Are CTEK Battery chargers any good?

[CeramicMX5ND2]

My 2018 MX-5ND2 displayed the warning "Battery Management System Malfunction" yesterday? The car only does a couple of local runs a week and probably like most on here, is not used as much as it was due pandemic. I imagine this warning is another way of informing me my battery is low? So my question is, do any of you use trickle chargers? I read great reviews on CTEK ones like this....

[g3org3y]

I use a CTEK MXS 5.0 for my Z4 which is garaged over winter, no issues.

[Krikkit]

I've got a CTEK for my bike, faultless for the last couple of years.

[Mr.Jimbo]

I've had my M3 on a CTEK for a few years now, great bit of kit. Noticed the connector was getting a bit warm one day, emailed them and they sent a new one out no bother, asked me to scrap the old one, result!

Would definitely recommend.

[Trikster]

CTEK are great - never had any problems and work as they should.

That said, bought a cheaper one off Amazon for the shed (02 BMW) due to lack of use in these strange times and it's worked fine too....

[toasty]

I've got one and it works just fine.

I might be stating the bleeding obvious but it's not a jump starter, it'll take an hour or two to revive a dead battery and an overnight charge to completely restore it.

[Scrump]

Ctek 5.0 works for me.
I also have an optimate and a cheap Aldi charger. The Ctek seems the best but they all do the job.

[Emeye]

I've got one of those cheap (£13 IIRC)Aldi versions - it's worked ok the few times I've used it for recovering flat batteries, not connected permanently though.

[SturdyHSV]

Scrump said:

Ctek 5.0 works for me.

+1

[Chubbyross]

+1 from me. I use it throughout the winter when my weekend car is garaged.

[a7x88]

Another ctek 5.0 user here. Fantastic bit if kit

[bobtail4x4]

I have a couple of Aldi ones.
one is on the Scimitar full time, I turn it on every few weeks for a few hours
if the battery gets below about 9v they get confused,

[Mr-B]

Emeye said:

I've got one of those cheap (£13 IIRC)Aldi versions - it's worked ok the few times I've used it for recovering flat batteries, not connected permanently though.

bobtail4x4 said:

I have a couple of Aldi ones.
one is on the Scimitar full time, I turn it on every few weeks for a few hours
if the battery gets below about 9v they get confused,

Ditto, 2 Aldi or Lidl (can never remember which) ones for me. The Mazda is kept permanently attached over winter, fires up first time come spring. I did let the car go totally flat once so connected a jump starter pack and the charger to fool it into thinking the battery had some charge and so it started charging it, fully revived it in the end and the car is still on the same battery.

[SomeDubber]

I had one and had nothing but issues.

I left my one on normal mode on the car in the garage and left it to it. It boiled the battery dry and didn't switch off, continued putting power in and filled the garage with that horrible Hydrogen stench and killing the battery.

After looking into it someone on here had the same issue with one too.

I spoke to CTEK and there response was the battery was a fault on the car so brought a new battery and tried charging it off the car and it went to do the same thing on the brand new battery with no faults as I had it tested before purchasing.

I lost faith in it then and didn't trust leaving it to its own devices in case I came home on day and it set fire to my pride and joy and the house.


On a separate issue I tried charging a completely dead battery with no life it it at all and it wouldn't put any life into it.

so I purchased a trickle one From Halfords and that did no problems, I've had the Halfords one on my car on trickle with no issues what so ever.


Personally I wouldn't trust the CTEK one as far as I could throw it. In fact I binned it as i couldn't trust it.

I know quite a few people on here have them with no issues but this is my experience with one so just my 2P's worth.

[Chris32345]

SomeDubber said:

I had one and had nothing but issues.

I left my one on normal mode on the car in the garage and left it to it. It boiled the battery dry and didn't switch off, continued putting power in and filled the garage with that horrible Hydrogen stench and killing the battery.

After looking into it someone on here had the same issue with one too.

I spoke to CTEK and there response was the battery was a fault on the car so brought a new battery and tried charging it off the car and it went to do the same thing on the brand new battery with no faults as I had it tested before purchasing.

I lost faith in it then and didn't trust leaving it to its own devices in case I came home on day and it set fire to my pride and joy and the house.


On a separate issue I tried charging a completely dead battery with no life it it at all and it wouldn't put any life into it.

so I purchased a trickle one From Halfords and that did no problems, I've had the Halfords one on my car on trickle with no issues what so ever.


Personally I wouldn't trust the CTEK one as far as I could throw it. In fact I binned it as i couldn't trust it.

I know quite a few people on here have them with no issues but this is my experience with one so just my 2P's worth.

Sounds like you connected to a dead short battery
It does say to check the battery regularly


As for the second one it did exactly what it should to avoid the previous situation virtually any smart charger would do the same

[Sticks.]

g3org3y said:

I use a CTEK MXS 5.0 for my Z4 which is garaged over winter, no issues.

Same here. Iirc they have a 5 year warranty. I had an older one before this. The newer ones have shorter leads but they will sell you an extension, which is nice of them

[Emeye]

bobtail4x4 said:

I have a couple of Aldi ones.
one is on the Scimitar full time, I turn it on every few weeks for a few hours
if the battery gets below about 9v they get confused,

I have found that when I have seen a low voltage, if I put my Aldi one into the correct mode, it takes a long time but eventually sorts out the battery. There is only one battery that it has failed to bring back from the dead.

[pcn1]

First CTEK died under warranty and replaced.
Second lasted just over a year and died. (this was 10 years ago, they may be better now)

First Optimate lasted over 10 years, second going strong at 5 years (on my motorbikes)

Lidl cheapo on car still going strong at 3 years on my car.

Personally I'd not buy another CTEK.

[Holgate86]

I had one of the very first CTEK battery chargers that used pulse charging and conditioning technology about 20 years ago.....the new ones are still very similar. I worked with Nickel Cadmium batteries in the 80's that had a real problem with memory effect and pulse charging and conditioning technology effectively solved the problem...CTEK took the technology and applied it to lead acid batteries.

Destroyed my first one last year reversing out of the garage with it still connected...doh!!!

Onto my second and would still recommend it, lots of manufacturers battery conditioners are rebadged CTEK models.

[Louis Balfour]

I've got several Cteks.

They are OK but the blister mode button can play up. I nearly binned one thinking it was too broken to save, but a bit of Googling revealed that it's a known problem that can be resolved with dismantling and switch cleaner.