CTEK charger
- Thread starter Joemarsh
- Start date
Another +1 on the CTEK MXS 5
Kept my Z4 battery and several other cars alive
Kept my Z4 battery and several other cars alive
Another +1 Kept the zed from being dead all winter.
In general you should never connect to the battery direct on modern cars as they contain various systems that detect charging rates. Does it matter / on Z4 - we’ll no one is dead and no battteries have exploded 
Positive is on the bulkhead slightly to right and behind engine with a cover over it. Neutral is a big bolt like ferment on the N/S inner wing
Positive is on the bulkhead slightly to right and behind engine with a cover over it. Neutral is a big bolt like ferment on the N/S inner wing
I have never connected it directly to the battery when there are points on the car to use. I am sure it advises against it in the instructions.
Off the car, it is obviously ok. Depending on where you have your nearest plug socket, if you want to lock the car and still see the charger, you may still need the extension cable. Otherwise you may und up tucking it in a gap under the bonnet.
H.
Off the car, it is obviously ok. Depending on where you have your nearest plug socket, if you want to lock the car and still see the charger, you may still need the extension cable. Otherwise you may und up tucking it in a gap under the bonnet.
H.
cj10jeeper said:In general you should never connect to the battery direct on modern cars as they contain various systems that detect charging rates. Does it matter / on Z4 - we’ll no one is dead and no battteries have exploded
Positive is on the bulkhead slightly to right and behind engine with a cover over it. Neutral is a big bolt like ferment on the N/S inner wing
Thanks. That’s brilliant.
I’m going to be an amateur and ask if you can take a picture for me ;-)
Adam D said:To go against the grain I have my ctek MX5s 5.0 with a comfort connect lead hard wired to the battery terminals. Works fine for me
It’s clearly wrong to do so with battery connected but but as said nobody has died
Do it on the current F Type and you start throwing codes and warnings
Me too on the E30 (nearly always hooked up to the CTEK), the E46 (often hooked up to the CTEK over a weekend to give a boost) and the Z4C (connected occasionally if it is out of use for a couple of weeks). I use the wired in connector with the red/yellow/green LEDs so that I know when a boost is due.Keet said:Adam D said:To go against the grain I have my ctek MX5s 5.0 with a comfort connect lead hard wired to the battery terminals. Works fine for me
Us too and no issues whatsoever.
Adam D said:To go against the grain I have my ctek MX5s 5.0 with a comfort connect lead hard wired to the battery terminals. Works fine for me
...that's because there is no IBS (intelligent battery system, nothing to do with dodgy bowels) on the E85/E86. Different case for the E89 which stores the state of charge of the battery on the IBS, but I still doubt it would cause any major problems.
After reading these posts and after a bit of research, I've disconnected our CTEK comfort lead from the negative terminal of the battery and found a suitable earthing point in the boot. Hopefully, this will avert any issues with the IBS by having the CTEK connected to both battery terminals.
Here's a couple of pics of mine connected under bonnet. Bought an extension cable & that allows me to shut the bonnet. Had the CTEK for about 4 years now, SORN'd her for 4 months last winter & started first time early March
