Trickle Chargers - Minimum Useful Time

[ruggedscotty]

Ok....

bonnet up look for location to site the charger and connect to the battery... mains lead down and out from below no need to run the cables through the bonnet gap just taken them under the car.

if doing that immobilise the car or find some way to remind you that you have mains under the car etc so you dont move the car and do damage... job jobbed

[GreenV8S]

ruggedscotty said:

find some way to remind you that you have mains under the car etc so you dont move the car and do damage

I have used a variety of chargers and pre-heaters over the years. I use a non-latching weatherproof connector at each end of the lead so that if somebody drives away it releases with minimal force. Dedicated RCD ensures it can't electrocute anyone or kill the house electrics.

[A1VDY]

Chris32345 said:

SuperPav said:

I think you're being over optimistic on the tightness of the bonnet shut/seal!
I've run extension leads under the bonnet and into the boot and closed it over the cable, and it's absolutely fine. Obviously make sure you've not put the cable where the latch or striker is.

In the case of a bonnet it's even easier as you can close it over onto the first latch, without pressing it all the way down if you're worried about the cable

Most engine bay I've seen have no rubber seal and don't have s gap big enough to get a mains cables through when shut

All you do is extend the reel and drop the plug under the car from the engine bay. Wedge the reel in somewhere and connect up your charger then shut the bonnet.

[GreenV8S]

SuperPav said:

In the case of a bonnet it's even easier as you can close it over onto the first latch, without pressing it all the way down if you're worried about the cable

That makes it pretty easy for people to get into your engine bay, and you might find that either the alarm or your insurance provider isn't happy for the car to be left like that. There should not be any trouble find a way to route a cable into the engine bay, Most of them have gaping holes all over the place.

[A1VDY]

Just to add, only use extension reels in the ip54 to ip65 range. These will be heavy duty and water proof. Plus.... theyre supplied with yellow or orange hi viz cable, easy to see, helps to prevent fking over them..

[Colin747]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I think I'm going to go with the MXS 5.0, given that it can charge a battery with a few hours I'm not as worried about leaving cables etc sitting out as I can charge it at a time that suits me.

[Colin747]

Alright here goes the daft question...

The instruction booklet for the charger shows an image of each clip being connected to each battery terminal but the text along side that image states to connected the negative to an unpainted part of the chassis....which is it?

I noticed the adapter (the one you leave permanently there) seems to be set up to attach to each battery terminal - can someone just confirm this is the case?

[illmonkey]

Mine permanent connectors are on the positive and negative terminals of the battery. CTEK connects in when I want

Car has not spontaneously combusted yet

[Scrump]

2 of my cars have the short leads permanent,rly connected to the battery connectors.
If I use the ctek on my other cars then I use the croc clips, sometimes these go on the. Artery terminals, other times the negative goes into a body point, depending on which fits best on each car. Either way works fine.

[Arnie Cunningham]

This.

Scrump said:

Either way works fine.

[Richard-D]

illmonkey said:

Mine permanent connectors are on the positive and negative terminals of the battery. CTEK connects in when I want

Car has not spontaneously combusted yet

The potential issue is not where the terminals are connected to, but where the connection is made/broken. When charging the battery vents Hydrogen gas which can accumulate. When you make a connection that completes the circuit it can cause a spark. If you make this connection at the battery then you could ignite the gas. Your permanent connection moves the point that is made/broken away from the battery.

Realistically unless the environment is exceptionally still (no draught) it's unlikely to build up. It's a good idea to understand a danger before you ignore it of course.

[Colin747]

Richard-D said:

The potential issue is not where the terminals are connected to, but where the connection is made/broken. When charging the battery vents Hydrogen gas which can accumulate. When you make a connection that completes the circuit it can cause a spark. If you make this connection at the battery then you could ignite the gas. Your permanent connection moves the point that is made/broken away from the battery.

Realistically unless the environment is exceptionally still (no draught) it's unlikely to build up. It's a good idea to understand a danger before you ignore it of course.

Thanks, that's quite interesting. I was intending to fit the CTEK connector anyway as it seems like it could be handy to have fitted.

[Richard-D]

Colin747 said:

Thanks, that's quite interesting. I was intending to fit the CTEK connector anyway as it seems like it could be handy to have fitted.

I have them fitted to my motorbikes and Caterham. That way I can give them a quick check every couple of months through the Winter without removing the seats (bikes) or bonnet (Caterham). If I make it easy I'll check them. If I don't I know I'm too lazy.

[Arnie Cunningham]

I do the same. I also use the bluetooth battery sense https://www.ctek.com/uk/products/car/ctx-battery-s...
Two of the cars also have ign-off live cigarette lighter sockets - so that's how I charge them

[Colin747]

I've connected the comfort connector to the battery terminals and the charger isn't working. It just going into the flashing stand-by mode after two minutes, anyone any ideas?

[Colin747]

I checked with a multimeter and the battery is showing less than 2V. Can the CTEK even charge this low or is it a new battery time?

[Colin747]

So jumped started it, tried to start the car after and nothing but there was enough charge to seemingly allow the charger to start working

[GreenV8S]

Colin747 said:

I checked with a multimeter and the battery is showing less than 2V.

You may be able to provoke the charger to recognise that it is connected to a battery and try to charge it, but your chances of the battery coming back to life and actually being usable are nil. You definitely need a new battery.

[Colin747]

That's what I was worried about but thought it was worth a try as it costs me nothing to have a go and the battery is only about 4 months old.

[GreenV8S]

You have nothing to lose by trying - but plan on replacing the battery anyway.

Did you get an answer to your original question? FWIW, my Mondeo is taking a little over 1Ah per day to keep it topped up. That would correspond to a 5A charger connected for a couple of hours per week. A battery maintainer putting that charge in more gradually would be kinder to the battery but anything that keeps it from going flat is better than nothing.