# CTEK trickle charger



## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Just a quick question, my parents have a modern VW car and aren't going to be driving it for a while due to the current problems, I have a old Ctek mx5 trickle charger and was going to put it on their car, its been a while since I used it and that was on older cars, I'm guessing I'm OK to connect it upto the battery in the car without the need to disconnect the battery from the car etc.

TIA


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## SunnyBoi (Apr 25, 2013)

No need to disconnect the battery, just hook up the charger and it will be just fine


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Thanks, I just didn't want to damage anything by putting it on.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Scratch that idea, just tested it and it doesn't seem to work, looks like a I need a new charger !


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

It will be fine.

I have a MXS 5.0 and I leave it connected to the Porsche in the garage for weeks at a time in the winter.


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

182_Blue said:


> Scratch that idea, just tested it and it doesn't seem to work, looks like a I need a new charger !


Oh 

The CTEK ones are worth the money.
The way I see it, for £60-70 you've got a charger that saves you £80-£100 on buying a new battery if it dies.

And you can always use it on other cars/ your next car/ etc etc


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

James_R said:


> Oh
> 
> The CTEK ones are worth the money.
> The way I see it, for £60-70 you've got a charger that saves you £80-£100 on buying a new battery if it dies.
> ...


I just cant seem to get it to move out of mode !, to be fair its probably not been used for about 8 years !!, its a bit of a ball ache now as most places are closed obviously and Amazon are showing long delivery times !, its also an £80 I/they could do without spending, I should have got one last year where it was on offer on Amazon !


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

The mode button not working is a known problem with CTEK chargers.

Have a look HERE and note it can be fixed if you are willing to have a go.

Alan W


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

182_Blue said:


> I just cant seem to get it to move out of mode !, to be fair its probably not been used for about 8 years !!, its a bit of a ball ache now as most places are closed obviously and Amazon are showing long delivery times !, its also an £80 I/they could do without spending, I should have got one last year where it was on offer on Amazon !


The menu button can stick especially if you do not use it frequently,my friend fixed his one by taking his apart and getting to the menu button from the inside and spraying out the unit control board with compressed air in a tin and also contact cleaner around the button and his worked fine after that and that was around 5 years ago now and its still going strong,they are a superb charger especially for AGM batteries like the one that i have fitted to my car, the trickle charge function is superb and only boost the battery when it senses that the battery drops below a certain percentage.SJ.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Out of interest does the mode button work whilst not connected to a battery, i.e should it rotate the selections etc ?


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

Alan W said:


> The mode button not working is a known problem with CTEK chargers.
> 
> Have a look HERE and note it can be fixed if you are willing to have a go.
> 
> Alan W


Amazing thanks, I followed the guide and now have it working after taking the switch to pieces


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## AndyQash (Jul 28, 2019)

182_Blue said:


> Out of interest does the mode button work whilst not connected to a battery, i.e should it rotate the selections etc ?


Yes, just tried my MXS5 and it scrolls through the different modes when not connected.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

AndyQash said:


> Yes, just tried my MXS5 and it scrolls through the different modes when not connected.


Thanks for going to the effort of checking, and thanks to everyone else, because of your help I have saved £75!


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## ianrobbo1 (Feb 13, 2007)

And for anyone thinking of buying a Ctek charger, stop "thinking" about it and just do it, as others "above" have said when you compare charger to battery prices it's a no brainer. Glad you're sorted 182_Blue :thumb:


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

AndyQash said:


> Yes, just tried my MXS5 and it scrolls through the different modes when not connected.


You beat me too it,in all honesty i never knew myself...just checked mine it does.SJ.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

stonejedi said:


> You beat me too it,in all honesty i never knew myself...just checked mine it does.SJ.


It had been such a long time I was sure if it needed to be on a battery or not, anyway it doesn't, I took it to bits and cleaned the contacts and added some gold contact lube glued it back together and all seems good :thumb:


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

182_Blue said:


> It had been such a long time I was sure if it needed to be on a battery or not, anyway it doesn't, I took it to bits and cleaned the contacts and added some gold contact lube glued it back together and all seems good :thumb:


*RESULT!*:thumb:.SJ.


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

stonejedi said:


> *RESULT!*:thumb:.SJ.


Yeh im chuffed, Amazon were looking at delivery around the 26th April and £74.50 !


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## RaceGlazer (Jan 10, 2007)

I’m still shipping these and though may be a couple of quid over Amazon’s price we have stock and really value your hard earned coming to us. 
Thank you


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

RaceGlazer said:


> I'm still shipping these and though may be a couple of quid over Amazon's price we have stock and really value your hard earned coming to us.
> Thank you


Yes, can we all make an effort to support the smaller and specialist companies during this crisis, else they may not be there after when we need them.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

Rakti said:


> Yes, can we all make an effort to support the smaller and specialist companies during this crisis, else they may not be there after when we need them.


Unfortunately peoples earnings at present might be down by 20% so they will be even more keen to find a bargain.

The c-tek MXS 5 is an excellent charger and I highly recommend it. I use mine at least once a week to keep my car battery topped up and I use it on a couple of batteries I have in the garage that I have just in case.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Daft question, will these still charge ok if connected to an extension cable, car is outside front of house and nearest socket is approx 10 feet away, thanks, :thumb:


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## 182_Blue (Oct 25, 2005)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Daft question, will these still charge ok if connected to an extension cable, car is outside front of house and nearest socket is approx 10 feet away, thanks, :thumb:


Yup :thumb:


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Daft question, will these still charge ok if connected to an extension cable, car is outside front of house and nearest socket is approx 10 feet away, thanks, :thumb:


I run an extension out to the car, one of the sealed type and place it under the car. The charger inside with the car locked.

My battery is in the boot so I close the tailgate on the first click and lock it.


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## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Yep as said above. 

You can also get an extension cable for the ctek charger which works very well - I’ve one on mine and it’s made life much easier...


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

I am doing exactly the same, my car hasn't moved for over 2 weeks now so rather have to park uncomfortably close to the car port and external socket, I have run a small extension lead. Bonnet is shut with CTEK nested underneath connected up. Have left a note over the dials to ensure I don't wake up in a fug and try to drive away one morning with a load of electrical cable trailing in my wake...

The MXS 5.0 is basically the model to go for unless you have a vehicle with a more heavy-duty battery.

Newer versions I think have more brain power but I don't have one.


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## Alex_225 (Feb 7, 2008)

I used to leave my E Class on a C-Tek charger regularly. My driving pattern is 500 miles in a weekend, then the car sits still for two weeks. The W211 E Class are a bit notorious for not liking sitting still for lengths of time but the C-Tek worked wonders on keeping the battery healthy. I wired in a convenience plug so there was no faffing about with terminals. 

I'll install the same in my S Class when I get a chance.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

> The MXS 5.0 is basically the model to go for unless you have a vehicle with a more heavy-duty battery.


For the purposes of "tending" your battery the 5 amp capability should be more than enough.

Granted if you have a flat battery and desperate to get going then...


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Andy from Sandy said:


> For the purposes of "tending" your battery the 5 amp capability should be more than enough.
> 
> Granted if you have a flat battery and desperate to get going then...


I understand the charging time gets a bit daft on higher capacity batteries.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

You are right. 19 hours to charge a completely flat 95Ah battery but for keeping what is otherwise a good battery topped up from not driving the car 5Amps is high enough.


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## James_G (Mar 6, 2009)

I have a battery that, while not very old (2 years tops) was left flat for 3-4 months by the previous owner of my Audi (thread here)

I've charged it with a basic charger and all I can get out of it was 10.4 volts.

Has anybody any experience of using their CTEK to bring a battery back from the dead. I don't really need it for the car as I bought a new one but I've recently acquired a full early 00s Alpine hifi setup that I want to get working outside of a car and a decent working battery would be most helpful.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

James_G said:


> I have a battery that, while not very old (2 years tops) was left flat for 3-4 months by the previous owner of my Audi (thread here)
> 
> I've charged it with a basic charger and all I can get out of it was 10.4 volts.
> 
> Has anybody any experience of using their CTEK to bring a battery back from the dead. I don't really need it for the car as I bought a new one but I've recently acquired a full early 00s Alpine hifi setup that I want to get working outside of a car and a decent working battery would be most helpful.


What Battery..AGM?If not you would be lucky to bring back a completely dead battery to normal working capacity,but no harm in trying.SJ.


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## James_G (Mar 6, 2009)

stonejedi said:


> What Battery..AGM?If not you would be lucky to bring back a completely dead battery to normal working capacity,but no harm in trying.SJ.


It's a Yuasa Silver. Sealed for life but not AGM I believe.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

James_G said:


> It's a Yuasa Silver. Sealed for life but not AGM I believe.


Yuasa make some superb batteries how long did you leave it to get flat?.SJ.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

10.4 volts looks like a cell might be shorted.

Obviously worth a try with the c-tek on its repair mode or whatever its called.

One thing you can try is connect another battery as if you are doing a jump start. Do this with both batteries out of the car. With your voltmeter connected you will see instantly if it has done anything.


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## James_G (Mar 6, 2009)

stonejedi said:


> Yuasa make some superb batteries how long did you leave it to get flat?.SJ.


Car failed its MOT on the 29th August and was abandoned at the MOT centre by the previous owner. I then bought it on the 8th November, which is 10 weeks.

It was jump started twice during that time, once by the MOT centre to move it and once by me to get it home.



Andy from Sandy said:


> 10.4 volts looks like a cell might be shorted.
> 
> Obviously worth a try with the c-tek on its repair mode or whatever its called.
> 
> One thing you can try is connect another battery as if you are doing a jump start. Do this with both batteries out of the car. With your voltmeter connected you will see instantly if it has done anything.


I suspect you are right about the cell going bad. I had hoped it might come back with some de-sulphation, but it might not be suffering with that issue. Unfortunately I don't have another spare battery other than the one in the car and I am loathe to remove it, but out of interest how does connecting them together fix it - something to do with balancing voltages?


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

I don't know what protection there is in the c-tek charger. I have a charger here that would not start charging your battery and would report a cell fault.

Sometimes it is possible as you suspect that if it were just overly flat to get it back up quickly to 12 volts.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

I think the CTEK will report a cell fault it is can't charge, might have imagined it though.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

ollienoclue said:


> I think the CTEK will report a cell fault it is can't charge, might have imagined it though.


Yeah you are right,it does not step up from the initial first recon/charge lights no matter how long you leave it on the charger for,its previously happened to me i had a battery on the Ctek charger for 72 hours and it would not charge threw it away in the end...that is the reason that i moved over to AGM batteries as they can be charged from completely flat numerous times as their cell design is different no fluid.SJ.


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

The 5 year warranty is certainly a bonus and was much appreciated when my 4.1/2 year old charger developed a fault. It was replaced without question by the UK importer. :thumb:

Alan W


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## AnthonyUK (Jul 25, 2018)

stonejedi said:


> Yeah you are right,it does not step up from the initial first recon/charge lights no matter how long you leave it on the charger for,its previously happened to me i had a battery on the Ctek charger for 72 hours and it would not charge threw it away in the end...that is the reason that i moved over to AGM batteries as they can be charged from completely flat numerous times as their cell design is different no fluid.SJ.


If that happens you can connect another battery in parallel to get it started.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

AnthonyUK said:


> If that happens you can connect another battery in parallel to get it started.


What are you on about mate?.SJ.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Ok, just about to use mine for first time, I have a AGM battery, do I connect the red lead to the positive terminal and the black to the earth connection in the engine compartment?

Thanks


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Ok, just about to use mine for first time, I have a AGM battery, do I connect the red lead to the positive terminal and the black to the earth connection in the engine compartment?
> 
> Thanks


Hows your battery set up?red to positive and black to negative on the battery.SJ.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

.SJ.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

.SJ.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Yes but there is a X next to the negative terminal suggesting you don't connect to this terminal, just read the owners manual which states the black lead should be connected to the earth terminal?.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

Andy i connect red to positive and the black to negative, and have done for years now and the battery has charged without no problems.SJ.


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

AndyA4TDI said:


> Yes but there is a X next to the negative terminal suggesting you don't connect to this terminal, just read the owners manual which states the black lead should be connected to the earth terminal?.


Watch out! On some cars now, you shouldn't connect your charger directly to the Negative (Black) terminal of the battery. On the Audi A3 for example, there's a bracket (close to the Negative terminal) that should be used to attach the Negative lead of the terminal. As always, read the owners handbook for your vehicle, which I see you've done, so what does it say?

From the A3 manual;
Connect the charger cables to the positive battery terminal (+) and the earth point on the body (-) (not the negative terminal on the battery) as specified.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

Rakti said:


> Watch out! On some cars now, you shouldn't connect your charger directly to the Negative (Black) terminal of the battery. On the Audi A3 for example, there's a bracket (close to the Negative terminal) that should be used to attach the Negative lead of the terminal. As always, read the owners handbook for your vehicle, which I see you've done, so what does it say?


You trying to say my car is dated?:lol:A very valid point though my battery is set up differently as it's in the boot,so i base my advice on my own set up.SJ.


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

Rakti said:


> Watch out! On some cars now, you shouldn't connect your charger directly to the Negative (Black) terminal of the battery. On the Audi A3 for example, there's a bracket (close to the Negative terminal) that should be used to attach the Negative lead of the terminal. As always, read the owners handbook for your vehicle, which I see you've done, so what does it say?
> 
> From the A3 manual;
> Connect the charger cables to the positive battery terminal (+) and the earth point on the body (-) (not the negative terminal on the battery) as specified.


I did this out of an abundance of caution


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## Carscope (Sep 4, 2019)

Which is the correct one to get? There's a few options? 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


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## AndyA4TDI (May 7, 2012)

CTEK MXS 5.0 seems to cover most needs it would appear


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

Depending on which lead you connect first dictates where you connect the second lead but it also depends on the technology of charger.

A battery generates hydrogen gas and if your charger doesn't have spark suppression well...

So if you connect the positive clip to the battery first you will need to find a negative connection away from the battery and vis versa.

In my car I connect the negative first as there is a positive post away from the battery.


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## Carscope (Sep 4, 2019)

AndyA4TDI said:


> CTEK MXS 5.0 seems to cover most needs it would appear


Not too bad price wise either!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

AndyA4TDI said:


> CTEK MXS 5.0 seems to cover most needs it would appear


Another recommendation for the MXS 5.0 from me as that's what I bought. :thumb:

Alan W


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## AndyQash (Jul 28, 2019)

On all my cars using the CTEK Comfort Connect I've always fastened the eyelets to the positive and negative posts and never had an issue.

The battery on my 19 plate Qashqai hasn't thrown any faults doing the same.


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## Alan W (May 11, 2006)

On my TT The battery is fitted in the boot. I have fitted a comfort connector under the bonnet connecting the positive connection to a (positive) terminal on the fuse box and the negative connection to a nearby bolt on the body to earth it.

The comfort connector plug sits just behind the headlamp for easy connection with the charger when the bonnet is opened.

Alan W


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## AndyQash (Jul 28, 2019)

I think there are various ways the charging cables can be fitted and I would imagine most are safe and correct.

With my Comfort Connect I just followed what it said on the CTEK website.


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## AnthonyUK (Jul 25, 2018)

stonejedi said:


> What are you on about mate?.SJ.


If your battery is not in a condition that the CTEK 'thinks' is suitable for charging, you can temporarily connect a known good battery in parallel to get it to start charging. Depending on the fault this can sometimes help.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

AnthonyUK said:


> If your battery is not in a condition that the CTEK 'thinks' is suitable for charging, you can temporarily connect a known good battery in parallel to get it to start charging. Depending on the fault this can sometimes help.


I Understand now, i never let my battery run flat now but if by chance that it ever happens again i will definitely give your way a try before throwing a battery away,thanks for the advice:thumb:.SJ.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Good point about not touching the negative terminal of the battery, connect to a piece of engine metalwork instead.


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

Easter Monday stupid questions time :lol:

Just about to pull the pin on a CTEK MXS 5.0 charger

As the X3 is not getting used much can I connect direct to the car without having to remove the battery terminals?
Is it likely to throw up any fault codes?
Is there any chance of damaging the electronics?

Oh & one more - cheapest place to buy one?
So far I'm at this -
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CTEK-Mul...000178&hash=item5b50397710:g:L6UAAOSwpP1dnwY2

Stay safe people :thumb:

TIA 
:driver:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Just use the crocodile clips to connect to the battery if you you don’t want to mess about removing the terminals to install the comfort connector.

:thumb:


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

ollienoclue said:


> Good point about not touching the negative terminal of the battery, connect to a piece of engine metalwork instead.


It depends on the wiring in your car.

In my car there is a positive post near the battery so I connect the negative clip to the negative terminal on the battery first and then the positive clip to the positive post on the car. This ensures that should there be a spark it will not be right by the battery.


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## percymon (Jun 27, 2007)

Bristle Hound said:


> Easter Monday stupid questions time :lol:
> 
> Just about to pull the pin on a CTEK MXS 5.0 charger
> 
> ...


go to the Tayna website and use promo code FACEBOOK45 - that should get you one for around £65 incl their shipping costs.

Or use smarterchargers.co.uk and they will price match (free shipping over £50).

I almost bought one yesterday, thinking my CTEK MXS3600 from ca 15 years ago wasn't suitable for the AGM battery in the Landie. Read the manual and discovered the snowflake symbol/mode also makes it suitable for AGM betteries, although at temps above 5'C it says to use normal mode. For info AGM/* mode gives slightly higher voltage of 14.7V, versus 14.4V on normal.

Saved myself £65, and as a bonus i already had the comfort connect cable so thats been added to the Landie. I always used the ciggy lighter connector for the Porsche so i only have to plug the charger in on either car now


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## Rakti (Nov 11, 2019)

Bristle Hound said:


> Easter Monday stupid questions time :lol:
> 
> Just about to pull the pin on a CTEK MXS 5.0 charger
> 
> ...


Usually no problem at all connecting a charger whilst the battery's still in the car (if you take the battery out you lose the alarm and immobiliser unless they have battery back-up) but always check the Owners Manual.


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## ollienoclue (Jan 30, 2017)

Check the manual first by all means but I would not go disconnecting any battery terminals if you are only using a CTEK. A CTEK isn't going to hurt anything; these chargers are often supplied as standard equipment with many high end cars (with a very expensive label on them) so a Ferrari or Porka will be quite safe with them.


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## Andy from Sandy (May 6, 2011)

My BMW has not had any problems either.

A couple of years ago someone was posting on here that you couldn't use a maintenance charger on a BMW battery whilst it was connected - so far so good.

Don't disconnect the battery if you have a fancy charging system like that fitted to BMWs.

https://techmax.ca/BMW-repair/electrical-management-system/


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

& ordered one from here -
https://www.tayna.co.uk/battery-chargers/ctek/mxs5-0/

Thanks for help people :thumb:


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## AndyQash (Jul 28, 2019)

Good choice, BH...did you go for the comfort connect to make life easier.

See post #57


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## Bristle Hound (May 31, 2009)

AndyQash said:


> Good choice, BH...did you go for the comfort connect to make life easier.
> 
> See post #57


The kit comes with that comfort connector like yours Andy, however the X3's battery is in the boot so will connect up thro' the battery terminals under the bonnet
My X3 is garaged and not being used at the mo so not much of a problem :thumb:

Hope you are well & staying safe buddy :thumb:


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## c87reed (Dec 9, 2015)

I already have the MX5 model. But seeing as I'm having my two bikes parked up now, I have bought a couple of the XS 0.8 chargers to save swapping the charger around on each vehicle.

The XS 0.8 is perfect for the small batteries on the bikes, but can be used for just maintaining the charge of larger batteries. 

I thought they were a good price, £26 each from Halfords with the trade card.


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## AndyQash (Jul 28, 2019)

Bristle Hound said:


> The kit comes with that comfort connector like yours Andy, however the X3's battery is in the boot so will connect up thro' the battery terminals under the bonnet
> My X3 is garaged and not being used at the mo so not much of a problem :thumb:
> 
> Hope you are well & staying safe buddy :thumb:


Good to hear it comes with the comfort connect, makes life easier, just plug in and away you go.

And the same to you, BH...stay safe fella 👍


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## Gafferinc (Jan 23, 2017)

Just ordered from Tanya too as I went to my car this afternoon (as its not moved for 5 weeks) and it was a bit short of electricity! Thanks for the tip BH


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## Gafferinc (Jan 23, 2017)

Arrived today - can't fault the service from Tayna. Recommended!


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

This is also a good option, I've used them for about 8/10 years on cars and leisure batteries.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0012EC0CO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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## moncris (Jan 2, 2018)

I have a Ctek that I got from 4wheelonline. This battery charger works great. It can completely charge an aging battery in a few hours.


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## Blue Al (Sep 13, 2015)

Andy from Sandy said:


> My BMW has not had any problems either.
> 
> A couple of years ago someone was posting on here that you couldn't use a maintenance charger on a BMW battery whilst it was connected - so far so good.
> 
> ...


I purchased mine from a bmw dealer via eBay for my mini (c-tek)
All good charged, in situ 
I know they are used in Bmw showrooms also.


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