Porsche Battery Charger

Hi Everyone After not starting my car for a couple of weeks my battery seemed very low. I viewed on the Internet that Porsche make a trickle charger that you can leave connected when not using your car for a while and plugs directly into the lighter socket. My question is, would this battery charger be suitable for a 996 using the lighter socket for charging? Or would I have to connect it directly to the battery? Any advice would be appreciated. kind regards Andy

Hi Andy the Porsche charger you can get cheaper only because it doesn't have the name on it. They come with a plug that will go into the cigarette lighter but most of us cut that of and buy a two part push in plug which one end is connected the battery permantly. Then all you do is tuck it all under the boot lid. I'm sure someone here could forward some pics.

For a battery conditioner CTEK is widely recognised as excellent, but expect to pay £40+ for it. Another option is that occasionally Lidl sell one on their offers for about £15, some have good experience of them but others report failure after 3 years! I know for my car the cig lighter is only live ignition on, so connecting there would be useless. As Pieman says, I connect straight to the battery but with crocodile clips as I can close the boot over the charger leads (they are very fine and the boot lid seal "absorbs" them!) so the car is locked and alarmed even in the garage with the conditioner attached. I've been doing this for many years, the battery is always fully charged even when I've parked up for 10-12 weeks while working abroad, and car always starts first time. I'm also convinced that doing this extends battery life, as the battery on my coupe was 10-11 years old when I sold the car, battery was still going strong. As a replacement battery is £100, the investment in a conditioner pays for itself pretty quickly!

I have mine conducted all the time via a ring smart charger. You can shut the bonnet if you line up the cable in the front corners. Never had an issue since I started doing this, otherwise 3 weeks it wouldn't start plus sometimes the dreaded boot locked situation.

The Porsche charger is a re-branded Ctek. I have had one for years and it is excellent. I also have a £13.99 Lidl (Ultimate Speed) charger, which is German-made (TUV approval, etc.), and it also works fine. On facelift 996's the cigarette lighter socket is permanently connected, so you can use it for charging without any problems. I used to connect mine directly to the battery, and run the cable out through the gap at the bottom of the windscreen:

Thank you all for your advice regarding battery charges. I have now just ordered from Amazon the Ctek 3.8 charger after reading everyone's advice. I will connect it directly to the battery Instead of using the lighter socket. Thank you all again for the fantastic advice and pictures. Kind regards Andy

Andy, thanks for the "Best Answer" tag - that's a first for me in 7 years on this forum! Just to expand a little on my previous comments re battery life, when I bought the coupe I was the second owner, the car was 4 1/2 years old - and had already (IIRC, I no longer have the history file) had already had the battery replaced. I also had to replace it about 2 years into ownership, that's when I bought the battery conditioner. That would have been late 2000, and at that time battery conditioners were rather unknown, the only one I could find with any sort of recommendation was "Recommended by BMW" (OK, I'll go and wash my mouth out!! ), and I'm still using it despite having dropped it a couple of times so the case is cracked! I've had the cab 5 years now, don't know when the battery was last replaced but it failed totally earlier this year, car garaged and conditioner connected, came to the car on the Saturday morning of a GTG to no green lights on the conditioner and a car that would not start! Got it going with my big starter charger (after seeing what the battery was (Halfords) and checking local store had one and could fit it). Got to the GTG a little later than planned, with a wallet £100 lighter than planned - but at least while I was there they tested my alternator FOC and gave it a clean bill of health! You won't regret your purchase!!!

C-Tek is a great charger, my GT3 has been connected to the same one in my garage for 10 years now, i run the cable out between the headlight & bonnet on the 996, the lead is permanently connected to my battery with the same flying lead and connector as Richard. I also use a C-tek on the 997 in the drive overnight once a month using the crock clips just for a top up. Regards Karl

I could do with one of these can anyone recommend which model ctek to get? thanks

Hi The Ctek battery charger I purchased was the MXS 3.8 Multi function 7 stage charger. I ordered it from Amazon at a cost of £52.74 with the postage. I won't be using my 996 over the winter months, hopefully the charger will keep the battery in good shape until next spring. Regards Andy

I went for the C-tek that can be used as a supply so you can change the battery without loosing power to the car, think it was a MXS 10, works great Regards Karl

I had the same issue about 8 years ago and ordered a new battery from Europarts and a Ctek charger from an on line company distributing them and connected mine to the battery same as pictures above, it's really easy to connect and has kept the battery tip top for 8 years now, even when the cars not used much in the winter. I fitted mine myself but when discounting the battery be warned the alarm will go off and is very loud..

I am on my second CTEK, the first failed the day before we left for a long break and its replacement also failed the night before we left. Each lasted around 3 years.

Perhaps as an alternative to a CTEK, I can definately recommend an Optimate. I've had mine for 15 years now and it's still going strong. David.

Hi All, I have no experience of using a trickle charger and as I might be laying up my 996C4s for a while I would appreciate some advice. I have been on the CTEK website and wouldn't know where to start. My 996 is 02 so not sure if it charges from the cigarette socket whilst the ignition is off or not. Excuse the ignorance but does the other end plug directly into the mains if not via the socket? Any advice and help what to get appreciated. Many thanks Seb

Hi I bought the trickle charger from Porsche and it charges through the socket perfectly when at home. When in storage it trickles through a connection direct to battery so either works perfectly well but trickle via cigarette lighter is obviously easier to use. I recall it was approx £50 from Porsche. Nick

The Porsche battery conditioner is basically a re-badged CTEK, with a price hike. Lidl last Sunday were offering their conditioner for about £15, have seen various good reports on it, plus some that say it craters after 3 years! Worth trying, as it's 1/4 the price of a decent CTEK - or buy a CTEK. One thing for sure, I've been putting my 968 on a conditioner whenever she's in her garage for about 15 years now, it means no matter how long she's parked up for (and on occasions that's been 3 months!) she always starts first time every time, and I'm also convinced that it seriously extends battery life. One end of the conditioner plugs into the mains (normal 3 pin flat plug), the other - well, I crocodile clip it to the battery terminals, the wires are thin so I can close the boot lid (or the rear hatch on my coupe) over them without damage to wire or seal.

Lidl £13.99 on sale today... Don't be put off by the low price, it's a decent charger.

I agree. Ive been using mine for 9 years, I've even accidendtly driven over it, still going strong

Hi all, I've got a C-Tec 5 with the cigarette socket adapter. However when the ignition is off nothing happens. When the ignition is on the C-Tec lights up as I'd expect. as soon as the car is locked the charger seems to switch off and doesn't charge. any ideas on why this is?! thanks.

It's because the cigarette lighter is only live ignition on, thus ignition off means it's not connected to the battery - hence the CTEK can't do anything! You need to connect the CTEK direct to the battery!

Doesn't that make the cigarette socket adapter pointless?!

Didn't manage to get one from Lidl does anyone know if it's the same one that Aldi have on offer from Thursday for £13.99?

I believe all models from facelift 996 onwards have a live lighter socket - so no it isn't!

Yes, same thing

Another up vote for the CTEK charger with cigarette adapter, been using on mine without any issue..

Hi all, I'm a little confused. I bought a similar unit from lidl a little while ago But am unsure about connection. The unit comes with clamps at the end. A. Do I just plug the unit into the mains and connect the ends to the positive and negative terminals on the battery keeping the car connected to the battery as per normal or b. Do I have to disconnect the negative terminal on the battery first before connecting the charger unit clamps And finally, will I still be able to set the alarm whilst the unit is connected. thanks

Option A. Except you don't connect the negative terminal to the negative terminal of the battery, you connect it to a bare metal part of the cars body (there's one just a few inches away from the battery anyway) The alarm is unaffected

Many thanks rodney