CTEK/Porsche 12V charger - runs really hot?

[kingston12]

I normally leave my car plugged into the CTEK/Porsche charger that came with it.

Typically, I forgot to do it before lockdown and haven't used the car for quite a few weeks. It was totally dead.

The charger did it's normal thing of getting the car to the stage where it could start in 30 minutes, but I noticed for the first time that the connector and the inside of the 12V socket are burning hot after that amount of time..

Is this standard or is it time for a new one?

[mikeh501]

id guess your battery is fubar.

[kingston12]

mikeh501 said:

id guess your battery is fubar.

It probably is, to be honest. I've taken it for granted a bit letting it run flat and then using the charger to get it back rather than replacing.

Does that make it unsafe to use the charger?

[IanSC]

It might be a fault with the alternator regulator. I can normally leave my Ctek plugged in for weeks at a time in my 996, but a few months ago I found the charger also to be really hot when unplugging it. It turned out the battery was draining rapidly due to the faulty alternator regulator, using up the same kind of power to having left the headlamps on. The Ctek was therefore fighting against the abnormal battery drain causing it to overheat.

[Fnumber1user]

If it's pulling quite a few amps you should expect to witness some heat. Not a fan of using cigarette socket myself.