hyeung Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Hi, Not been able to use the Z much these days, and have it parked in the garage. However, recently experienced start issues due to battery drain and general lack of use. I'm thinking of getting a trickle charger to keep the battery topped up. It seems some have gone for Ctek. Looking to get the Ctek MXS5.0? As I have the car parked indoors (double garage), for safety reasons is it fine to have such a unit connected up, charging and unattended in an enclosed garage? We have a gas boiler in the corner and the Z parked adjacent to it. Or must you charge outdoors, as I doubt the standard cables would be long enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 I use that charger on my M3 which is also in a garage - haven't had any problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Absolutely fine, no issues at all. That's what they're designed for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 had one for a couple of years now, great bit of kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyeung Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 Aye, seemed like a daft question as I assumed it would be fine to charge it indoors at first. But having read the pdf manual, and noticed that the safety notes mentions that 1) during charging it requires proper ventilation 2) battery being charged could emit explosive gases. Prevent sparks close to the battery..etc http://www.ctek.com/Archive/ProductManualPdf/MXS%205.0%20Test%20and%20Charge_EN.pdf Hence that's why I wanted to check it was still appropriate to use this indoors (enclosed garage w gas boiler). Otherwise it'd be a bit of a hassle having to repark the car outside for charging, and having to get extension cables routed out etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Batteries 'can' emit hydrogen (amongst other things) when charging but I don't think it's really a problem these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Modern sealed batteries, ones you don't top up are known as Valve regulated or VRLA. They recombine the hydrogen produced during charging with oxygen to maintain the electrolyte level (hydrogen + oxygen=water in simple terms) The valve is there to vent off excess pressure. I've worked with large batteries in the telecoms industry for years and we don't even ventilate battery rooms now as they are so safe Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 Mine is charged inside my garage and still on the car, I wouldnt charge inside a wardrobe but as long as its ventilated thats fine DONT do what one of my neighbours did , charge a battery and then use his cigarette lighter to see if the water needed topping up ! Blew the roof off his garage ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyeung Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 Thanks just got one today. The car hasn't been used in a week, so ran the battery test and got a bad status back. But car still started ok, probably just voltage is slowly degrading. Just charging her up now, and within a few minutes it had jumped to stage 4.. Can I ask for the recond mode. Does one need to do this? In the past my battery has not drained to such a state that there's zero charge. It's more likely it's lost charge slightly below the 12v threshold that's required to start the car. The car sits unused for longer periods these days due a recent change in work circumstances (train commutes); so the car sits unused for longer periods. The battery is about 3 years old now. So will there be any benefit or need to add a recond step in my situation? Might be wrong but guessing it's only used when the battery is drained to zero etc. I assume you can recond anytime even if the battery is well charged? Cheers.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 If a battery gets drained to zero its ruined, it will never restore back to a healthy battery again These chargers are automatic so put it on the normal mode, you only need the recond once a year instructions are here http://www.ctek.com/Archive/ProductManualPdf/MXS%205.0_EN.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted November 8, 2015 Share Posted November 8, 2015 If the battery is 3 years old, I would start thinking about changing it. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyeung Posted November 8, 2015 Author Share Posted November 8, 2015 This is my 2nd battery. The oem one lasted for 7 years. Recharged the battery again in recond mode. Took just over 4hrs and now on step 7. Will it really take up to 10 days at this stage until it reaches step 8? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J4CKO Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 I got one and thought they were equal but its only 0.8 amps, does the job but its slower than it could be, make sure you get a car one and not a caravan one like I did ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted November 9, 2015 Share Posted November 9, 2015 Will it really take up to 10 days at this stage until it reaches step 8? Batteries will take as much current as you can chuck at them initially, most reaching 80-90% charged within 10-15 hours if charged at the C10 rate....that last 10-20% can take as much as 48-72 hours to acheive, and the charge rate wlll back off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyeung Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Had the charger on since Sunday (almost 5 days running)...but still sitting on step 7? Waiting for it to move to step 8? Any ideas? Does it mean the battery is unable to charge fully? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 mine does that as well - I've read that it might take a long while to skip over to that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richf Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 Its in the instructions , page 3 , recond mode = up to 10 days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyeung Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 mine does that as well - I've read that it might take a long while to skip over to that Interesting, how long does yours take to go from step 7 to 8? It's the first time I've used, so naturally thought something's not rite, or an indication that my battery is duff? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 12, 2015 Share Posted November 12, 2015 longest I've had it on is 5 days - didn't go to 8 in that time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyeung Posted November 12, 2015 Author Share Posted November 12, 2015 Aye knew it mention the 10 day max....but was curious if anyone had it go quicker? Only half way, so will wait and see.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry40 Posted November 23, 2015 Share Posted November 23, 2015 (edited) Used to have mine connected 24/7 to a TVR Cerbera and can't remember ever seeing the 8 led lit when I disconnected it before starting, reading the instructions I just assumed because it stated a pulse then that could mean for a split second. I tend to connect it to my classics every couple of months because of their infrequent use, I've had my 350Z just over a month and will probably give the battery a charge every month during the winter months as I can go a week sometimes without taking it out. Edited November 23, 2015 by Gerry40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 I tend to connect it to my classics every couple of months Actually... create a new thread with your classics... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry40 Posted November 24, 2015 Share Posted November 24, 2015 http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/103143-350z-joins-the-fleet/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.