Does anybody use a CTEK charger?
01-10-11, 07:22 AM
#1
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Does anybody use a CTEK charger?
I purchased and installed a new battery (I just decided to get the exact fitting Lexus replacement) the other week. At the time, all I had was the 1.25A "Battery Tender Jr." that I use to maintain the battery on my bike so I used that on the new battery after going for an hour long drive to top it up until it switched to maintenance mode.
The 1.25A powersport charger was just way too slow for me, and I wanted another set of pigtails to hardwire the car with so it just made sense to me to get another charger. I chose the CTEK Multi US 3300, which I got for only around $50 which has a "car" mode that charges at 3.3A.
The other day I went for another drive, about 45 minutes or so round trip, and when I got back after letting the car sit for 10 minutes or so I plugged the new charger in. It immediately went into the charge cycle (amber), and stayed there for a good 2 hours. I kind of expected that it should have either been green (fully charged) immediately considering I just got back from a drive and I know the battery was topped up only a week ago or at least switch to the maintenance mode quicker than this.
I had to move the car before the charger went into the maintenance mode. Out of curiosity I unplugged the charger from the wall, and plugged it right back in, and it immediately showed the green light indicating that it was in maintenance mode. So... does anybody have any ideas about why that is? Why did it not switch to the maintenance mode automatically, but did so after unplugging it and plugging it back in? This just doesn't feel right to me.
I emailed CTEK to ask for some explanation but somehow I don't expect I'll get any kind of useful response out of them any time soon.
The 1.25A powersport charger was just way too slow for me, and I wanted another set of pigtails to hardwire the car with so it just made sense to me to get another charger. I chose the CTEK Multi US 3300, which I got for only around $50 which has a "car" mode that charges at 3.3A.
The other day I went for another drive, about 45 minutes or so round trip, and when I got back after letting the car sit for 10 minutes or so I plugged the new charger in. It immediately went into the charge cycle (amber), and stayed there for a good 2 hours. I kind of expected that it should have either been green (fully charged) immediately considering I just got back from a drive and I know the battery was topped up only a week ago or at least switch to the maintenance mode quicker than this.
I had to move the car before the charger went into the maintenance mode. Out of curiosity I unplugged the charger from the wall, and plugged it right back in, and it immediately showed the green light indicating that it was in maintenance mode. So... does anybody have any ideas about why that is? Why did it not switch to the maintenance mode automatically, but did so after unplugging it and plugging it back in? This just doesn't feel right to me.
I emailed CTEK to ask for some explanation but somehow I don't expect I'll get any kind of useful response out of them any time soon.
01-11-11, 02:49 PM
#2
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CTEK battery charger
BinaryJay,
It is not uncommon to have the CTEK charger resting in the Amber stage for a few hours, even after running the vehicle. Due to the multi-step advance charging mode of the CTEK's, they will show an amber light even though the battery may be close to full charge. The CTEK will only show green once the charger moves into the "pulse" mode where it will turn off all current and voltage and monitor the batteries level only to resume when the voltage drops below the programmed level. More than likely, the charger is in the third stage which is the absorption mode. At this stage, the battery has enough power to start your vehicle but should be topped off to an ideal level. What the charger is actually doing at this point is tapering of the current while keeping the voltage at a constant level. This will bring the battery up to an ideal level without gassing or overcharging it. Any draw, such as the ECU and electronic system on your Lexus will lengthen the time this step takes. By unplugging or switching the modes on the charger, you actually force the charger into the next step which is the "pulse" mode. No harm can be done by this because the next time you have the charger connected to the battery and it drops below the programmed level it will go through this mode again. CTEK has launched a community forum that can answer questions like this.
http://getsatisfaction.com/ctek
It is not uncommon to have the CTEK charger resting in the Amber stage for a few hours, even after running the vehicle. Due to the multi-step advance charging mode of the CTEK's, they will show an amber light even though the battery may be close to full charge. The CTEK will only show green once the charger moves into the "pulse" mode where it will turn off all current and voltage and monitor the batteries level only to resume when the voltage drops below the programmed level. More than likely, the charger is in the third stage which is the absorption mode. At this stage, the battery has enough power to start your vehicle but should be topped off to an ideal level. What the charger is actually doing at this point is tapering of the current while keeping the voltage at a constant level. This will bring the battery up to an ideal level without gassing or overcharging it. Any draw, such as the ECU and electronic system on your Lexus will lengthen the time this step takes. By unplugging or switching the modes on the charger, you actually force the charger into the next step which is the "pulse" mode. No harm can be done by this because the next time you have the charger connected to the battery and it drops below the programmed level it will go through this mode again. CTEK has launched a community forum that can answer questions like this.
http://getsatisfaction.com/ctek
01-11-11, 04:58 PM
#3
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Thread Starter
Thanks for the info. I was particularly worried because a family member that had purchased the same charger at the same time as me was attempting to charge a motorcycle battery outside of the vehicle. He left it on over 2 days and it was still in the amber state and boiling the battery somewhat... when he unplugged it and plugged it back in, it went Green right away. 20 minutes later, he plugged it in again and it was back to Amber.
It's quite mysterious and definitely not the same behavior as the "Battery Tender" that I have which will switch to the green state rather quickly and stay there for as long as it remains plugged into a power source.
I also found this which seems to explain why it went to green after cutting power:
http://smartercharger.com/faq/#application1
I guess it's okay... I'll have to figure out a way to leave it connected for a longer period of time just to convince myself the unit actually will switch to maintenance mode by itself. Difficult since in my condo parking spot there is no power outlet and the only outlet is on the public parking level where I'm at risk for getting a parking violation ticket.
It's quite mysterious and definitely not the same behavior as the "Battery Tender" that I have which will switch to the green state rather quickly and stay there for as long as it remains plugged into a power source.
I also found this which seems to explain why it went to green after cutting power:
http://smartercharger.com/faq/#application1
I guess it's okay... I'll have to figure out a way to leave it connected for a longer period of time just to convince myself the unit actually will switch to maintenance mode by itself. Difficult since in my condo parking spot there is no power outlet and the only outlet is on the public parking level where I'm at risk for getting a parking violation ticket.
Last edited by BinaryJay; 01-11-11 at 05:12 PM.
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