CTEK Battery Charger

[mikep99]

Hi all,

Got myself a CTEK battery charger with the comfort bits and was wondering if any of you have permanently attached the charge lead to your car?
Picked an indicator lead up for £2 on offer from https://www.jsaccessories.co.uk/pages/h ... h:products
as one of the stores is only round the corner

So, any ideas for a permanent fixture on the car? Don't mind extending the lead etc..

Any thoughts appreciated
Cheers
Mike

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[amgtr]

I have one of these chargers and as the battery is in the depths of the boot (C5) I fitted the ‘eyelet’ connector to the terminals but had to slightly enlarge one of the holes to fit over the bolt, bought the extension lead also to bring out behind the side panel and then just connect the charger unit when required.
Works a treat without having to access the battery again, it’s a good charger as well

[mikep99]

Cheers for that..
I was thinking similar for my B7.
Would ideally like my car locked up with no open doors / boot while it's charging.

I'll have to have a bit more of a think.

Mike

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[morski]

Thought about this too as im always doing diagnostics/coding to my car and the drain is huge.. Was thinking about having the terminals extended to outside of the car through one of the lower grommets in the boot and have the connector just by behind the rear valance on piece if velcro or similar.

[marc1]

You can run the crock clips to the terminals in the engine bay and run the cable out of the bonnet. Alternatively if you have the option pack that has the cigarette lighter in the boot you can get a connector to plug in and run the cable out of the boot.

[MikeFish]

You can run the crock clips to the terminals in the engine bay and run the cable out of the bonnet.

This is what I do. Clip on terminals under the bonnet then close the bonnet. Takes a few seconds to set up or remove.

[Shoppinit]

I have several cars that are permanently on a CTEK. Does wonders for battery life.

My RS6 has the lead (not crocs, the first one in the link you put up) permanently connected directly to the battery and coming out under the back seat so that I can have it coming out under the rear passenger door. I had to extend the lead.

The M3 has the same lead coming off the battery terminals and I chuck the CTEK in the boot and close the lid on the cable.

Both are locked all the time when on charge.

[mikep99]

Cheers for the replies fellas..
Gives me some options.

Mike

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[GaryA]

Sorry, I'm sure this has been covered hundreds of times but can't find a definite response.
Can you attach the CTEK direct to the battery on the B7 ?
Appreciate it doesn't take long to open bonnet, remove that stupid scuttle panel and plug in but I'd like it running out of boot. Again sorry

[mikep99]

Dont see why not Gary.

Cheers
Mike

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[GaryA]

Found this video, perhaps it's not that straight forward.

https://youtu.be/MOL8v3X2Av4

Does this make sense.

Great link for bits by the way

[Shoppinit]

I’d be very interested in learning why attaching the lead to the body instead of the terminal could possibly make any difference.

[GrahamS4]

I’d be very interested in learning why attaching the lead to the body instead of the terminal could possibly make any difference.

"All CTEK chargers observe the directives that apply in the EU. All battery chargers whatever the brand must be approved in line with the same standards. Many more basic chargers can cause the battery to emit a significant amount of oxy-hydrogen gas and also generate a spark when connecting. This represents a major risk of injury and it is therefore stipulated that the first terminal should be connected away from the battery in order to reduce the risk. A CTEK charger is spark free, has a minimal amount of gassing and can therefore be connected directly to the battery. However, we do not recommend this for approval reasons."

[Shoppinit]

That makes sense. The hydrogen is generated around the battery so if you connect / disconnect with the crocs directly at the terminals then you will get a spark in the risk zone.

In the case of having the battery permanently plumbed in though, it's not relevant unless your plug is near the battery. In terms of charging / charge monitoring I can't see a reason why you wouldn't connect directly to the terminals.

[mikep99]

Fitted the indicator lead this morning...
Extended the cable a bit using 18awg wire and jubilee clipped the connectors to the charging posts.

Mike

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