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General Volvo and Motoring Discussions This forum is for messages of a general nature about Volvos that are not covered by other forums and other motoring related matters of interest. Users will need to register to post/reply. |
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CTEK battery charger recommendations & adviceViews : 3966 Replies : 25Users Viewing This Thread : |
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Dec 30th, 2018, 10:07 | #11 |
Master Member
Last Online: Dec 19th, 2020 16:24
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Bodmin
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I've got one of these.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Full-Auto...6lNb:rk:3:pf:0 Works great and you can leave it connected to keep a battery fully charged.
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huron 2009 V70 2.4 geartronic in red. |
Dec 31st, 2018, 09:35 | #12 |
VOC Member
Last Online: Today 11:53
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Location: Northampton
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I have a Ctec MXS 3.8 and my son does too. Brilliant bits of kit and just leave connected on the garage queens with no problem. They come as standard accessories with new Bentleys and Aston Martins.
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2001 V40 2.0lt Sport lux - Daily Driver. 174k miles. 2003 C70 2.4 GT Convertible - Garage Queen. 65k miles. http://www.neptuno6benagil.com |
Jan 19th, 2019, 16:07 | #13 | |
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Last Online: Feb 11th, 2023 20:32
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Blyth, Northumberland
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I also have the MXS 5.0
Quote:
Last edited by Ian21401; Jan 19th, 2019 at 16:08. Reason: typo |
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Jan 20th, 2019, 14:09 | #14 | |
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Last Online: Aug 27th, 2022 09:57
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Cambridge
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Quote:
Mother-in-law left her C70 with me for some fixes (left door wouldn't open) and hasn't been back to pick it up for 5 months - so it's been sitting for weeks on end without anyone driving it. Last week I decided I should take it for a spin - battery dead. Took it inside and connected the CTEK - it charged for a while and then came up with message "battery not able to hold charge" - in effect telling me I should replace it. I let the battery sit for a couple of hours then re-connected the charger. It did the whole program and now a week later it still says the battery is fully charged AND holding the charge. Saved me from having to buy another battery - I think - guess time will tell..
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2008 XC70 D5 Lux Geartronic Polestar, 161K 2005 XC70 D5 SE Geartronic, 203K |
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Jan 22nd, 2019, 07:38 | #15 |
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Last Online: May 30th, 2020 10:24
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: Midlands
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I have a Ctek, had it for around 10 years, think MSX 7 is current version of unit i have, think I paid about £80. Use it to recharge caravan leadure batteries and car battery.
I have attached the included short fly leads to the car battery so no crocodile clips just a click on/off connector, very convenient. I make a point of bringing car battery up to 100% 4 or 5 times a year. Caravan leasuer battery as needed. Ctrl are very popular with vintage, veteran and occasional use super cars, Ferrari, Lamborghini and such as they can be left connected more or less permanent. Whilst it doesn't tell me how long to full charge I do find the general operation good, when Ctek says 100% I know it's done. If I had to replace I'd buy another Ctek without hesitation. Probably wouldn't bother looking elsewhere Last edited by David404; Jan 22nd, 2019 at 07:43. |
Jan 22nd, 2019, 11:50 | #16 |
0's and 1's
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Another +1 for CTEK MXS 5.0
Mine is the older one from about 10 years ago without the AGM program. Used on two motorbikes and my garage queen. It has also brought the original Volvo battery back from pretty much dead when I almost killed it with a permanently live dashcam. They have changed the lead coming out the unit. The older ones have what looks like a flexible cable which eventually breaks down exposing the wires underneath. If I had to replace my charger, it would be like for like.
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2011 Volvo S60 D3 R-design Premium - 2020 Focus ST estate automatic - 2020 KIA eSoul 150kW 64kwh EV Previous: 2005 Volvo S60 D5 Sport - 2017 Focus RS |
Mar 3rd, 2019, 17:11 | #17 |
Junior Member
Last Online: Mar 23rd, 2024 16:40
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South East England (Berkshire)
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Thanks to everyone who has fed back their chosen charging tools.
I went for the CTEK CT5 Time to Go, I'm looking forward to trying it out. |
Mar 5th, 2019, 12:17 | #18 |
Senior Member
Last Online: Apr 2nd, 2024 16:01
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Whyteleafe
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CTEK Battery charger
I have a CTEK XS 0.8 which I use occasionally for my V90 (1997) and it goes through several stages to ensure the battery is OK. I have permanently fixed the plus/minus cables to the battery leads at the battery and the small orange coloured non reversible plug just sits there on top of the battery ready for connecting. Then when I need to connect it I run a mains power cable to the CTEK box of tricks then plug the connector to the battery and 'park' the CTEK on top of the air filter or wherever so I can close the bonnet then lock the car (alarm on) as it sits on my drive up close to the garage. The power cable comes from the garage (under the door) via a RDDC socket (for ultimate protection). It can then work its magic all weekend. I have had no probs in 3 years (touch wood).
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Mar 10th, 2019, 12:09 | #19 | |
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Last Online: Dec 17th, 2021 12:26
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Quote:
I'm needing one for my MX5, and would appreciate your feedback/comments. is it easy to set up, etc ? thanks Iain
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MY15 XC60 D4 FWD SE LUX NAV Geartronic |
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Mar 17th, 2019, 23:07 | #20 |
Junior Member
Last Online: Mar 23rd, 2024 16:40
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: South East England (Berkshire)
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I tried the CTEK CT5 Time to Go out on the Volvo V60 today, I knew after the car hadn't been used regularly recently and only having done short journeys too that it could do with a charge.
The car displayed the "Low Battery Charge" message after I’d finished positioning the car near enough the house not to need to use a very long mains extension cable with the charger. I'm glad I'd purchased a 2.5m CTEK extension cable which fits between the charger unit and the connection leads (Croc Clips or Eyelets, both of which were supplied with the charger) as these cables are incredibly short! I’m also glad I purchased the bumper that fits around the charging unit. This will protect both the car from knocks and also the charger unit itself absorbing some of impact from any accidently knocks. Connection to the car was simple. Red lead to battery Positive terminal first, then Black negative lead to cars chassis ground point. Then it was just a matter of connecting the lead end to the charger unit and plugging the charger unit into the mains. After switch on select the mode you want. Normal for normal car battery. AGM for start stop battery or Recon to recondition a battery. I selected normal mode the charger was connected to the cars normal battery. The Time to go display lights showed >8 hours for a few minutes and within 30 mins these has reduced to >4 hours and >2 hours until “Go” light was lit, meaning the car has reached 80% charge. The battery can’t have been too badly discharged. I was interested to see how long 100% full charge would take. This is shown by the charger when the “Care” light is lit. There is no time displayed saying how long this will take. The battery reached full charge after approx. 8 hours. Then it was a matter of following the connection steps in reverse order, to remove the charger from the car. T he charger was very easy to use. One thing that I need to understand is the car still showed “Battery Low Charge” when I turned on the ignition after charging was complete, and also even after starting the engine and switching off again. I guess the car needs to be driven? or the cars battery monitoring system needs time work out the battery is now charged? Does anyone know the answer to this? The car is Start Stop so has the additional AGM battery. I assume the “Battery Low Charge” message was for the normal battery and not the Start Stop one? Before I purchased the charger, I spoke to a technician at a Volvo dealership who recommended charging as a good way to keep the car battery in good health if the car is not being used regularly. He strongly recommended I didn’t try to charge the AGM battery as the cars system could get confused with this being done. He also said keeping the normal battery charged would help the AGM battery anyway. I’ve followed this advice and not gone near the AGM battery. Has anyone else experienced such things with their Volvos after charging? |
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