Fitting a battery conditioner... Do's and Don'ts

Joel · Jun 23, 2023

If you happen to have a costco membership, then they have a bundle with the CTEK mxs 5.0, an additional m8 size traffic light indicator/connector, a rubber bumper and a small power bank for £90, just ordered one for mine. Seems like an alright deal considering I wanted the traffic light version which isn't included in the normal mxs 5.0 pack at £80.

CTEK MXS 5.0 Battery Charger with Comfort Indicator & Por...

The CTEK Multi MXS 5.0 Battery Charger Pack contains all you need for keeping your vehicle maintained. It solves a broad range of battery problems and is the ideal charger for car owners with high demands. This pack contains: MXS 5.0, Bumper Protector 60, Comfort Indicator Eyelet M8 and a...

www.costco.co.uk

Joel · Jun 23, 2023

Peeltone said:
I sit my ctek on the engine window and run the cable under the window (where the water drains) then into boot. Means I am not stressing the boot seals/lock.

On my handover yesterday, Sam pointed out that there are two channels in the boot seal which he said you can put the ctek cable through to have it coming out of the back. I guess in that case he meant the thing ctek cable and not an extension lead though

DJS · Jun 23, 2023

The Ctek charger is a must and with the traffic light indicator/connector mentioned above, I've still had no issues but been doing quite a few short journeys and had the car open for long periods cleaning it and this morning the green flashing light turned to an amber flashing light, so took the car for a fairly long drive today and the green light back so all good.

For everyone who doesn't know and for your information the Ctek traffic-light connector light system means....
Green - All good
Amber - Charge soon as you can
Red - Charge now
No light at all - Cable not connected properly.

Joel · Jun 23, 2023

@DJS (or others) do you leave yours on charge all the time or just charge it periodically?

I'm new to CTEKs and car charging in this manner. Park on the driveway so can't plug in all the time. Work from home, short journeys during the week sometimes, long journeys maybe every couple of weeks at the weekend, maybe even 3 or 4 weeks sometimes.

Thinking I'll probably want to check the indicator once a week and charge when it's orange.

DJS · Jun 23, 2023

Joel said:
@DJS (or others) do you leave yours on charge all the time or just charge it periodically?

I'm new to CTEKs and car charging in this manner. Park on the driveway so can't plug in all the time. Work from home, short journeys during the week sometimes, long journeys maybe every couple of weeks at the weekend, maybe even 3 or 4 weeks sometimes.

Thinking I'll probably want to check the indicator once a week and charge when it's orange.

Im really not an expert I've just followed advice off here and Youtube, Plug it in if you go away for a week or more and if i'm only doing multiple short trips I leave the charge on for a couple of nights mid week. In regards to the traffic light connector I have a look everyday as it only takes 2 seconds to open the boot to have a butchers.

Pugwash · Jun 23, 2023

Red: means the battery charge is below 12.4 V. It’s definitely time to charge the battery.
Yellow: means the battery charge is between 12.4 and 12.65 V. It’s time to start thinking about charging the battery.
Green: means the battery charge is more than 12.65 V. OK! No need for charging.

Source CTEK web site.

Personally I have been surprised how quickly the light goes from green to amber. Mine lives on its tender most of the time and I have found that within minutes of unplugging it sometimes the amber light can come on. This maybe something to do with how AGM batteries work but I confess that’s a complete guess. I had a new battery fitted on collection in Feb so dont think it’s a battery issue.

Joel · Jun 23, 2023

Pugwash said:
This maybe something to do with how AGM batteries work but I confess that’s a complete guess

So the Emira has an AGM battery? Good to know, didn't realise that was the case

Pugwash · Jun 23, 2023

From the manual. So set your CTEK to AGM.

pancho · Jun 23, 2023

With my ex Porsche, I used the battery charger ctek in the lighter socket in the center armrest. Will it work with the emira as well? Just so as not to plug the ctek directly into the trunk.

SteveB · Jun 23, 2023

Anyone any experience of using a solar panel charger kit for trickle charging a 12v car battery? Seem to be many types available with outputs of around 10 - 25W. My Emira will be parked in a carport with no mains power but would be easy to fix a solar panel to the roof (south facing). They are also relatively cheap - around £25 - £50.

Magicman · Jun 24, 2023

pancho said:
With my ex Porsche, I used the battery charger ctek in the lighter socket in the center armrest. Will it work with the emira as well? Just so as not to plug the ctek directly into the trunk.

That will depend if its live with the ignition off, my porsche was but my Ferrari wasn't.

Joel · Jun 24, 2023

I think in the Emira the 12v socket turns off 7 minutes (IIRC) after the ignition goes off, so I wouldn't expect it to work

DJS · Jun 24, 2023

I was told to charge it on the Car logo mode on the Ctek charger and not the car AGM mode as that was for cars with start stop technology.

Does anyone know what is the right mode for this battery?

Pugwash · Jun 24, 2023

On the basis it is an AGM battery I have been charging mine using the AGM mode on the charger. The manual doesn’t say anything apart from it’s an AGM battery.
I am no expert but I understood AGM battery’s charge in a different manner to lead acid over longer time. It’s one of the reasons an AGM battery will not charge as quickly from a quick run around the block compared to a Lead Acid battery. Cars with stop start tend to have AGM batteries because of the demand but I am not sure whether the car has the ability to stop start has anything to do with how you charge it. Most of what I have posted here is as a result of google research so very happy to be corrected on any of the above.

Pegasi · Jun 24, 2023

Joel said:
@DJS (or others) do you leave yours on charge all the time or just charge it periodically?

I'm new to CTEKs and car charging in this manner. Park on the driveway so can't plug in all the time. Work from home, short journeys during the week sometimes, long journeys maybe every couple of weeks at the weekend, maybe even 3 or 4 weeks sometimes.

Thinking I'll probably want to check the indicator once a week and charge when it's orange.

I have a CTEK charger with another car and I leave it on charge all the time unless I am driving it.

nelly111s · Jun 24, 2023

Joel said:
@DJS (or others) do you leave yours on charge all the time or just charge it periodically?

I'm new to CTEKs and car charging in this manner. Park on the driveway so can't plug in all the time. Work from home, short journeys during the week sometimes, long journeys maybe every couple of weeks at the weekend, maybe even 3 or 4 weeks sometimes.

Thinking I'll probably want to check the indicator once a week and charge when it's orange.

I’ve used a CTEK on my Elise. Plug it in unless I know I’m out in the Elise next day (frequently at the moment). First battery from new lasted just over 7 years, mostly due to the CTEK I reckon.

KJD · Jun 26, 2023

My car lives outside and here’s how I wire up the ctek:

Put the unit on top of the supercharger.
Two advantages:
You can see the state of charge without unlocking the car.
As it’s a vented area heat from the ctek isn’t an issue. It does get warm. On a frosty morning there’s a de-iced area in the glass above it.

The mains cable comes out at the cross of the panels where there’s a little more room.

My extension cable is too thick to go through that gap so I put the socket on top of the tyre where it’s out of the wind and rain.

Then the extension cable can be run to however far away the power source is.

Might be a solution for anyone like me who has to park outside.

Porter · Jun 26, 2023

Pugwash said:
Red: means the battery charge is below 12.4 V. It’s definitely time to charge the battery.

Yellow: means the battery charge is between 12.4 and 12.65 V. It’s time to start thinking about charging the battery.

Green: means the battery charge is more than 12.65 V. OK! No need for charging.

Source CTEK web site.

Personally I have been surprised how quickly the light goes from green to amber. Mine lives on its tender most of the time and I have found that within minutes of unplugging it sometimes the amber light can come on. This maybe something to do with how AGM batteries work but I confess that’s a complete guess. I had a new battery fitted on collection in Feb so dont think it’s a battery issue.

I wonder if the car's charging logic (while driving) is too conservative with the AGM battery, and stops the charge input below 13V. A trickle charger will do that, but a trickle charger assumes that it will be present/used consistently, so that is mostly fine. The built-in logic in a sports car should be set up to assume it will be driven irregularly or even infrequently, so the charge logic should be more aggressive to provide a longer park/storage window. The car's charging system may also have been designed for a lead-acid type and then switched to AGM late in the design stage, which might contribute to this problem... the "full" state for a basic AGM is 12.8V+, rather than 12.6V for lead-acid.

If anyone has experimented with alternative batteries, including lithium ion, please report back with your experience.

Steve24 · Aug 1, 2023

Pugwash said:
From the manual. So set your CTEK to AGM.

DJS said:

I was told to charge it on the Car logo mode on the Ctek charger and not the car AGM mode as that was for cars with start stop technology.

Does anyone know what is the right mode for this battery?

Click to expand...

This is all rather confusing.
I have a Ctek charger which came with the car. Haven’t used it yet but am thinking about hooking it up soon (incidentally I went away for three weeks, came back and the car started easily no issues at all).

The manual for the charger states (see pic)

Normal battery program: ”Use for…. many AGM batteries”

Cold weather program: “Use for charging at low temperatures and for power AGM batteries like Optima and Odyssey“

So, is the AGM battery in the Emira suitable for the normal battery program or should I use the cold weather program, even though I’m in Australia and it’s not exactly cold in my garage?

My guess is normal is the correct one but I’d like to be sure.