CTEK MXS 5.0 Fully Automatic Battery Charger

[Motorhead]

Ray,

I’m no electrician but maybe the reason for recommending earthing to the body rather than the battery has something to do with the DME power management, the CTEK being “in circuit” as it were.

Good to hear that you’ve got it sorted. I think that a connection direct to the battery should prove to be more reliable.

Jeff

 

[Gazoak]

[attachment=CTEK 1.jpg] [attachment=CTEK 1.jpg] This is my set up and I have connected the - to the battery terminal rather than the chassis and haven't had any issues. It is possible to squeeze the jack plug through the grooves in the plastic cover which makes for a neat job and the cable can be run in the cut-out adjacent to where the wiper is hinged on the 981.

 

[Gazoak]

Sorry I seem to be having issues uploading multiple images.

 

[Gazoak]

Apologies for the has I've made uploading the images.

 

[ralphmusic]

Connecting to the negative battery post bypasses the battery sensor which is the two pin connector on a small black block at the negative terminal. I have heard two reasons why this is not a good idea,

[ul][*]one was that it allows voltage spikes from the charger (although CTEK avoids this) and[*]the second was that the battery monitor is not getting the charging data thus affecting power management [/ul]The consequences for the battery is maybe a shortening of its life though inefficient battery management, but I did not detect any (short-term) issues.

Anyway I decided to change to the chassis earth for the CTEK's negative lead because it was Porsche's recommended method, and I guess they understand how all the systems function.

 

[Gazoak]

Thanks, I'll look at changing mine then to this set up.

 

[Gazoak]

I've had to secure the - to what I think is the horn bracket as the spade connector is too narrow diameter to fit round a bolt on the threaded hole on the nearside front strut top.

 

[ralphmusic]

As long as it is earthed, I assume it's the same as my connection in 4th picture?

 

[Gazoak]

As long as it is earthed, I assume it's the same as my connection in 4th picture?

Yes, I was going to fix it to the same position but it seems fine on the horn bracket. It has gone up to no.7 on the CTEK charger so I assume it is fine. Thanks for your advice.

 

[AndyOhara]

Apologies for resurrecting this thread, but how long would you leave a battery on the car without a trickle charger, it's been about 3 weeks now.

I'm probably not going to use my 981 GT4 much over the winter and was thinking about buying a CTEK MXS 5.0.

 

[kitchens]

I would recommend using it 24/7 as there is no finite time as to how long you leave them unplugged ...it's a faf if you end up with a flat battery ...ask me how I know PS if you see the LIDL or ALDI ones on special at £13 buy it ,it does the same job got both running at present Ctek and Lidl

 

[Motorhead]

Andrew,

Battery conditioners like the CTEK are designed to be connected continuously, so you don’t have to worry about leaving it connected while your car isn’t being used very much.

Jeff

 

[GordonT]

..... but if you have more than one car and only one CTEK, you should get the CTEK leads with indicator lights and fit them to the cars. It will then tell you by the colour indicator when you need to put the charger on.

Gordon.

 

[AndyOhara]

Chaps, thanks for your replies. I've just ordered a CTEK and will get it on the car as soon as.

Cheers,

Andrew

 

[AndyOhara]

CTEK has now arrived. Can someone please tell me what mode to use? Is it just the car symbol mode or the car symbol + AGM mode. I have the standard Porsche banner battery.

Thanks,

Andy

 

[ralphmusic]

 

[AndyOhara]

Ralph, that's great, many thanks.

 

[AlistairF]

Optimate sell CAN bus specific chargers for BMW motorcycles. These connect to an auxiliary socket which is kept 'live' by the charger, which seems to be the only reason the charger is CAN bus specific.

I wonder if this is the situation with Porsche as people seem to have a variety of experiences. I connect mine directly to the battery as per Ray on the previous post.

Quote from a motorcycle site..

Recently BMW owners have reported big problems with the so-called CANBUS electronic management system with which newer bikes like the R1200GS LC are being equipped. Owing to some muddled thinking in Munich, the CANBUS breaks the contact between the battery and the DC socket (with which the bike is equipped) when the maintenance input current via the socket falls below a seemingly not very consistent level of roughly 200mA, and fails to re-establish this contact so of course the battery goes flat. Therefore no current gets through to keep the battery topped up. The Optimate 4.3 BMW Can Bus Goldline Charger gets over this problem by keeping the connection open when other chargers would not be able to do this.

 

[AndyOhara]

I've connected my CTEK as Ralph has and as per the Porsche owners manual for the Cayman.

 

[PHB1969]

Bit of a thread resurrection - I had tried to use the spare bolt hole on the nearside suspension, but couldn’t get a connection. I have attached to the positive terminal and for the negative, the battery securing strap that earths to the car bulkhead (and comes across the width of the battery in the middle) - the eyelet goes under the bolt at the front of the battery. I had also tried the horn mounting which worked fine too. For both earthing points, the ctek charges and goes on to the maintain cycle 7 & 8 as appropriate. seen a bolt on the bulkhead which doesn’t appear to be securing anything towards the centre of the car, more or less below the nearside wiper pivot Not sure if anyone has used that?