Trickle charger

[hoyin]

My car has a trickle charger plug in the boot. Which I believe can be connected to a C-Tek trickle charger.

What I want to know is - is this plug proprietary? Or do the cheap Lidl trickle chargers have this plug already? Or does it mean I need to buy a C-Tek?

Thanks


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[CatmanV2]

If it's the one on the left, it's a bog standard 12v lighter socket. I doubt the Lidl ones come with that adapter, but it's about £11 for one for a C-Tek

C

 

[hoyin]

If it's the one on the left, it's a bog standard 12v lighter socket. I doubt the Lidl ones come with that adapter, but it's about £11 for one for a C-Tek

C

It is a tiny 2 pin adapter.


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[CatmanV2]

It is a tiny 2 pin adapter.


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Got a photo? At a guess it'll be a C-TEK plug....

C

 

[Jkulin]

My car has a trickle charger plug in the boot. Which I believe can be connected to a C-Tek trickle charger.

What I want to know is - is this plug proprietary? Or do the cheap Lidl trickle chargers have this plug already? Or does it mean I need to buy a C-Tek?

Thanks


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Hi Hoyin,

Have a look at my post Here as you'll probably find that these are the parts you need?

 

[hoyin]

Hi Hoyin,

Have a look at my post Here as you'll probably find that these are the parts you need?

Yes that is exactly what I have. Does this mean I must buy a C-Tek?


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[Jkulin]

Yes that is exactly what I have. Does this mean I must buy a C-Tek?


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Hi Hoyin,

I suppose you could cut of the connections and rejoin them to another charger, my Maserati one came with just straight connectors to the battery and I wanted to make it so that it could be easily disconnected so I bought the leads that come standard with my other C-Teqs (apart from the LED lights).

I've never tried the Lidl chargers, but can honestly say that the C-Teq really gives me confidence to maintain my batteries.

 

[cheshiremaserati]

The LiDL charger (if its like the ALDI charger) does not have the two pin connector.
I bought the Aldi charger for the GS and it came with croc clips only and I now have it connected to the battery.
The Porsche has the CTEK MX 5.0 charger with eyelets connected to the battery and the clip system to connect the charger to it.

I don't think you can buy the ctek clip connector because the charger lead does not have the male/female receiving connection.

 

[CatmanV2]

The LiDL charger (if its like the ALDI charger) does not have the two pin connector.
I bought the Aldi charger for the GS and it came with croc clips only and I now have it connected to the battery.
The Porsche has the CTEK MX 5.0 charger with eyelets connected to the battery and the clip system to connect the charger to it.

I don't think you can buy the ctek clip connector because the charger lead does not have the male/female receiving connection.

You could simply wire one in, but it hardly seems worth the effort

C

 

[hoyin]

Looks like I will buy a C-Tek then. Any good places to buy or specific type I should get?

I seem to be travelling more and more now so the car is spending more time sitting in a garage.

Do I need to worry about tyre flat spots?


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[cheshiremaserati]

I found the best price for CTEK was on amazon. The MX5.0 model best price is:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-MXS-5...=UTF8&qid=1484067925&sr=8-1&keywords=ctek+mxs

You can connect using the eyelet connectors on the battery terminals permanently in place and just clip in/out the base unit so its always ready to hook up.

Flat spots can be a problem. It may be helpful to inflate the tyres with an extra 8-10psi if you really are not going to drive for months. I dont do this becasue I do drive the cars every month or so on a good 30-50 mile run to get all the fluids hot and keep all the joints supple.

Keep the handbrake off. Instead park it in 1st gear and secure a wooden chock or something to be on the safe side. But remember to remove it before moving the car!

 

[redsonnylee]

I found the best price for CTEK was on amazon. The MX5.0 model best price is:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-MXS-5...=UTF8&qid=1484067925&sr=8-1&keywords=ctek+mxs

You can connect using the eyelet connectors on the battery terminals permanently in place and just clip in/out the base unit so its always ready to hook up.

Flat spots can be a problem. It may be helpful to inflate the tyres with an extra 8-10psi if you really are not going to drive for months. I dont do this becasue I do drive the cars every month or so on a good 30-50 mile run to get all the fluids hot and keep all the joints supple.

Keep the handbrake off. Instead park it in 1st gear and secure a wooden chock or something to be on the safe side. But remember to remove it before moving the car!

I have this model from Amazon & very happy with it.

 

[Needamaser]

I don't see the permanent wires on the Ctek as much of an advantage.
It takes 2 seconds to clip the crocodile clips to the battery terminals.
The battery , certainly on the 4200 and the Biturbo, is readily accessible and no hassle to connect.
At £14 for a Lidl Unit which works perfectly well I will put up with the extra second it takes to connect. Lol
If you were that bothered I am sure you could get some sort of connector from likes of Maplin to attach to the cheaper unit.

 

[CatmanV2]

Less easy to reach in the GT, as you need to lift all the stuff out of the boot storage cubby and they left the floor which is (in theory) screwed down.

Plus croc clips can come adrift IME.

C

 

[cheshiremaserati]

The advantage with eyelets on the battery terminal are nothing to do with the extra seconds shaved off fitting crocodile clips.
Its about room. In the Porsche, there isn't the room for the crocodile clips and it means leaving the battery cover off. The eyelets and the wire follow under the battery cover and the clip connector comes out to one side to hook up the charger.

The GS does have room in the cubby hole to fix the crocodile clips to the terminals and I leave the cubby hole cover loose in the boot.

The £14 Aldi charger seems great and displays battery voltage which my (2012) CTEK MX5.0 does not.

 

[Needamaser]

I bought an "optimate" charger a few years ago primarily for a bike but it will charge cars/van easily as well. It came with a hard wiring kit. It might be a Ctek alternative? Was about £40 from memory.

 

[iainw]

Just unplugged the CTEK mark 5 from the cigarette lighter and it started like a dream. Was panicking re: Phil's brake story yesterday but it was all fine.
For anyone that has one...what is the relevance of the lights numbered 1-8... It started on a 4 and was on a 7 this AM.
Stupid question - do I need to leave the box plugged in or can I unplug it..like I did this am..:/

 

[CatmanV2]

You can leave it plugged in. The lights are sort of health. But not really. You can see what mode the conditioner is operating by looking at the little symbol below, and comparing to the diagram in the manual (do you see what I did there)

Why anyone would expend effort looking for an alternative unless they just wanted to save a few quid (literally) is a little beyond me

C

 

[JonW]

Just unplugged the CTEK mark 5 from the cigarette lighter and it started like a dream. Was panicking re: Phil's brake story yesterday but it was all fine.
For anyone that has one...what is the relevance of the lights numbered 1-8... It started on a 4 and was on a 7 this AM.
Stupid question - do I need to leave the box plugged in or can I unplug it..like I did this am..:/

The lights are about what stage of charging/conditioning the charger is doing, and depending on which mode it is in, it may be that that some don't apply, or that it jumps from say step 5 to step 7. The battery is ready to start the engine when step 4 is lit, and is fully charged when step 7 is lit. Step 8 means the battery is fully charged and the charger is just monitoring it and giving it the occasional pulse to top it up as required.

My charger is permanently plugged in and screwed to the back wall of my garage, and every now and then I connect the car upto it

 

[iainw]

You can leave it plugged in. The lights are sort of health. But not really. You can see what mode the conditioner is operating by looking at the little symbol below, and comparing to the diagram in the manual (do you see what I did there)

Why anyone would expend effort looking for an alternative unless they just wanted to save a few quid (literally) is a little beyond me

C

1) thanks mate. You are right - I am becoming too dependent on the gathered knowledge of the SM family..I should just read the instructions next time

2) Agreed. It was a great tip, and so simple and convenient. Agree I wouldnt expend too much effort finding alternatives considering the car is worth so much - its small fry to keep the battery topped up...