pulse if it drops to keep the battery fully charged. The start/stop seems to get to the care light pretty quickly. My Cteks can be on for months at a time & cars start first time.
They both work fine but I prefer the MXS 5, no real logic , but I get the idea its better with more lights, as I think I'm in charge (no pun)
Mxs Is cheaper last time I looked

A “discharged" main cranking battery will take a lot longer to charge no matter which of the 2 chargers you use (I’m assuming both are 5 Ah chargers) simply because it has much more capacity.

 

[NJSS]

I have a number of CTEK chargers, all of which are more than 5 years old and one certainly 15 years old.

All my cars have CTEK connectors permanently wired in, and can be easily connected. When a car is garaged but not on charge I connect a Bluetooth battery monitor which reports & records batter condition etc.

The one I use is the Leagend BM2 which is widely sold on the internet. It's worth shopping around though; the highest price I have seen is £47 each, but I managed to purchase 4 for about £30, and have since seen some offered at £6 .

NJSS

 

[Gazwould]

Trouble with CTEK is they don't have a display telling you the starting and resulting voltage of the battery.

 

[NJSS]

But... the BM2 does:-

 

[zena123]

Bobby Dazzler wrote: Sounds like they may have tried it without hooking up to the charger. I also received low battery warnings whilst a car was being updated at the dealership.
Tx. I guess that's what happened, then.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Bobby Dazzler wrote: Sounds like they may have tried it without hooking up to the charger. I also received low battery warnings whilst a car was being updated at the dealership.
Tx. I guess that's what happened, then.

Difficult to be sure but it’s certainly possible.

 

[Wolfie1]

I have an mxs 7.0, been fantastic, cannot fault it

 

[350cls]

I have ordered one of the ctek msx 5 from Amazon. I feel I've purchased for a decent price. Waiting on arrival.

So I would just like to ask the knowledgeable folk a few questions.

My car will need to be kept outside why I keep it on charge. I have read it's ok to connect to the jumper points on the car which are located under the bonnet. So is it ok to leave the charger connections on the car and the ctek charger under the bonnet, just closing it so it's not shut but latched. With then the extension lead running to a electrical point I have in a outhouse shed area. The lead I will be running is about 8 metre's in distance I estimate.

Cheers

 

[W1ghty]

I have ordered one of the ctek msx 5 from Amazon. I feel I've purchased for a decent price. Waiting on arrival.

So I would just like to ask the knowledgeable folk a few questions.

My car will need to be kept outside why I keep it on charge. I have read it's ok to connect to the jumper points on the car which are located under the bonnet. So is it ok to leave the charger connections on the car and the ctek charger under the bonnet, just closing it so it's not shut but latched. With then the extension lead running to a electrical point I have in a outhouse shed area. The lead I will be running is about 8 metre's in distance I estimate.

Cheers

That’s what I do with my maypole 7423 charger ( I have connected fly leads to both cars for quick battery connection )

 

[keith of kent]

I have an Accumate that dates back nearly 20 years when I had a TVR. Rarely use it now but during lockdown I did use it it keep the E350 and the GLA topped up as they were seeing little use.
It's one of these ACCUMATE 6V & 12V Motorcycle Lead Acid Battery Charger | MDS Battery
It seems to do the job perfectly, I just wonder what the difference is between this and a CTEK?

 

[350cls]

Thank you for your advise it's appreciated.

I imagine it's better to have the extension socket under the bonnet also. As don't really want to leave it exposed to the wet/damp wintery conditions.

Regarding the Ctek, I turn it on, choose the appropriate settings to suit my battery then connect up to the jumper points. And just leave it connected?

 

[zena123]

replying to 350cls: I also did exactly as W1ghty describes above: left charger on overnight - used extension lead from garage - (as 4 hours during the day was insufficient). Since then, car & battery have been fine.

 

[350cls]

Thank you zena123.

The battery on the car I will be charging will be sitting around quite a bit especially this weather. I'm hoping to leave the charger Connected to the vehicle most of the time to be honest. That's really the reason I've gone for the ctek. Based really on reading up from the forum.

 

[grober]

I believe that Ctek chargers were originally developed for keeping the batteries of Swedish small marine craft topped up while moored up.-- Further indicators of their robust and reliable nature. I would advise against using cheap battery chargers on today's cars with their complex electronics-- should something go amiss some very expensive modules in the car might be damaged for the sake of a few quid?

 

[geoffus]

I have a similar smart charger (Aldi version) and leave it on permanently on my motorcycle, it’s quite safe to do so and will maintain your battery level for ever.

 

[W1ghty]

Thank you zena123.

The battery on the car I will be charging will be sitting around quite a bit especially this weather. I'm hoping to leave the charger Connected to the vehicle most of the time to be honest. That's really the reason I've gone for the ctek. Based really on reading up from the forum.

Keep everything that doesn’t like water under the bonnet , a cable running across the ground won’t be an issue .
Put the box for the charger on your drivers seat , so you never forget it’s on charge .

 

[350cls]

Thank you W1ghty, great advice, I appreciate it

 

[NJSS]

I may be wrong, but I don't like 240 volt cables lying out in the rain. I use a CTEK 56-304 Connect 2.5M Extension to run from the car to the charger, mounted on the wall immediately inside my garage.

NJSS

 

[350cls]

I have no choice but to run a cable to be honest.

Should also add, the extension lead will be run and attached to the facia of the garage/out building not on the floor directly.

 

[rockits]

I originally bought a load of Lidl or Aldi ones. can't remember which. Then upgraded them to the newer LCD display ones. Had a few cars/batteries that didn't get used for a. It and both batteries went flat completely. So ditched them all and tried a CTEK also a NOCO. Also got a bigger NOCO Juno pack as my old one was smaller and battery not so big or as good as it once was.

The CTEK works perfectly but been really impressed with the NOCO kit. You get a healthy trade discount from Halfords with their Trade Card so works out much cheaper. Would buy NOCO again for sure. Also both CTEK and NOCO ones I have will change very low batteries that the Lidl or Aldi ones won't. They are smart or intelligence so will adjust the charge to go slow for longer I think to condition the battery before ramping up to a faster charge I believe. I have a multimeter always in the garage so not so fussed about the digital display or reading.