Ctek Battery Charger & Negative Connection to XC60 Chassis

[samball]

Thought I would give an update of what I have done since my last message.

A big thank you to Mick787 for supplying step by step instructions of the process complete with photographs. Also for his recommendation to install a Ctek 56382 comfort indicator costing less than £7. This replaces the original connection lead supplied with the battery charger and flashes an indicative battery status of green, yellow and red.

The whole process took less than 40 minutes and now I can see at a glance an indication of the state of charge of the battery. If a charge is required I just connect the charger to the Ctek 56382 by clicking the respective leads together, switch on the power and hey presto.

I followed Volvo’s instruction and connected the negative lead to the chassis for the following reason:-

Important
If the following instruction is not observed then the Start/Stop function may temporarily cease to work after the connection of an external battery or battery charger:
• The negative battery terminal on the car's starter battery must never be used for connecting an external battery or battery charger - only the car chassis may be used as the grounding point.

[HDAV]

Where did you fit the comfort monitor?

[samball]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Where did you fit the comfort monitor?

Connect the positive lead to positive terminal on the battery. Connect the negative lead to the chassis north of the battery. A couple of panels need to be removed to expose the ground point. The comfort indicator at the opposite end of the lead rests alongside the battery flashing green, yellow or red and is ready for the charger to be connected when ready.

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by samball

Connect the positive lead to positive terminal on the battery. Connect the negative lead to the chassis north of the battery. A couple of panels need to be removed to expose the ground point. The comfort indicator at the opposite end of the lead rests alongside the battery flashing green, yellow or red and is ready for the charger to be connected when ready.

I meant where in the car seems a bit pointless having to open the bonnet to see the status.......

[Zebster]

Why would you buy and fit a battery status indicator when the car already monitors the battery status? And I don't see how this £7 thing could possibly make a meaningful assessment of the battery/battery charge status when it doesn't even measure the flow of current/charge in and out of the battery (which the car actually does). Ironically it must consume charge in order to power itself and so merely adds to any problem!

Surely a car battery shouldn't need this much attention and nursing?

[RS3100]

Originally Posted by Zebster

And I don't see how this £7 thing could possibly make a meaningful assessment of the battery/battery charge status when it doesn't even measure the flow of current/charge in and out of the battery (which the car actually does).

It doesn't, it just gives a dumb indication based on resting battery voltage. But as you say, if the intention in fitting a smart charger is to compensate for battery discharge over periods of being parked up without use, an indicator that actually takes power from the battery to illuminate indicators that you can't actually see unless you open the bonnet (no matter how small the consumption) isn't adding anything useful to the problem IMHO.

[samball]

I came to this site asking a question on how to connect my battery charger to the car’s chassis. This was answered, together with a recommendation to fit a Ctek comfort indicator.

As I was prepared to fit the original supplied battery leads anyway, why not spend £6.99 and fit the comfort indicator which gives me an indication ahead of the Volvo “Low Battery” warning - A No Brainer.

There is no hardship in lifting the bonnet from time to time to check the status, after all one has to do this to replenish the windscreen wash!

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by samball

There is no hardship in lifting the bonnet from time to time to check the status, after all one has to do this to replenish the windscreen wash!

Which the car also monitors and tells you when it needs filling, so you might when filling the washer bottle notice the indicator showing less than optimum..... how often do you fill your washer bottle? I would want to be able to see the status either from the outside of the car and be able to connect the charger, and replenish the battery before issues arose, after all if there is enough charge to unlock the doors so you can reach the bonnet release there is enough to get at the indicator.......however if it drops to the point the doors won’t unlock you cannot easily access the monitor......hence asking where you fitted it...... somewhere visible through the grill or scuttle panel that you can see and connect the charger too would surely be much better?

[Zebster]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Which the car also monitors and tells you when it needs filling, so you might when filling the washer bottle notice the indicator showing less than optimum..... how often do you fill your washer bottle? I would want to be able to see the status either from the outside of the car and be able to connect the charger, and replenish the battery before issues arose, after all if there is enough charge to unlock the doors so you can reach the bonnet release there is enough to get at the indicator.......however if it drops to the point the doors won’t unlock you cannot easily access the monitor......hence asking where you fitted it...... somewhere visible through the grill or scuttle panel that you can see and connect the charger too would surely be much better?

Or just pay attention to the detailed dash messages generated by a complex system that monitors charge balance, voltage and temperature, rather than a potentially misleading light that simply responds to battery voltage (which is a hugely unreliable way of monitoring battery state-of-health).

[RS3100]

I find in circumstances where I don't use my car for a period of time that connecting a Ctek charger once a month for a period of around 8 hours or until the charger indicates that the battery is fully charged is all that the car needs.

If I'm away, I leave the Ctek connected on a timer switch that switches it on once a week for 8 hours to let it do its thing. Despite what Ctek and other smart charger manufacturers say, I won't leave these chargers permanently connected as I have found from previous experience that they will boil dry or shorten battery life over time if left on permanent trickle charge.

Note that if your Volvo has Start/Stop, the car electronics aim to maintain the battery at 85% SOC, so even if you have fully charged it, it will return to 85% SOC fairly quickly!