Ctek charger connection, under a cover - Page 3 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

I might be using a Ctek charger on my Spyder, outdoors, with the car under (an outdoor) cover. This could be every so often, for a period of a few weeks. So I want to find a way of connecting the charger without lifting the front bonnet lid, and removing plastic cover thingie immediately above the battery. Is there a convenient alternative? Cigarette lighter socket or...?

CTEK do this accessory. Connect to the battery, can be done without interrupting the power. Leave it poking through the scuttle guard. When you want to drive it only takes a moment to tucjk it away somewhere. https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/a...

I’ve just started doing mine via the cigarette lighter socket. Both the socket in the central ashtray and the 12v in the passenger footwell worked. I can’t leave the car connected permanently but having sat for 4 weeks, the ctek had it back to full battery health within the day. Before connecting the ctek it gave the message around low battery - drive for an extended period so it must have been quite depleted.

On my 991 I used the comfort connector that comes with the charger - positive connected to the battery positive, negative connected to the mounting bolt for the left hand wiper. The connector then passes behind the plastic cover and through the gap in the scuttle trim where the washer jet is. If you cut the connector ring terminals into “C” shapes then you won’t need to unscrew the bolts completely, the battery terminal bolt is tricky to completely undo all the way.

M11rph said: CTEK do this accessory. Connect to the battery, can be done without interrupting the power. Leave it poking through the scuttle guard. When you want to drive it only takes a moment to tucjk it away somewhere. https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/a... This is what I do for my Spyder - mine is stored inside, but I've cut a hole in the cover approx. where the tax disc would be so the connector can poke through

I run my cable under the passenger door at the very front to connect to foot well power socket. Cable still moves with door fully closed.

john_1983 said: M11rph said: CTEK do this accessory. Connect to the battery, can be done without interrupting the power. Leave it poking through the scuttle guard. When you want to drive it only takes a moment to tucjk it away somewhere. https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/a... This is what I do for my Spyder - mine is stored inside, but I've cut a hole in the cover approx. where the tax disc would be so the connector can poke through So you just leave the connector hanging loose through the scuttle guard?

plynchy said: I run my cable under the passenger door at the very front to connect to foot well power socket. Cable still moves with door fully closed. I do pretty much the same for my 991.2 into the cigarette lighter socket though. Q. My OEM Porsche charger was purchased for my first 997.1 - I presume now with a 2018 car there isn't any difference? Thnks

Darlo74 said: So you just leave the connector hanging loose through the scuttle guard? Most of the time; there's not a huge amount of slack so I'm not worried about it moving around and damaging anything. For a longer drive I'll pop the front lid and stow it underneath. It's finished in a rubber coating so I don't think it would damage the scuttle panel

As fitted by Ferrari on their cars : https://hethelsport.com/tools/charger-connection-k... Original is made by these guys : https://herthundbuss.com/en/theme/more-than-just-j... Just make sure you keep the contact pins and pads covered in petroleum jelly or lithium grease at all times, as once the contact points corrode they won’t allow any current to the battery.

This should explain a bit better. This is in the garage but I have the same setup on my Mini which lives outside. I bought the CTEK extension cable so the charger is in the garage and the cable just runs under the garage door.

Many thanks, all, for the helpful responses!

AdrianFRST said: This should explain a bit better. This is in the garage but I have the same setup on my Mini which lives outside. I bought the CTEK extension cable so the charger is in the garage and the cable just runs under the garage door. I love the colour!!

Tony B2 said: I love the colour!! Thanks! Some proper photos here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

I've always plugged mine into the cigarette lighter and closed the door on the cable. No issues.

AdrianFRST said: Tony B2 said: I love the colour!! Thanks! Some proper photos here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&... Wow - what a start!

OK - more advice please...! I have bought the dongle (CTEK 40-165 Battery charge indicator with 12 V Comfort connector 22 cm). I plugged the dongle into the cigarette lighter socket and initially the "red" indicator flashed, including when I closed the driver's door and locked up. I did not connect the charger at this point. However, an hour or 2 later I checked again and ...no flashing LED. So, I now connected the charger via the dongle, and initially got the "amber" and "green" LEDs flashing. Locked up again, and within a couple of minutes these LEDs had gone out. Checked the CTEK indicator lights, and it seems not to be charging. Does this cigarette lighter socket power-down after locking? Should I actually be using the other socket in the passenger footwell? Or maybe I should just go out and enjoy the car for a couple of hours.... TIA!

The sockets power down 30 minutes after ignition off if not in use. Ignition ON. Connect the charger and turn it on, then turn ignition OFF. The socket should then stay live and charge correctly.

M11rph said: The sockets power down 30 minutes after ignition off if not in use. Ignition ON. Connect the charger and turn it on, then turn ignition OFF. The socket should then stay live and charge correctly. Many thanks - I think this has worked!

New guy here. You might want to look at this thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/981-forum/1315458-clea... in particular post #19.

jdavis7600 said: New guy here. You might want to look at this thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/981-forum/1315458-clea... in particular post #19. The link does not work for me, unfortunately

Sorry. Try this link instead. rennlist.com/forums/981-forum/1315458-cleanest-wiring-for-a-battery-conditioner-quick-connect-1.html

I'll have a go at posting the link... https://rennlist.com/forums/981-forum/1315458-clea...

Perhaps too late for the OP but this could be an alternative - a solar one that can sit on the dash under the car cover. https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintena...

That's exactly what I want to do (the main reason I specced the smoking package). May I ask which CTEK you have, is it the MSX 5.0 (and you also buy the cig adaptor separately)? https://amzn.to/3NrrTzy

AdrianFRST said: This should explain a bit better. This is in the garage but I have the same setup on my Mini which lives outside. I bought the CTEK extension cable so the charger is in the garage and the cable just runs under the garage door. That is exactly the same as I have on my car, I.e. always connected to the battery and then just open the bonnet, plug in the extension lead and close the bonnet again.

braddo said: Perhaps too late for the OP but this could be an alternative - a solar one that can sit on the dash under the car cover. https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintena... I have a sneaky suspicion that during the winter this device will generate rather less input current than is required!

kmpowell said: That's exactly what I want to do (the main reason I specced the smoking package). May I ask which CTEK you have, is it the MSX 5.0 (and you also buy the cig adaptor separately)? https://amzn.to/3NrrTzy I do this with the MXS5.0 and the cig adaptor dongle. Makes no difference on my car whether it’s attached to the central smoking tray adaptor or the one on the passenger footwell. Car is a 718 GT4

Tony B2 said: I might be using a Ctek charger on my Spyder, outdoors, with the car under (an outdoor) cover. This could be every so often, for a period of a few weeks. So I want to find a way of connecting the charger without lifting the front bonnet lid, and removing plastic cover thingie immediately above the battery. Is there a convenient alternative? Cigarette lighter socket or...? I too have a Ctek charger for my Spyder ... outdoors , under a cover . The Battery probably lasts when standing for about 6 weeks Max. As I have already connected the Ctek cable from the Battery and through the plastic ' cover thingie ' so it's ready to connect & charge up ...... here's the dilemma ! In order to do this I would have to run the Ctek powerline from a rear upstairs Bedroom Window ( open a bit ) down to my rear patio garden , under the fence to reach my Spyder parked the other side of the fence . Having opened up the bonnet , placed the Ctek Charger in the front luggage bin/ area and connected up to the battery cable ..... all before turning on the power . Q. Would I then be able to ' close the bonnet fully ' or 'leave the bonnet closed but unclipped ' with the power line in place and replace the exterior Car Cover WHILST the Battery is recharging ... say for 24 hours ? Viz: Ctek Charger / Power cable / Charger cables to Battery ..... all under the Bonnet & Car Cover whilst ' on' & charging for up to 12 hours ? Would this pose any Safety / Ctek overheating issues ? Any advice would be welcome . SBD

Can’t see any issue with that - I’d just be careful when closing the bonnet depending on how you’ve connected it under there. The ctek units don’t really get hot - I leave mine in the car and charge throw the cigarette port via a portable power unit (also in the car). The unit only lasts around 36 hours but that’s sufficient to give it a charge every few weeks whilst it’s not being used.

Redline88 said: Can’t see any issue with that - I’d just be careful when closing the bonnet depending on how you’ve connected it under there. The ctek units don’t really get hot - I leave mine in the car and charge throw the cigarette port via a portable power unit (also in the car). The unit only lasts around 36 hours but that’s sufficient to give it a charge every few weeks whilst it’s not being used. Thanks ... If I purchased a portable Power Unit I would be able to dispense with the Plug-in power line to the house thus leaving the Power Unit , Ctek MXS 5.0 and all cabling connected inside the front Luggage Bin with the Bonnet closed and exterior Car cover in place .... just for the recharging time up to 12 hours . Can you recommend a suitable Power Unit ( Halfords / Amazon ) ? SBD

If you try to lock the car with a door or boot/frunk open (even partially) then the alarm will chirp. It is likely after a period that the alarm will sound though I've not tried this. Do be careful though as the CTEK charger definitely gets hot during the bulk charge step

AdrianFRST said: This should explain a bit better. This is in the garage but I have the same setup on my Mini which lives outside. I bought the CTEK extension cable so the charger is in the garage and the cable just runs under the garage door. Very cool. For anyone trying this method, are there precautions that need to be taken when unplugging to take the car out? I am thinking is there a risk if it rains or say wanting to wash the car?

BlackSpyder said: Redline88 said: Can’t see any issue with that - I’d just be careful when closing the bonnet depending on how you’ve connected it under there. The ctek units don’t really get hot - I leave mine in the car and charge throw the cigarette port via a portable power unit (also in the car). The unit only lasts around 36 hours but that’s sufficient to give it a charge every few weeks whilst it’s not being used. Thanks ... If I purchased a portable Power Unit I would be able to dispense with the Plug-in power line to the house thus leaving the Power Unit , Ctek MXS 5.0 and all cabling connected inside the front Luggage Bin with the Bonnet closed and exterior Car cover in place .... just for the recharging time up to 12 hours . Can you recommend a suitable Power Unit ( Halfords / Amazon ) ? SBD Something like this would work: https://www.amazon.co.uk/GRECELL-Portable-Generato... That’s 500w. When I plug mine in initially, stage 3 on the ctek starts drawing around 85w this quite quickly drops to around 18w once the car has powered down computers and the like. What you need to be aware of is that the inverter requires energy so it won’t ever drop further than the 18w. If you’re using it as I am to give a top up to the battery every couple of weeks then this works well. I plugged mine in at the weekend, left it for the entire day and the battery pack had gone down to around 65% - ctek showed the battery full at stage 7. OTOH, if you want to use it to fully charge a heavily depleted battery, these packs probably won’t contain enough juice.

SV_WDC said: If you try to lock the car with a door or boot/frunk open (even partially) then the alarm will chirp. It is likely after a period that the alarm will sound though I've not tried this. Do be careful though as the CTEK charger definitely gets hot during the bulk charge step Perhaps then the way to go would be .... connect and power up the Ctek MXS 5.0 with the Bonnet unlatched , Car Doors closed but unlocked , power wire trailing to the outside with the Ctek unit outside the car ( as long as it's not raining ) and the car cover loosely fitted . I can see my Spyder from my Home office window so could observe all day on and off during the charge up every 2/3 weeks . What would be the ' downside ' to this scenario ?

Has anyone experience with the New 'ish Ctek CS ONE Charger ? This seems to be ' all singing & dancing ' SBD

Yes, I initially ordered one in the Black Friday sales until I realised that it didn’t actually come with the connectors to use the comfort connectors that most people use on the ctek so you had to buy an adaptor. Ended up saving around £100 by just buying the mxs5.0 which, from what I’ve seen, is the most common and recommended model. It certainly is more than capable of doing what you are wanting to do. Back to your point on leaving it charging, you can buy the comfort connector for the cigarette lighter, connect the car via this and then close the door on the cable and lock the car. It will take less than 12 hours to condition the battery up to full charge and you would only need to do this once every few weeks if just keeping it optimal and from being flat when you went to use it.

BlackSpyder said: Perhaps then the way to go would be .... connect and power up the Ctek MXS 5.0 with the Bonnet unlatched , Car Doors closed but unlocked , power wire trailing to the outside with the Ctek unit outside the car ( as long as it's not raining ) and the car cover loosely fitted . I can see my Spyder from my Home office window so could observe all day on and off during the charge up every 2/3 weeks . What would be the ' downside ' to this scenario ? There is a poster on Planet9 who suggests putting his in a tupperwear container with holes in it. I've not tried this. But I have my car in a garage without proper mains power so the car goes on charge when it can & charges to 80% in 5-6 hours. The thing you want to avoid is regular almost full depletion to charge back up again https://www.planet-9.com/threads/ctek-weatherproof...

I use magcode on my bikes and cars, the charger magnetically snaps in to place and if you drove off it would just ping off. Ferrari even sell them for their cars.

I’ve put the CTEK in a waterproof junction box and then used the CTEK extension to connect to the ‘through the scuttle’ permanently attached connector. Has worked fine so far with no overheating.

Klar said: I’ve put the CTEK in a waterproof junction box and then used the CTEK extension to connect to the ‘through the scuttle’ permanently attached connector. Hey Klar, do you remove the connector when driving? Wondering if there are any concerns with the universal orange plug on CTEK accessories getting wet, or interferring with the wipers?

You would really need a temp probe to know it wasn’t over heating. I think all chargers have some loss so will produce heat. It may be fine but I think I would want to add some air holes and then make rain shrouds or something

My original post refers to charging the Battery with the Ctek MXS 5.0 / Ctek CS ONE whilst the car is ' standing at Home ' outside and covered for protection . I have found a max. period of 6 weeks ' standing ' before the Battery requires charging enough to ' open the doors and start the car ' . Then I would give the car a half-hour trip around to recharge naturally unless I have a longer trip planned . Obviously the solution would be to ' trickle charge ' constantly or ' boost ' with the Ctek every 2-3 weeks or so ...... hence the issues with Ctek cabling outside in all weathers . I have the Ctek ' COMFORT ' cabling already permanently fitted under the bonnet ... ready for action . In order to secure the car ..... Bonnet Locked shut , Doors Locked closed , Car Locked and Covered with an outdoor Car cover , Car alarm set etc after connecting the COMFORT extension lead through the scuttle gap by the wipers ( under the car cover ) and down by the car door to exit ( again under the car cover ) to reach the Ctek Charger Unit outside the now locked car . The issue then is how to protect the Ctek unit and power cabling / extension power lead under the car at the mercy of bad weather , flooding & foxes .....during the hours of recharging . In the Summer months this would be a pfaff not an issue . Klar's suggestion for the Outdoor connector box to house the Ctek unit seems the best way to go providing this box is ' breathable ' to prevent overheating . The remaining question ... as yet unanswered by Ctek ( Sweden ) is whether my Ctek CS ONE with CS 40-376 Adapter Cable will connect ok with my existing COMFORT cabling & connectors already fitted under the Bonnet . I am wary of charging permanently or even for 10-12 hours with the Ctek unit ' inside the locked car ' or connected to either of the interior dash connectors by cig-plugs . SBD

SV_WDC said: Hey Klar, do you remove the connector when driving? Wondering if there are any concerns with the universal orange plug on CTEK accessories getting wet, or interferring with the wipers? The connector sits nicely on the right hand side of the removable plastic cover over the battery (there is space to thread through) and under the bonnet, so well away from the wipers. It has a cover on a tether so you can protect the terminals from weather when driving. May not be flawless but has worked well for me so far.

Caddyshack said: You would really need a temp probe to know it wasn’t over heating. I think all chargers have some loss so will produce heat. It may be fine but I think I would want to add some air holes and then make rain shrouds or something Fair challenge and I haven’t actually measured the temp but it’s never been ‘hand hot’ when I've checked it. The box is also just the right size to tuck under the bodywork just in front on the nearside front wheel so quite well protected from the weather. Not saying it’s perfect but has done the job nicely with no apparent problem for 15 months. And just about to do the same with new BGTS that has replaced the Cayman.

Our 996 sits out on the drive (under a cover) with a Ctek charger connected fed through the frunk and then ctek extension lead under the garage door. The charging unit itself sits on a shelf just in side the garage door. The ctek charger is then plugged in via a smart plug controlled via an app on my phone. We have it scheduled to come on once a week for 3 hours at night when electricity is cheaper to charge. I bought a permanent connecting lead with inline fuse from ctek that is permanently connected to the battery. Works well for us.

If just trickle charging these, the cost of electricity is probably around 5p, it uses very little to run the ctek. In terms of heat, as somebody else posted above, it barely gets any heat at all, nothing like what you would typically get from say a laptop charger.

Klar said: Caddyshack said: You would really need a temp probe to know it wasn’t over heating. I think all chargers have some loss so will produce heat. It may be fine but I think I would want to add some air holes and then make rain shrouds or something Fair challenge and I haven’t actually measured the temp but it’s never been ‘hand hot’ when I've checked it. The box is also just the right size to tuck under the bodywork just in front on the nearside front wheel so quite well protected from the weather. Not saying it’s perfect but has done the job nicely with no apparent problem for 15 months. And just about to do the same with new BGTS that has replaced the Cayman. I think you would have seen some evidence of high heat or a charger failure in that length of time if it were an issue. I was only concerned if the charger did some clever desulphate routine or virtual load at some point that might cause a heat event. I occasionally charge the mother in laws car on my drive so I extended the battery side wires so that the charger can stay in the garage.

Redline88 said: Something like this would work: https://www.amazon.co.uk/GRECELL-Portable-Generato... That’s 500w. When I plug mine in initially, stage 3 on the ctek starts drawing around 85w this quite quickly drops to around 18w once the car has powered down computers and the like. What you need to be aware of is that the inverter requires energy so it won’t ever drop further than the 18w. If you’re using it as I am to give a top up to the battery every couple of weeks then this works well. I plugged mine in at the weekend, left it for the entire day and the battery pack had gone down to around 65% - ctek showed the battery full at stage 7. OTOH, if you want to use it to fully charge a heavily depleted battery, these packs probably won’t contain enough juice. I missed this suggestion before but looks great - especially if it can run for 2-3 days on CTEK Currently using a leisure battery but it's 30kg so lugging between garage (no power) and house to charge is a bit arduous. Are you using it outside or in a garage?

I’d imagine that it won’t have the same power as your leisure battery but it gets the battery up to full charge and it just give it a boost every week or so. Mine is in the garage but I just plug the ctek into the cigarette lighter socket and leave that and the battery pack in the footwell of the car so you could easily do it outside with no concerns about anything getting wet or having to leave the bonnet ajar.

I find that charging battery to then charge a battery jars a little and I don’t know why. I think I would want to try and put a solar panel on the big battery to try it that way.

Caddyshack said: I find that charging battery to then charge a battery jars a little and I don’t know why. I think I would want to try and put a solar panel on the big battery to try it that way. In my case the car is in a garage so the solar panel wouldn’t work. Ideally it would be kept on mains power but as the lockup doesn’t have a supply, this is the best option. Once every week or so I can plug it in to the battery pack and leave it for the day. The car battery is therefore kept topped up and the battery pack that I use to charge it from is easily taken into the house to charge it for when it’s next needed. In the summer when the car is used every week or so then it’s obviously not needed but when it’s cold, wet and the roads are covered in salt then I don’t take it out much so the battery would likely end up flat and damaged from sitting for 2/3 months. That said, this weekend is looking much better and with a few days of rain midweek, hopefully the salt will have gone and hibernation can be over for now

Redline88 said: BlackSpyder said: Redline88 said: Can’t see any issue with that - I’d just be careful when closing the bonnet depending on how you’ve connected it under there. The ctek units don’t really get hot - I leave mine in the car and charge throw the cigarette port via a portable power unit (also in the car). The unit only lasts around 36 hours but that’s sufficient to give it a charge every few weeks whilst it’s not being used. Thanks ... If I purchased a portable Power Unit I would be able to dispense with the Plug-in power line to the house thus leaving the Power Unit , Ctek MXS 5.0 and all cabling connected inside the front Luggage Bin with the Bonnet closed and exterior Car cover in place .... just for the recharging time up to 12 hours . Can you recommend a suitable Power Unit ( Halfords / Amazon ) ? SBD Something like this would work: https://www.amazon.co.uk/GRECELL-Portable-Generato... That’s 500w. When I plug mine in initially, stage 3 on the ctek starts drawing around 85w this quite quickly drops to around 18w once the car has powered down computers and the like. What you need to be aware of is that the inverter requires energy so it won’t ever drop further than the 18w. If you’re using it as I am to give a top up to the battery every couple of weeks then this works well. I plugged mine in at the weekend, left it for the entire day and the battery pack had gone down to around 65% - ctek showed the battery full at stage 7. OTOH, if you want to use it to fully charge a heavily depleted battery, these packs probably won’t contain enough juice. Just to follow up on this. Thanks Redline88 for the Grecell recommendation. I did some research and went with an Ecoflow River2 Max https://www.amazon.co.uk/ECOFLOW-Portable-Station-... Being a LiFePO4 battery it's slightly safer chemistry than Lithium-Ion, and also rated for 3,000 charge cycles (Grecell is about 600, I believe). It includes a wifi/bluetooth app for remote management. Performance seems similar also, around 85w drain during stage 3 on ctek, 21'ish watt on stage 4 and almost nothing on stage 5/6 (although inverter drain is 18w) If the car battery is quite discharged and you're on the bulk phase for a long time then it won't contain enough juice - you get about 5-6hours, but the battery pack can be recharged within an hour on home mains.

My Ctek also has the adapter for the battery (on a Z4M in the boot). I've kept it on charge inside and outside by just shutting the boot and it's never leaked. Love the Ctek! Only had to replace the battery last year at 17 years old.