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Thread: CTEK car battery chargers owner/user feedback

  1. #1
    Master petethegeek's Avatar
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    CTEK car battery chargers owner/user feedback

    I recently had to replace the battery on my MX-5 after it somewhat suddenly gave up on me. In fairness it was over eight years old, the last two of which have been with only light and occasional usage. As a result I have started looking at battery chargers in an attempt to better forestall any future occurrences, particularly in the present circumstances.

    The helpful and seemingly knowledgeable young mechanic who replaced the battery recommended looking at the CTEKs, which I have now done - in particular the MXS 5.0. It certainly appears to be a reasonable option for the relatively undemanding needs I have. Before I take the plunge though I would be interested to hear of any good/bad experience with CTEKs and/or any suggested alternatives.

  2. #2
    Craftsman Tabs's Avatar
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    I've been running an MXS 5 for the past year on my laid up track car. It runs an odyssey PC680 which is just enough to crank the engine over. It's on trickle and condition charge and I check it once a week - no problems so far with the LED readout.

    Tend to crank the engine every couple of months and aside from having old fuel in the lines she starts up after a couple of turns. Certainly no strain during those turns.

    I'm debating getting one for my C7 A6 Allroad that's currently sat doing nowt now I'm on lockdown. Don't fancy having to jump that or have to replace the battery!

  3. #3
    Master tiny73's Avatar
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    Had a basic CTEK trickle charger for around 13 years now keeping the weekend car fully charged with no issues at all. Think I paid around £50 for it at the time. I wired the permanent “attachment” on the battery so now I just plug it in rather than attaching the attaching the crocodile clips (this may have changed from when I bought mine anyway).

  4. #4
    Craftsman Tabs's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by tiny73 View Post
    Had a basic CTEK trickle charger for around 13 years now keeping the weekend car fully charged with no issues at all. Think I paid around £50 for it at the time. I wired the permanent “attachment” on the battery so now I just plug it in rather than attaching the attaching the crocodile clips (this may have changed from when I bought mine anyway).
    Mine came with croc clips but I seem to remember there are different options. The terminals on my battery are quite small so I opted to use the smaller croc clips.

  5. #5
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    Ctek

    Bought a Ctek XS 0.8 trickle charger a couple of years back to maintain my motorbike battery. No problems so far, infact I`ve used it on my old car with a flat battery, son in laws diesel van was flat after being laid up for a week, full recovery overnight. Came with both croc clips and permanent fixed wires.
    No complaints from me.
    Under £40 from Halfords.

  6. #6
    Master PhilipK's Avatar
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    I have CTEK chargers in both garages, and their comfort connectors hard wired to the batteries in each of my cars (including, obviously, an MX-5). Never had a problem.

  7. #7
    Master
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    I have had 3 CTek chargers. Only issue has been with the selector button that cycles between charging bike or car batteries (eventually failing to charge anything). I now don’t touch that one, and let it just charge at full rate, having figured out that the bike battery spins over a 1200cc engine, so is probably capable of accepting what is thrown at it.


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  8. #8
    Banned
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    Working fine on my 2019 G Wagen, which is stuck on my drive. Still love it though.

  9. #9
    Master
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    I have the MXS 5 as well. I chose it because it has the range to charge my ride-on mower, the wife's quad as well as my car, and the tractor at a pinch. I have an adaptor to charge the RRS through the towing electrics so no need to lift the bonnet. It's about 2 years old now and hasn't missed a beat.

  10. #10
    Master Tony's Avatar
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    I use a CTEK on my 911 (MXS 5.0), plugged into the cigarette lighter.

  11. #11
    Master
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    CTEKs generally come top in the car/bike reviews. Buy with confidence.

    As an aside I replace car batteries every six years, having noted that they constantly went pop after seven or eight, generally at the most inconvenient moment.

  12. #12
    Craftsman Jpshell's Avatar
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    I have three CTEKs and they have all failed, telling me the battery was fully charged when it wasn’t (on a bike rather than a car). Have changed back to optimate.

  13. #13
    Craftsman
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    I’m on my 2nd CTEK after my first one failed annoyingly about 2 months after the warranty period. I kind of grudged giving them another £65 but they do get a good review so bought the MXS 5.0 again. Does the job - just hope this one lasts a bit longer.

  14. #14
    CTek are good. If buying now I would look to get a charger that is compatible with Lithium batteries as they are becoming far more affordable and your next battery could well be one.

  15. #15
    Master
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    Had mine for 13 years. Pretty much on all the time. The car has done 15,000 miles in all that time. Looks like another lean year of use...

    Sent from my SM-A202F using TZ-UK mobile app

  16. #16
    Craftsman Integrale's Avatar
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    Two CTEK's on my cars. 5 on an MX5. No problems over 4 years.
    They're worth it.

    Sent from my SM-G950F using TZ-UK mobile app

  17. #17
    Craftsman
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    Another fan here. Had one for about five years. Both sons have used it, as have several neighbours. Never needed it myself!

  18. #18
    Grand Master Chris_in_the_UK's Avatar
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    Another positive from me - works a treat without issues.
    When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........

  19. #19
    Master
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    I have two cteks currently in use. One I have had for years and it is still going strong and the other I only bought last year. I believe Aston Martin, BMW and Ferrari among other manufacturers supply or recommend these for their cars. The AM one is certainly just a re branded ctek with a massive price mark up.

  20. #20
    Craftsman
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    See my thread re Aldi chargers from a few weeks ago.

    I added some quick-connectors from Amazon and now have the cables connected to the battery permanently and the charging unit fixed to the wall.

  21. #21
    Grand Master Dave E's Avatar
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    I bought one about 12 months ago and it did exactly what I wanted it to, and did it well.
    Dave E

    Skating away on the thin ice of a new day

  22. #22
    Master freeloader's Avatar
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    I've been using an MXS 7.0 on my garage queen XKR 24/7 for 6 years.

    I used the eyelet connector to chassis ground and the battery (in boot) along with the 2.5m extension.
    The car can be locked and alarmed while battery in maintained at optimum level.

  23. #23
    Master petethegeek's Avatar
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    Thank you all. Sounds like fairly general unanimity albeit with one substantial outlier.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jpshell View Post
    I have three CTEKs and they have all failed, telling me the battery was fully charged when it wasn’t (on a bike rather than a car). Have changed back to optimate.
    That's certainly somewhat curious. I'd be interested in knowing what response (if indeed any) you may have had from the supplier or manufacturer? Were all three used mainly on bikes?

  24. #24
    BTW - I found the connector that also advises on the battery health useless - LED failed and prevented the battery taking charge.

  25. #25
    Master
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    I had a CTEK XS 0.8 6 stage motorcycle battery charger which unfortunately failed towards the end of the warranty period.

    I contacted them by email, received this reply and the replacement soon after.

    Dear Sir

    Please find a confirmation that a replacement charger has been ordered for you.

    It will be shipped from our warehouse in Belgium.

    Delivery will be after a week - ten days after dispatch date, which can be seen on the document.

    Thank you for choosing a CTEK as your charger!

    Yours, sincerely,
    Teresa
    CTEK SUPPORT TEAM

    It arrived soon after and has been fine ever since.

    Thumbs up from me.

    scooter

  26. #26
    Craftsman
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    Like some on here, I had a succession of CTEK chargers that suffered issues - two were warranty replaced and then the final one died shortly out of warranty. If you google CTEK issues you'll see the have suffered problems - whether this has been solved I couldn't comment because I bought a generic AA branded one and it's been faultless.

  27. #27
    Craftsman SteveM112's Avatar
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    I have been using an Optimate for probably more the 20 years and never had any issues i just fit the charge leads to all batteries and swap over in rotation.
    I keep all the bikes lawnmower etc charged throughout the winter and when not in use and these are relatively cheap to buy and have found them very reliable.


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