Does anyone use Charge-o-mat or CTEK equivalent

[kingston12]

I have got a Charge-o-mat which seems to have stopped working.

When I plug it into power it goes into standby mode, and the mode button allows me to switch between standby, bike and car. When I plug it into my car, none of the lights on the other bank (empty/charging/charged) come on at all. I am sure they used to.

I have checked that the 12V socket is powered by using it with other accessories and the charger itself is obviously getting power.

Does it sound like I just need a new one, or is there anything else I can try? I rely on this through the winter as the car is only used once every few weeks.

[dreamcar]

kingston12 said:

I have got a Charge-o-mat which seems to have stopped working.

When I plug it into power it goes into standby mode, and the mode button allows me to switch between standby, bike and car. When I plug it into my car, none of the lights on the other bank (empty/charging/charged) come on at all. I am sure they used to.

I have checked that the 12V socket is powered by using it with other accessories and the charger itself is obviously getting power.

Does it sound like I just need a new one, or is there anything else I can try? I rely on this through the winter as the car is only used once every few weeks.

I use Charge-o-mat and as you say when you connect & switch on you get standby mode then select standby, bike and car. Sounds like there is no electrical connection at the 12v socket. Can't recall whether there is an in line fuse on the Charge-o-may lead? How about the car fuse for the socket? Sounds silly but you have pressed the charger plug fully home in the socket?

[kingston12]

dreamcar said:

I use Charge-o-mat and as you say when you connect & switch on you get standby mode then select standby, bike and car. Sounds like there is no electrical connection at the 12v socket. Can't recall whether there is an in line fuse on the Charge-o-may lead? How about the car fuse for the socket? Sounds silly but you have pressed the charger plug fully home in the socket?

I can't see a fuse in line.

There is definitely power on the 12V socket because it powers the cigarette lighter and a small 12V torch that I have got.

It doesn't seem to be a very tight fit in the socket, but no amount of 'wiggling' or moving it around seems to bring it to life.

[s3 akr]

Hook it direct to the battery and not via the cig lighter. If it still has the same issue then I'd consider that it might need replacement. Don't they have a long warranty on them - 2 or 3 years ?

[mikefocke]

There were differing sizes of lighter sockets and plugs. An adapter (plastic ring) was used to match my ctek maintainer plug to the socket I had. So it is possible there is a mismatch if the connection is loose.

Mine was the red ring visible here. I recall it fitting over my little finger. http://www.wunderlich.de/shop/media/catalog/produc...

[kingston12]

s3 akr said:

Hook it direct to the battery and not via the cig lighter. If it still has the same issue then I'd consider that it might need replacement. Don't they have a long warranty on them - 2 or 3 years ?

Mine hasn't got the battery clips, it can only be connected by the 12V socket.

I don't think that the warranty will cover this one - it was supplied new with the car back in 2005! I have no issue with buying a new one after all of that time, just don't want to do it and find that it is something else at fault.

I don't have access to another car to try it with at the moment.

[surtees]

Sadly this appears to be a very common problem with these chargers. Happened to mine too (a genuine CTEK XS3600) after just a couple of years of very light use.

Various references on YouTube, for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1NRN2u8d5E

Note that I would NOT vouch for the safety of some of the proposed remedies!

Shame that some shoddy part appear to be used in such an expensive charger.

[kingston12]

surtees said:

Sadly this appears to be a very common problem with these chargers. Happened to mine too (a genuine CTEK XS3600) after just a couple of years of very light use.

Various references on YouTube, for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1NRN2u8d5E

Note that I would NOT vouch for the safety of some of the proposed remedies!

Shame that some shoddy part appear to be used in such an expensive charger.

Thanks. My problem is slightly different in that the mode selector works but it just doesn't appear to charge anymore.

I am going to put a new 12V adaptor on it and it that doesn't work, I guess it is just time to retire it. Not bad value really as I must have had this plugged in for thousands of days over the time I have had it and it has even brought batteries back from totally flat on a couple of occasions.

The CTEK equivalent seems to be £55, but that connects straight to the battery, so I'll need to buy a 12V adaptor for about £10 as well. The Porsche-branded one costs £93 from OPC.

[surtees]

I know Ctec had problems with the design of some earlier 12V adaptors and ended up replacing them. Might also be a failure of one of the diodes on the circuit board adjacent to the switch. If you search the web you'll find a YouTube video on how to repair one or both of them.

On mine it was a failure of the Mode switch. Even though the switch has a second pole for redundancy, it seems to be very flimsy and under-rated - mechanically if not electrically. I replaced mine with a heavier duty double pole push to close switch from Maplins and all is well again. If a replacement switch is routed outside the body of the charger, it is important to silicone seal the outcoming wires to maintain the waterproofing on the case.

Mine works fine via the 12V charge socket in the passenger footwell. No need to clip directly to the battery terminals.

Given all the hype surrounding Ctec chargers, still think it's poor to design the charger with what appears to be a very failure prone Mode switch. Otherwise it seems to work extremely well.

[kingston12]

surtees said:

I know Ctec had problems with the design of some earlier 12V adaptors and ended up replacing them. Might also be a failure of one of the diodes on the circuit board adjacent to the switch. If you search the web you'll find a YouTube video on how to repair one or both of them.

On mine it was a failure of the Mode switch. Even though the switch has a second pole for redundancy, it seems to be very flimsy and under-rated - mechanically if not electrically. I replaced mine with a heavier duty double pole push to close switch from Maplins and all is well again. If a replacement switch is routed outside the body of the charger, it is important to silicone seal the outcoming wires to maintain the waterproofing on the case.

Mine works fine via the 12V charge socket in the passenger footwell. No need to clip directly to the battery terminals.

Given all the hype surrounding Ctec chargers, still think it's poor to design the charger with what appears to be a very failure prone Mode switch. Otherwise it seems to work extremely well.

Thanks. I'll have a look.

I assume that there is no problem with just using something like this if it turns out the 12V adaptor is the problem?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12v-24v-Male-Din-Car-Cig...

[surtees]

Probably OK. But for a few £'s more I would be inclined to get one of the latest CTEC ones. Widely available on the internet.

[dreamcar]

surtees said:

Sadly this appears to be a very common problem with these chargers. Happened to mine too (a genuine CTEK XS3600) after just a couple of years of very light use.

Various references on YouTube, for example https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1NRN2u8d5E

Note that I would NOT vouch for the safety of some of the proposed remedies!

Shame that some shoddy part appear to be used in such an expensive charger.

Perhaps it's worth paying the extra money for the CTEK based Charge-O-Mat, mine is twelve years old and still works faultlessly!

[kingston12]

surtees said:

Probably OK. But for a few £'s more I would be inclined to get one of the latest CTEC ones. Widely available on the internet.

Is that this one linked by Mike earlier?

http://www.wunderlich.de/shop/media/catalog/produc...

I suppose that would be easier and I could just connect the wires together.

[kingston12]

dreamcar said:

Perhaps it's worth paying the extra money for the CTEK based Charge-O-Mat, mine is twelve years old and still works faultlessly!

That is what I am thinking about as mine is almost the same vintage, but quite tempted to go with the CTEK MXS 5.0 as it is the next model up (Charge-o-mat is a rebadged XS3600 apparently) as well as being a bit cheaper. I am not worried about the cost given how much use it will get.

[nigelj77]

When I bought my boxster the seller included one of the Aldi Auto XS chargers, think they are sub £20, it only had crock clips for the battery end so I chopped them off and fitted a £2 cigarette lighter plug from eBay. Seems to be working fine for a fraction of the cost of "branded" chargers.

[REDCARISMINE]

I USE CTEK 7.0 HARD WIRESD TO BATTERY ON THE 968

https://youtu.be/iVyMW5ZgZhc

[REDCARISMINE]

I USE CTEK 7.0 HARD WIRESD TO BATTERY ON THE 968

https://youtu.be/iVyMW5ZgZhc