Beware of using a CTEK charger
Discussion
jeyjey said:
I was very surprised when my actively drained the battery (as opposed to just not charging it), but that seems to be a common failure mode.
Cheers,
Jeff.
It was the same failure mode I encountered.Cheers,
Jeff.
Multimeter readings showed previously that the various drains on power were taking this particular car's battery down by close enough to 0.05V per day after parking up - presumably certain electronic operational modes were still active during that time. At the time of measurement it wasn't left long enough for any sleep mode.
With the (failed after ~20 years) CTEK unit attached it was decreasing by twice that, 0.1V per day after parking up.
WelshBentleyBoy said:
Mine was within the 2 year guarantee period.
Ah Ok, Ta. I was hoping you had sent a strongly worded email or something and they did the right thing.
Jinto100 said:
I have written to Ctek but had no response yet. I'll let you know when I do.
Yes please do. Hopefully a result and explanation. Scary stuff.I might just pop an email off to them myself but I doubt in my case they will honour anything.
gtsralph said:
CTEK chargers on Amazon carry 5 year warranty. I have had a couple of failures over the years and no issues with CTEK's response when I report the device's misbehaviour and how it was used.
I know you posted this over a year ago but I just wondered what the warranty process involved?I've recently had my MXS 5.0 go faulty just over a year after purchasing from Amazon. It now simply drains the battery rather than charge- completely empties the battery in just over 24 hours, had the battery checked and it's all good- without the charger connected it loses hardly anything over a period of several days.
I've downloaded the warranty form from CTEK, but it suggests I am supposed to supply this to the retailer (Amazon)?
CTEK site said:
Fill out a warranty form in which you can describe the problem. Print the form.
Go to the place of purchase/dealer and submit your complaint; attach the purchase receipt and completed warranty form.
I'll contact CTEK directly to let them know, but just wondered how you went about it in the instances you mentioned Go to the place of purchase/dealer and submit your complaint; attach the purchase receipt and completed warranty form.
Since posting in this thread when I reported the demise of a CTEK trickle charger after many years of good service, I've continued to use cheaper Halfords conditioners (they were around £20 each when I bought two) over the winter on a Bentley Continental GT and C63 AMG and they have worked well with no problems. Touch wood.
YMMV.
YMMV.
This is the reply I received from CTEK. I had bought mine on Amazon but sent it straight back to Sweden and they sent me a new one.
"We are sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your CTEK charger. We assume that you have made the troubleshooting and approved that the charger is faulty, and that it is not a battery problem?
Return the charger to the dealer where you bought it and let them examine the charger. If it is faulty, they will take care of the warranty process. A proof of purchase that approves that the device is still covered by the warranty is needed.
Second-- and even third- hand trading is very common today, thanks to the possibilities on the internet, and that is why the original receipt is required.
If your dealer no longer exists, or handles only shorter warranties than CTEK, you can also return your device to us directly.
Our workshop is in Sweden, the freight to us is taken care of the sender.
RETURNING THE DEVICE TO SWEDEN:
If your charger is still under warranty, the reparation is for free. Freight is taken care of the sender.
Include a complaints form that you find here: http://ctek.com/int/en/page/support/warranty
Fill in at least your Name, address, serial number of the charger and number of the charger and copy of the proof of purchase.
(Make a copy of the complaints form for yourself. The serial number is of vital interest, if tracking the charger would be necessary)
Put complaints form together with the charger in a padded envelope, and send it to Sweden.
CTEK SWEDEN AB
WARRANTY
INDUSTRIVÄGEN 24
77670 VIKMANSHYTTAN
SWEDEN
"We are sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your CTEK charger. We assume that you have made the troubleshooting and approved that the charger is faulty, and that it is not a battery problem?
Return the charger to the dealer where you bought it and let them examine the charger. If it is faulty, they will take care of the warranty process. A proof of purchase that approves that the device is still covered by the warranty is needed.
Second-- and even third- hand trading is very common today, thanks to the possibilities on the internet, and that is why the original receipt is required.
If your dealer no longer exists, or handles only shorter warranties than CTEK, you can also return your device to us directly.
Our workshop is in Sweden, the freight to us is taken care of the sender.
RETURNING THE DEVICE TO SWEDEN:
If your charger is still under warranty, the reparation is for free. Freight is taken care of the sender.
Include a complaints form that you find here: http://ctek.com/int/en/page/support/warranty
Fill in at least your Name, address, serial number of the charger and number of the charger and copy of the proof of purchase.
(Make a copy of the complaints form for yourself. The serial number is of vital interest, if tracking the charger would be necessary)
Put complaints form together with the charger in a padded envelope, and send it to Sweden.
CTEK SWEDEN AB
WARRANTY
INDUSTRIVÄGEN 24
77670 VIKMANSHYTTAN
SWEDEN
WelshBentleyBoy said:
This is the reply I received from CTEK. I had bought mine on Amazon but sent it straight back to Sweden and they sent me a new one.
"We are sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your CTEK charger. We assume that you have made the troubleshooting and approved that the charger is faulty, and that it is not a battery problem?
Return the charger to the dealer where you bought it and let them examine the charger. If it is faulty, they will take care of the warranty process. A proof of purchase that approves that the device is still covered by the warranty is needed.
Second-- and even third- hand trading is very common today, thanks to the possibilities on the internet, and that is why the original receipt is required.
If your dealer no longer exists, or handles only shorter warranties than CTEK, you can also return your device to us directly.
Our workshop is in Sweden, the freight to us is taken care of the sender.
RETURNING THE DEVICE TO SWEDEN:
If your charger is still under warranty, the reparation is for free. Freight is taken care of the sender.
Include a complaints form that you find here: http://ctek.com/int/en/page/support/warranty
Fill in at least your Name, address, serial number of the charger and number of the charger and copy of the proof of purchase.
(Make a copy of the complaints form for yourself. The serial number is of vital interest, if tracking the charger would be necessary)
Put complaints form together with the charger in a padded envelope, and send it to Sweden.
CTEK SWEDEN AB
WARRANTY
INDUSTRIVÄGEN 24
77670 VIKMANSHYTTAN
SWEDEN
That's great thank you, I am going to email them this evening when I get home."We are sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your CTEK charger. We assume that you have made the troubleshooting and approved that the charger is faulty, and that it is not a battery problem?
Return the charger to the dealer where you bought it and let them examine the charger. If it is faulty, they will take care of the warranty process. A proof of purchase that approves that the device is still covered by the warranty is needed.
Second-- and even third- hand trading is very common today, thanks to the possibilities on the internet, and that is why the original receipt is required.
If your dealer no longer exists, or handles only shorter warranties than CTEK, you can also return your device to us directly.
Our workshop is in Sweden, the freight to us is taken care of the sender.
RETURNING THE DEVICE TO SWEDEN:
If your charger is still under warranty, the reparation is for free. Freight is taken care of the sender.
Include a complaints form that you find here: http://ctek.com/int/en/page/support/warranty
Fill in at least your Name, address, serial number of the charger and number of the charger and copy of the proof of purchase.
(Make a copy of the complaints form for yourself. The serial number is of vital interest, if tracking the charger would be necessary)
Put complaints form together with the charger in a padded envelope, and send it to Sweden.
CTEK SWEDEN AB
WARRANTY
INDUSTRIVÄGEN 24
77670 VIKMANSHYTTAN
SWEDEN
The only bit that confuses me slightly is this:
"the freight to us is taken care of the sender"
Does that (presumably poor translation) mean they will refund the postage?!
I have used ctek chargers for years on a number of vehicles. As long as they are not dropped or damaged in any way, they should last years.
The ones with Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley etc labelled on them are just that. Relabelled ctek chargers with a massive dealership mark-up added.
It sounds as if the OP has just been unlucky in one way and very lucky in another.
The ones with Porsche, Aston Martin, Bentley etc labelled on them are just that. Relabelled ctek chargers with a massive dealership mark-up added.
It sounds as if the OP has just been unlucky in one way and very lucky in another.
Just to add to this as I found this thread searching Google.......
I've two over the years (XS3600 and MXS5.0) and both started to exibit the same fault, they both started to over charge the battery, the XS3600 was the worst, wouldn't stop charging until the battery hit nearly 16 volts, which is grossly overcharging. The MXS on the other hand stopped at 15V, but float charged at over 14v (which is far too much for a float charge).
I believe the problem might be cheap leads/connectors, which age/corrode, cause a voltage drop and make the charger think the battery voltage is lower than it really is (this would depend on how the chargers actually work though).
My biggest gripe with them is the marketing BS, apply a 14.4v to a car battery and what they describe as multi-stage is actually just what happens as a battery becomes fully charged. The MXS is admittedly a little more intelligent, but still the marketing is stretching it a bit.
I've two over the years (XS3600 and MXS5.0) and both started to exibit the same fault, they both started to over charge the battery, the XS3600 was the worst, wouldn't stop charging until the battery hit nearly 16 volts, which is grossly overcharging. The MXS on the other hand stopped at 15V, but float charged at over 14v (which is far too much for a float charge).
I believe the problem might be cheap leads/connectors, which age/corrode, cause a voltage drop and make the charger think the battery voltage is lower than it really is (this would depend on how the chargers actually work though).
My biggest gripe with them is the marketing BS, apply a 14.4v to a car battery and what they describe as multi-stage is actually just what happens as a battery becomes fully charged. The MXS is admittedly a little more intelligent, but still the marketing is stretching it a bit.
I know there was another thread on here, but it’s been removed now.
Anyway despite my comment that I had never had any issues with mine, guess what happened yesterday.
So the background to this, is that I have had Ctek chargers for years now, mostly for my Caterham, but also been used a lot for our Defender since it’s not been out much during lockdown.
Now my Caterham has not been used since the start of the year, due to all the heavy rain,,then the lockdown.
However at the end of April it was due to have its first MOT, with it just being 3 years old from new.
It had not been on the charger that much, so it went on the ctek the night before the MOT was booked.
Now I also have one of the ctek Bluetooth sensors fitted, so I get alerts on the battery condition on my phone too.
So dropped the car off for MOT, about 30 minutes later I get a call from the garage to say it won’t start.
Long story what happened next, mostly due to COVID 19 restrictions but I got it sorted.
After a good run, I brought it home and checked the battery with my multimeter, it was fine were the engine was running, but dropped to 11.53volts just a few minutes after coming off engine running,
After a night on the Ctek charger in AGM mode, it was showing fully charged,but again after one start it would not turn the Caterham over.
I decided to change it. As I had a new unused one sat in the garage.
I suppose I should start a new thread to cover what happens and let more people know.
So let me do that now,
Anyway despite my comment that I had never had any issues with mine, guess what happened yesterday.
So the background to this, is that I have had Ctek chargers for years now, mostly for my Caterham, but also been used a lot for our Defender since it’s not been out much during lockdown.
Now my Caterham has not been used since the start of the year, due to all the heavy rain,,then the lockdown.
However at the end of April it was due to have its first MOT, with it just being 3 years old from new.
It had not been on the charger that much, so it went on the ctek the night before the MOT was booked.
Now I also have one of the ctek Bluetooth sensors fitted, so I get alerts on the battery condition on my phone too.
So dropped the car off for MOT, about 30 minutes later I get a call from the garage to say it won’t start.
Long story what happened next, mostly due to COVID 19 restrictions but I got it sorted.
After a good run, I brought it home and checked the battery with my multimeter, it was fine were the engine was running, but dropped to 11.53volts just a few minutes after coming off engine running,
After a night on the Ctek charger in AGM mode, it was showing fully charged,but again after one start it would not turn the Caterham over.
I decided to change it. As I had a new unused one sat in the garage.
I suppose I should start a new thread to cover what happens and let more people know.
So let me do that now,
nigelpugh7 said:
I know there was another thread on here, but it’s been removed now.
Anyway despite my comment that I had never had any issues with mine, guess what happened yesterday.
So the background to this, is that I have had Ctek chargers for years now, mostly for my Caterham, but also been used a lot for our Defender since it’s not been out much during lockdown.
Now my Caterham has not been used since the start of the year, due to all the heavy rain,,then the lockdown.
However at the end of April it was due to have its first MOT, with it just being 3 years old from new.
It had not been on the charger that much, so it went on the ctek the night before the MOT was booked.
Now I also have one of the ctek Bluetooth sensors fitted, so I get alerts on the battery condition on my phone too.
So dropped the car off for MOT, about 30 minutes later I get a call from the garage to say it won’t start.
Long story what happened next, mostly due to COVID 19 restrictions but I got it sorted.
After a good run, I brought it home and checked the battery with my multimeter, it was fine were the engine was running, but dropped to 11.53volts just a few minutes after coming off engine running,
After a night on the Ctek charger in AGM mode, it was showing fully charged,but again after one start it would not turn the Caterham over.
I decided to change it. As I had a new unused one sat in the garage.
I suppose I should start a new thread to cover what happens and let more people know.
So let me do that now,
I'm pretty sure that Ctek is just a sales/marketing operation, I don't think they design or manufacture their own products any more.Anyway despite my comment that I had never had any issues with mine, guess what happened yesterday.
So the background to this, is that I have had Ctek chargers for years now, mostly for my Caterham, but also been used a lot for our Defender since it’s not been out much during lockdown.
Now my Caterham has not been used since the start of the year, due to all the heavy rain,,then the lockdown.
However at the end of April it was due to have its first MOT, with it just being 3 years old from new.
It had not been on the charger that much, so it went on the ctek the night before the MOT was booked.
Now I also have one of the ctek Bluetooth sensors fitted, so I get alerts on the battery condition on my phone too.
So dropped the car off for MOT, about 30 minutes later I get a call from the garage to say it won’t start.
Long story what happened next, mostly due to COVID 19 restrictions but I got it sorted.
After a good run, I brought it home and checked the battery with my multimeter, it was fine were the engine was running, but dropped to 11.53volts just a few minutes after coming off engine running,
After a night on the Ctek charger in AGM mode, it was showing fully charged,but again after one start it would not turn the Caterham over.
I decided to change it. As I had a new unused one sat in the garage.
I suppose I should start a new thread to cover what happens and let more people know.
So let me do that now,
lyonspride said:
I'm pretty sure that Ctek is just a sales/marketing operation, I don't think they design or manufacture their own products any more.
Wow it did not know that!I assumed , well we all know what that means that they were a manufacturer based in Sweden.
We drove past what we assumed was the factory as it had all of he Ctek logos on the office and the factory behind it.
That was a fair few years Ago now though!
So two years after this problem, my Caterham has been gone for a year.
I’ve recently been trying to use the Ctek charger on my dual battery setup on my Defender TD5, and also to give the new battery on my Subaru WRX.
It keeps faulting leaving the red light on, at which point it must stop charging as the battery won’t turn over either engine.
I now also have a smaller charger a NoCo one for the lithium battery on my Honda Motorcycle, which works great on the bike.
So I tried it on the new battery in the defender and it seems to work fine.
I think it’s time to bin the Ctek charger now, as I feel it can’t be relied on any more.
It’s a shame as I have a whole raft of cables and other Ctek accessories like the Bluetooth condition monitor.
I suppose not everything lasts for more than 5 years these days.
I’ve recently been trying to use the Ctek charger on my dual battery setup on my Defender TD5, and also to give the new battery on my Subaru WRX.
It keeps faulting leaving the red light on, at which point it must stop charging as the battery won’t turn over either engine.
I now also have a smaller charger a NoCo one for the lithium battery on my Honda Motorcycle, which works great on the bike.
So I tried it on the new battery in the defender and it seems to work fine.
I think it’s time to bin the Ctek charger now, as I feel it can’t be relied on any more.
It’s a shame as I have a whole raft of cables and other Ctek accessories like the Bluetooth condition monitor.
I suppose not everything lasts for more than 5 years these days.
Thread resurrection!
The Continental has a magnetic gubbins for attaching the charge lead under the boot lip. I suspect mine is faulty because the charger won't connect.
Is there any reason why a C-tek with cigar adaptor won't do the same job? The doubt in my mind is the dual battery setup.
Louis Balfour said:
Thread resurrection!
The Continental has a magnetic gubbins for attaching the charge lead under the boot lip. I suspect mine is faulty because the charger won't connect.
Is there any reason why a C-tek with cigar adaptor won't do the same job? The doubt in my mind is the dual battery setup.
Probably better to replace the faulty bit under the lip or add a new socket there as the rest will be taken care of. It is probably a simple split charge setup.The Continental has a magnetic gubbins for attaching the charge lead under the boot lip. I suspect mine is faulty because the charger won't connect.
Is there any reason why a C-tek with cigar adaptor won't do the same job? The doubt in my mind is the dual battery setup.
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