Had a low battery warning yesterday - first time I have experienced it with my car, guess the frigid temperatures here in the NE along with minimal driving over the holidays is to blame. Also had a BlackVue with Power Magic Pro installed 6 months ago (set to 12 hours / 12v cut off), so that might also be a contributor?

Anyway... want to get a battery tender, the CTEK MUS 4.3. Saw a thread on here mention the model, is it still the recommended choice?

 

The CTEK seems to be the current battery tender of choice. However, when I bought my car and previous BMW the dealers were selling the Battery Tender Plus so I bought one of those and have been using it for the past few years with various cars and with no problems at all. Can't really say which one is better but from personal use and experience the Battery Tender Plus has performed flawlessly. In fact, my dealer has all of his showroom cars connected to a Battery Tender plus.

 

Is this all I need - or are there additional cables / connectors / harnesses needed as well?

 

Looks like it includes two pigtails - one with eyelets, one with battery clamps. Should be all you need.

 

Get the extension cable as well.
Make easy permanent connector in trunk. Pics on here how to do.

 

Thanks all, have ordered unit + extended cables

 

I use several of these on all my cars and I like the ability to avoid installing the pigtails with the included battery charger adapter. The price is great and in years it never let me down http://a.co/1GfAleH

 

I've got a couple of classic cars and used Sears Diehard, Battery Tenders, CTEK and even more recently a Battery Minder which was the type recommended by the manufacturer of a 1960s Delco "restoration battery". I would never use a Diehard again. I've had a couple of Battery Tenders fail, but unlike the Sears, at least they fail in the "off" position instead of full "on" like the Sears. Have four CTEK's and a Battery Minder going right now but haven't had them long enough yet to know about long-term reliability.

One thing in your case to make sure of is that no matter which brand you choose, be sure to get one with more amperage capacity than your car draws when off. I learned that the hard way with a vintage Corvette that if I don't get the ignition key in just the right spot when I pull it out, then it can leave the car energized. If the car is drawing more current than the tender can put out, then it will run down the battery, but the tender will still continue charging for all its worth and ultimately damage the battery. The CTEK's 4.3 might be enough, but some of the little 1 or 2 amp units might not be. Modern cars tend to draw a lot of current even with the ignition off plus you're running a dash cam in parking mode.

 

Installing the CTEK today. First of all managed to crack the plastic lid to the wiring bus - undoing those clips wasn't easy.

Now - I need to undo the nuts to connect the eyelets. What size spanner do I need?

 

OK, what am I doing wrong... I can't attach the negative eyelet (black cable) to the location shown in the instructional photo. I undid the nut but the eyelet won't fit, it seems to be too small and only goes partially down the threaded metal stud.

I am using the standard "comfort connect" eyelet cable that came in the CTEK box, says it is an M6



Once I remove the nut am I supposed to lift off the thick black cable that is there, attach the CTEK eyelet and then place the thick black cable back on top?

Or.. remove the nut and place the eyelet on top of the existing cable that is there?

 

Ek993, when I installed my ctek, I couldnt get the eyelet to fit over the pin. I used a different pin that was further down (using your picture as reference) and to the far right. It stretched the length of the eyelet wire (that I separated further from the positive wire). No issues last winter. Reconnected same way this winter. I will remove both connections and the pigtail and tighten nuts when I take car out in the spring. I had a loose connection contribute to a grounding problem that was resolved when I retightened everything after removing the tender.

 

 

Yes, I connected positive to same place as Foosh opposite the yellow wire. I didn't have an issue there that I recall. I'll see about the photo. Car is in my detached garage, just need to shovel to get in.

 

[QUOTE=ek993;1818305]Is this all I need - or are there additional cables / connectors / harnesses needed as well?

If you have another vehicle, consider getting an extra piglet. I have one permanently wired into the F-Type, and another on my lawn tractor (there's a pair for you). I've had the side benefit that my lawn tractor battery has lasted far longer than usual.