Battery chargers - what to look for

[Amalgam]

+1 for CTEK.

Make sure the charger is set for the correct battery type. The car logo for normal lead acid battery and calcium type.

Red connector to the positive terminal and the black connector to any bare metal ( ground ). The charger is smart and won't charge if the connections are wrong or inverted. Come back later to see if it is fully charged ( green 7 should be lit ). You can leave it trickle charging indefinitely without overcharging the battery.

[wai]

Thanks everyone.

[Thunder]

Hi Everyone, new owner of a B7 Passat 3.6 wagon here. Have had the car since the weekend and loving it. I have a C-Tek MX5.0 and would like to give the battery a charge. I am reading all these comments about connecting to a vehicle earth to eliminate sparking near the battery. On the 3.6 wagon the battery is in the boot, is it best to still connect to it or charge from the jump start connection under the bonnet (Which I assume would have too much resistance going back to the battery). Just don't want to make any rookie errors.

Thanks for the tonne of good info I have already found on here!

[Lucas_R]

Battery chargers - what to look for

Hi Everyone, new owner of a B7 Passat 3.6 wagon here. Have had the car since the weekend and loving it. I have a C-Tek MX5.0 and would like to give the battery a charge. I am reading all these comments about connecting to a vehicle earth to eliminate sparking near the battery. On the 3.6 wagon the battery is in the boot, is it best to still connect to it or charge from the jump start connection under the bonnet (Which I assume would have too much resistance going back to the battery). Just don't want to make any rookie errors.

Thanks for the tonne of good info I have already found on here!

Yes just connect it up to the + and - points under the bonnet. I do this with my wifes Audi SQ5 when i hook the Ctek up to it and it works just fine (battery is under the spare wheel in the boot).

[Thunder]

Big thanks Lucas, will do exactly that. Thanks Gee

[The_Hawk]

I was just reading some more of that today before realising it was older posts... I have had the hard-wired connectors on my Golf directly to the battery forever without issues and the other car just gets clamped directly to the battery every time, again no issues. I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[Thunder]

Thanks Hawk, will do the first charge from inside the bonnet and then see if I can rig up a permanent connection on whichever seems easier

[bluey]

I’ve used Ctek chargers for a very long time. Recommend and sold them to many customers, though I had a few that have failed, some within the warranty, some after the warranty. Now days I use Century Batteries chargers, they aren’t waterproof but are very reliable and can be left connected indefinitely.

So what's the failure rate for the Ctek mode microswitch??

It is a relatively easy fix once you know what it is - just needs contact clean or lube. I have a can of CRC 2-26 forever.

[Lucas_R]

I just today received my new CTEK MXS 10 as my trusty CTEK MXS 5.0 which ive had for approx 8 years (and used regularly) has started to fail and ive lost trust in it. I have noticed the last few times that I used it, that it got very very hot (normally they get warm, but this was way beyond that temperature) and it was taking forever to charge the battery. So I made the assumption that something is definitely not right with it (ive dropped it a few times lately so it might be my fault). It certainly wasn't worth it to keep using it and possibly cause a fire or damage the cars electrical system.

Decided to pay a bit more this time and get the more powerful 10amp model, assuming this will speed up the charge time by a decent amount, as in particular on my SQ5 (which has a huge battery in the boot) the 5 amp charger took a long time to charge the battery. The MXS 10 is a fair bit bigger in size and weight compared to the MXS 5.0

Nothing lasts forever of course these days, so I figure approx 8 years is a decent lifespan for the charger. But, I it was a little disappointing it didnt last longer.

I did consider some of the other brands (like Noco and Century), and Century has the best warranty by far, but I had some accessories for the CTEK that I have bought separately and wanted to keep using those.

[bluey]

Nothing lasts forever of course these days, so I figure approx 8 years is a decent lifespan for the charger. But, I it was a little disappointing it didnt last longer.

Suspect the quality/longevity problems are a feature of contract manufacturing in low cost countries. Bean counters get to specify cheap components which are only required to last as long as the warranty. Often failures can be repaired for a few dollars of parts but the missing link is the nouse required to diagnose the failure. (Keeping things alive is a hobby.)

Hope the malfunctioning ctek doesn’t end up in the bin.

Curiously, Amazon says Ctek MXS 5.0 has Sweden as country of origin. So maybe they are made in the motherland and the quality is better??? Amazon say MXS 7.0 has China as country of origin.

[Flipper Dog]

CTEK MXS 7.0
Design and quality of Sweden
Assembled in China

[Lucas_R]

Yep both of mine say the same thing - designed in Sweden, but made in China.

[Lucas_R]

You are welcome to have it if you think you can learn something from it or even repair it.

Often failures can be repaired for a few dollars of parts but the missing link is the nouse required to diagnose the failure. (Keeping things alive is a hobby.)

Hope the malfunctioning ctek doesn’t end up in the bin.