Trickle charger use in winter - Page 1 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi all, This may be a stupid question but here goes! I've got the mxs 5.0 trickle charger that is plugged into the cigarette socket in the passenger footwell. At the moment I run the thinner cable from the charger to the cigarette lighter through the passenger door seal which is fine in good weather so the charger sits outside the car (and is plugged into an outdoor socket) In the winter what do people do to protect the charger (car is outside all year round) Should I put the charger in the footwell and run the power cable through the door seal (is this possible)? Or is there a waterproof box available to seal the charger from the elements if left outside the car? Or do you just raise the charger off the ground so it's not in any standing water? Thanks Peter

Stick a bucket or a plastic box over it with a brick on top. Or put the charger on top of the wheel Under the wheel arch.

Under the bonnet?

My charger goes in the car and the power cable fits when I close the door, no problem. Was in my OPC a few weeks ago and they did the same thing for their cars on display.

Petershore72 said: Hi all, This may be a stupid question but here goes! I've got the mxs 5.0 trickle charger that is plugged into the cigarette socket in the passenger footwell. Or is there a waterproof box available to seal the charger from the elements if left outside the car? Or do you just raise the charger off the ground so it's not in any standing water? Thanks Peter I think the one to get to outside cars is this one https://ctek.com/en-uk/products/cs-one-gen-2-uk It doesn't require a mains feed. Leave the CS FREE in the passenger footwell Run its charging leads to the Porsche’s battery/jump-start connection points Let the CS FREE charge/maintain the battery from there periodically, once a month, recharge the CS FREE when its internal battery gets low. No need for any wires going to the car outside.

Great thanks all for the helpful suggestions. I'll probably put the charger in the car and run the mains power cable through the door seal

Petershore72 said: Great thanks all for the helpful suggestions. I'll probably put the charger in the car and run the mains power cable through the door seal but you don't need to have any cables outside of the car.

Jones the cat said: but you don't need to have any cables outside of the car. I think you mean this one: https://ctek.com/en-uk/products/cs-free You need mains power for the CS One

LiamH66 said: I think you mean this one: https://ctek.com/en-uk/products/cs-free You need mains power for the CS One Thats it! for outdoor cars, thats the one. The One.

On a related point, can anyone advise whether the 12v socket in the passenger footwell on 992.1 and/or 992.2 is ignition switched. If either socket is switched is there a defeat sequence to override the ignition switching the 12v socket off as was the case on 991.2. Thanks.

The chargers are IP rated so don't need any particular protection.

Or just get something like this to put the charger in outside the car. https://amzn.eu/d/0bR2omUq

lowndes said: On a related point, can anyone advise whether the 12v socket in the passenger footwell on 992.1 and/or 992.2 is ignition switched. If either socket is switched is there a defeat sequence to override the ignition switching the 12v socket off as was the case on 991.2. Thanks. I've got a 992.1 and bought an OEM trickle charger. If I'm reading your question right, yes you have to 'trick' the socket into being live. Procedure was ignition on, plug charging connector into 12v socket, then plug charger into mains and switch on, then switch ignition off and lock car. However, this was fidgety and seemed to be intermittent in working. I ended up getting a pig tail connector to the battery, just sits out of frunk trim, and plug into mains (electrician had to changer connector on the charger, easy). However, my car is in a garage so doesn't answer the outside question

jackwood said: Or just get something like this to put the charger in outside the car. https://amzn.eu/d/0bR2omUq Or maybe, just maybe, get the CTEK that requires no external mains cable whatsoever whilst it trickle charges. I repeat, zero mains lead needed.

Super Sonic said: Under the bonnet? This is what I do. Just add the CTEK connectors to the battery on earlier cars, appropriate points on later cars that track charge state.

Jones the cat said: jackwood said: Or just get something like this to put the charger in outside the car. https://amzn.eu/d/0bR2omUq Or maybe, just maybe, get the CTEK that requires no external mains cable whatsoever whilst it trickle charges. I repeat, zero mains lead needed. But you have to remove and recharge it. On a driveway the cable is a non issue. The units are IP rated and weather proof.

edc said: But you have to remove and recharge it. On a driveway the cable is a non issue. The units are IP rated and weather proof. Only once a month and it fully charges in an hour or two. Its a far better solution

I don’t think the cs free is designed to be used on its own as a long term battery maintainer - unless you link it to a solar kit, the mains or another battery. It’s really more of a booster for a flat or low battery from what I’ve read - so not really useful to the OP?

elisered said: I don t think the cs free is designed to be used on its own as a long term battery maintainer - unless you link it to a solar kit, the mains or another battery. It s really more of a booster for a flat or low battery from what I ve read - so not really useful to the OP? CS Free and the solar kit on the dash. Job done.

OP already has a charger though. Just wants to make sure it’s kept protected outside the car. So a £15 waterproof box, or £179 booster plus solar panels? But if they are IP rated then as above, should be no issue just leaving it under tucked under the car. Jack