Battery Charger

ihadablackdog · Apr 3, 2020

With the cars sat on the drive doing nothing except 1 food shop a week, the batteries are going to go low I think.

Havent started my Z4 for well over a week, if not two.

Started Debs 1'er yesterday to go for weekly shop and it took a few seconds to catch.

So, do I need a trickle charger or something?

I read a lot about ctek but as is usual when you dont know fcuk all about it, lots of different versions!

Both cars have start stop, hers a 2014 116d and mine a 2011 e89 20i. I think they are AGM batteries?

So, CT5 Start/Stop? Circa £80?
https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/ct5-start-stop

Do I need that, or is there a cheaper version just to keep them ticking over....I'm assuming I can connect to one of the cars for a few days then swap?

Deb was told her battery needed replacing by the stealer previously and when she pushed back over the price they said it was just begining to show signs of needing replacing, whatever that meant! Its been fine since. Mine normally starts ok, but the start/stop function has never worked in the 2yrs I've had the car. Do a 26mile round trip to work each day (obviously not at the moment), so dont know if that would be enough to keep it topped up.

Both might need replacing, but not going to do that at the moment, hence looking for an alternative solution, and even with a new battery i'd still need to keep it topped up.

tintoverano · Apr 3, 2020

look for ctek mxs 5.0

Smartbear · Apr 3, 2020

The Lidl charger is good value but you have to wait before it reappears in store, it’s under £20

Rob

Argyll Andy · Apr 3, 2020

ihadablackdog said:
With the cars sat on the drive doing nothing except 1 food shop a week, the batteries are going to go low I think.

Havent started my Z4 for well over a week, if not two.

Started Debs 1'er yesterday to go for weekly shop and it took a few seconds to catch.

So, do I need a trickle charger or something?

I read a lot about ctek but as is usual when you dont know fcuk all about it, lots of different versions!

Both cars have start stop, hers a 2014 116d and mine a 2011 e89 20i. I think they are AGM batteries?

So, CT5 Start/Stop? Circa £80?
https://www.ctek.com/products/vehicle/ct5-start-stop

Do I need that, or is there a cheaper version just to keep them ticking over....I'm assuming I can connect to one of the cars for a few days then swap?

Deb was told her battery needed replacing by the stealer previously and when she pushed back over the price they said it was just begining to show signs of needing replacing, whatever that meant! Its been fine since. Mine normally starts ok, but the start/stop function has never worked in the 2yrs I've had the car. Do a 26mile round trip to work each day (obviously not at the moment), so dont know if that would be enough to keep it topped up.

Both might need replacing, but not going to do that at the moment, hence looking for an alternative solution, and even with a new battery i'd still need to keep it topped up.

I’ve just bought a Ctek MXS 5.0 and Comfort indicator for mine. I bought this one on recommendations on her and because it has the reconditioning function, does AGM & S/S batteries. I will alternate after a few days/weekly between the Zed and 3 series because they’ll not be driven for 12 weeks. Moving them back and forth to the power supply will hopefully be enough to keep the brakes free.

The Comfort indicator will be permanently fixed to the Z4 and the traffic light system will let me know how the battery is at a glance.

I got both from Amazon for under £80 delivered.

saj77 · Apr 3, 2020

Argyll Andy said:
I’ve just bought a Ctek MXS 5.0 and Comfort indicator

Good choice

I’ve got one on the Zed and another on my daily during this ‘isolation’ period.

I used the RECON cycle on my daily and I’ve noticed an improvement with battery performance since. (Don’t think it’s a placebo effect!). It’s recommended to use Recon mode yearly to extend battery life.

mcbutler · Apr 3, 2020

CTEK is good if you're happy to pay 3 or 4 times what it's worth.
The Lidl charger is pretty much an identical product and has all the special 'modes' pulse, trickle, maintenance AGM etc etc.
I have been told that if you have a power drop/cut the Lidl version shuts down but the Ctek does not, but when did we last have a power cut/drop?

Argyll Andy · Apr 3, 2020

mcbutler said:
CTEK is good if you're happy to pay 3 or 4 times what it's worth.
The Lidl charger is pretty much an identical product and has all the special 'modes' pulse, trickle, maintenance AGM etc etc.
I have been told that if you have a power drop/cut the Lidl version shuts down but the Ctek does not, but when did we last have a power cut/drop?

Even though I’ve just bought one I completely agree with you about the price. That’s why I held off buying one as I felt it was expensive. I saw all the good reviews on the Lidl one on here.

A couple of things made me opt for the Ctek, my nearest Lidl is at least 2 1/2 hrs round trip and you can’t buy online.

Where I live we do still get regular power cuts/drops.

What pushed me into buying something now was both my cars will be sitting idle for 12 weeks and the cost of batteries for both cars far outweighed the cost of the more expensive charger which I could order online

mcbutler · Apr 3, 2020

Argyll Andy said:
mcbutler said:

CTEK is good if you're happy to pay 3 or 4 times what it's worth.
The Lidl charger is pretty much an identical product and has all the special 'modes' pulse, trickle, maintenance AGM etc etc.
I have been told that if you have a power drop/cut the Lidl version shuts down but the Ctek does not, but when did we last have a power cut/drop?

Click to expand...

Even though I’ve just bought one I completely agree with you about the price. That’s why I held off buying one as I felt it was expensive. I saw all the good reviews on the Lidl one on here.

A couple of things made me opt for the Ctek, my nearest Lidl is at least 2 1/2 hrs round trip and you can’t buy online.

Where I live we do still get regular power cuts/drops.

What pushed me into buying something now was both my cars will be sitting idle for 12 weeks and the cost of batteries for both cars far outweighed the cost of the more expensive charger which I could order online

I am surprised you still get power cuts even in your slightly remote location. Still its a fair trade off to live in such a beautiful place, lucky you..

Zed Baron · Apr 3, 2020

I got one of these over 3 years ago and its been fine

Argyll Andy · Apr 3, 2020

I am surprised you still get power cuts even in your slightly remote location. Still its a fair trade off to live in such a beautiful place, lucky you..
[/quote]

Yes, proper power cuts, an hour plus, are very rare now, except in very windy conditions, but flickers that throw the power for 2-30 seconds are quite regular. At work we’re on a UPS so I don’t notice it there but can often come home and all the digital clocks are flashing. I thought these drops may be enough to throw the Lidl charger from some of the comments.

The recent urgency for me to need one and the lack of ability to travel finally pushed me to buy the Ctek

It’s more than a fair trade, start the car and within 90 seconds whichever way I go I’m out of the town and on open roads :driving:

ChrisS · Apr 4, 2020

I use an Oxford motorcycle charger for my Z3 and it has been fine over the winter. I paid about £30 for it.

Smartbear · Apr 4, 2020

Argyll Andy said:
I am surprised you still get power cuts even in your slightly remote location. Still its a fair trade off to live in such a beautiful place, lucky you..

Yes, proper power cuts, an hour plus, are very rare now, except in very windy conditions, but flickers that throw the power for 2-30 seconds are quite regular. At work we’re on a UPS so I don’t notice it there but can often come home and all the digital clocks are flashing. I thought these drops may be enough to throw the Lidl charger from some of the comments.

The recent urgency for me to need one and the lack of ability to travel finally pushed me to buy the Ctek

It’s more than a fair trade, start the car and within 90 seconds whichever way I go I’m out of the town and on open roads :driving:
[/quote]

It’s no problem, i just glance at it once a week to check it’s still on the right mode & no issue

Rob

Argyll Andy · Apr 4, 2020

Smartbear said:
Argyll Andy said:

I am surprised you still get power cuts even in your slightly remote location. Still its a fair trade off to live in such a beautiful place, lucky you..

Click to expand...

Yes, proper power cuts, an hour plus, are very rare now, except in very windy conditions, but flickers that throw the power for 2-30 seconds are quite regular. At work we’re on a UPS so I don’t notice it there but can often come home and all the digital clocks are flashing. I thought these drops may be enough to throw the Lidl charger from some of the comments.

The recent urgency for me to need one and the lack of ability to travel finally pushed me to buy the Ctek

It’s more than a fair trade, start the car and within 90 seconds whichever way I go I’m out of the town and on open roads :driving:

It’s no problem, i just glance at it once a week to check it’s still on the right mode & no issue

Rob
[/quote]

:rofl: Yes that does smack of laziness...............on my part Rob

One question, I noticed you’d fed a charging cable behind the grill to save lifting the bonnet, is it just attached to a grill fin by a cable tie, nothing else? Or is it fed through somewhere for support before exiting the grill?

Andy

Smartbear · Apr 4, 2020

Argyll Andy said:
Smartbear said:

Argyll Andy said:

I am surprised you still get power cuts even in your slightly remote location. Still its a fair trade off to live in such a beautiful place, lucky you..

Click to expand...

Yes, proper power cuts, an hour plus, are very rare now, except in very windy conditions, but flickers that throw the power for 2-30 seconds are quite regular. At work we’re on a UPS so I don’t notice it there but can often come home and all the digital clocks are flashing. I thought these drops may be enough to throw the Lidl charger from some of the comments.

The recent urgency for me to need one and the lack of ability to travel finally pushed me to buy the Ctek

It’s more than a fair trade, start the car and within 90 seconds whichever way I go I’m out of the town and on open roads :driving:

Click to expand...

It’s no problem, i just glance at it once a week to check it’s still on the right mode & no issue
Rob

:rofl: Yes that does smack of laziness...............on my part Rob

One question, I noticed you’d fed a charging cable behind the grill to save lifting the bonnet, is it just attached to a grill fin by a cable tie, nothing else? Or is it fed through somewhere for support before exiting the grill?

Andy
[/quote]

Hi, there’s some weather shielding behind the grill to the r/h side, this has a small hole in it which i fed the cable through. The lead is then cable tied (black tie, so not really visible on the black grill) to the grill. When i want to charge the car i just fish behind the grill with my fingers to extract the plug

Rob

Argyll Andy · Apr 4, 2020

[/quote]

Hi, there’s some weather shielding behind the grill to the r/h side, this has a small hole in it which i fed the cable through. The lead is then cable tied (black tie, so not really visible on the black grill) to the grill. When i want to charge the car i just fish behind the grill with my fingers to extract the plug

Rob
[/quote]

Cheers Rob, appreciated

Andy

ihadablackdog · Apr 4, 2020

Smartbear said:
Hi, there’s some weather shielding behind the grill to the r/h side, this has a small hole in it which i fed the cable through. The lead is then cable tied (black tie, so not really visible on the black grill) to the grill. When i want to charge the car i just fish behind the grill with my fingers to extract the plug
Rob

Do you leave it there all the time (obviously, as you've cable tidied it) but what about water proof etc?

I see people asking about leaving the bonnet open a bit, cant the cables just be dangled down to the floor rather than exiting the bonnet etc, or is this considered too much faff?

Where do you actually connect the cables to in the engine bay? I've seen the picture above but guess yours is hard wired?

Assume its the same for the comfort indicator...where do the eyelets connect and cables hang when not in use?

Smartbear · Apr 4, 2020

ihadablackdog said:
Smartbear said:

Hi, there’s some weather shielding behind the grill to the r/h side, this has a small hole in it which i fed the cable through. The lead is then cable tied (black tie, so not really visible on the black grill) to the grill. When i want to charge the car i just fish behind the grill with my fingers to extract the plug
Rob

Click to expand...

Do you leave it there all the time (obviously, as you've cable tidied it) but what about water proof etc?

I see people asking about leaving the bonnet open a bit, cant the cables just be dangled down to the floor rather than exiting the bonnet etc, or is this considered too much faff?

Where do you actually connect the cables to in the engine bay? I've seen the picture above but guess yours is hard wired?

Assume its the same for the comfort indicator...where do the eyelets connect and cables hang when not in use?

Hi, I’ve got a rubber cap that fits over the connector i used. It sits behind & slightly below the grill when it’s tucked away after use so not worried about it getting wet

There’s an under tray fitted so could be a pain getting the connector through it every time you wanted to leave it on charge?
There’s a positive point for jump starting under the bonnet & a neggy connection box as well.
Rob

ihadablackdog · Apr 5, 2020

So I’ve ordered the ctek mxs 5.0 and 2.5 mtr extension.

Due on Friday, Amazon Prime delivery dates slow at the moment, but I’m definitely not complaining, lucky to get delivery’s at all....and it’s not as if this is an essential item.

My battery is an AGM one. Do I need to run a certain mode for it to get the best out of my battery, or does the whole charging cycle it goes through do that?

Argyll Andy · Apr 6, 2020

ihadablackdog said:
So I’ve ordered the ctek mxs 5.0 and 2.5 mtr extension.

Due on Friday, Amazon Prime delivery dates slow at the moment, but I’m definitely not complaining, lucky to get delivery’s at all....and it’s not as if this is an essential item.

My battery is an AGM one. Do I need to run a certain mode for it to get the best out of my battery, or does the whole charging cycle it goes through do that?

I set mine up today and it seemed to detect the type of battery itself. If not you just press the mode button until AGM lights up.

enzed4 · Apr 6, 2020

Argyll Andy said:
ihadablackdog said:

So I’ve ordered the ctek mxs 5.0 and 2.5 mtr extension.

Due on Friday, Amazon Prime delivery dates slow at the moment, but I’m definitely not complaining, lucky to get delivery’s at all....and it’s not as if this is an essential item.

My battery is an AGM one. Do I need to run a certain mode for it to get the best out of my battery, or does the whole charging cycle it goes through do that?

Click to expand...

I set mine up today and it seemed to detect the type of battery itself. If not you just press the mode button until AMG lights up.

That's all well and good for a Mercedes, but what about our BMW's?

oke:

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