I've used the CTEK 3300 battery maintainer since purchasing my 2010 XK 5.0 with 14,200 miles 8 years ago. My car sits between 2-4 weeks between drives. It's hooked up with the eyelets to the positive post and to a ground in the trunk area. I've noticed recently the CTEK going from Amber (15 seconds on) to Green (45 seconds on) and back to Amber...etc. Although noticing this now and in the recent past, it might have been doing this since my original ownership years ago. I have 2 CTEK 3300s and both do the same thing. On my Lexus LS430, the maintainer once going to Green stays there for as long as I've looked at it. I know our cars have a Parasitic draw of supposedly 35MA or so. I have not checked mine. I did check the battery at the posts,( which is 3-4 months old) after taking the CTEK off for over an hour. It was reading 12.74 Volts. Has anyone out there with the same CTEK 3300 experience the same with their car? After speaking with a CTEK rep, I was told this is normal. However, he doesn't know our cars. I have no trouble at all ever starting my car. I was wondering if I might be better off with the CTEK MXS 5.0 which was recommended for larger batteries. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

 

I am currently using the CTEK MXS 5.0 and have been doing so now for 6 months 24/7 on my XKR. The MXS has a series of lights that light in sequence as the battery's charge increases so it does not have the "green/amber" light set up as your 3300. I can attest to the performance of the MXS insomuch as after continuous use for the last six months the car always has the battery it needs when required. If the CTEK tech had not told you this was normal I would be tempted to believe that your charger suffers from a minor malfunction, however, if it appears to be charging???

 

Try this: Get in your car but don't start it. Turn on your headlights to high beams and your emergency flashers. Wait a minute or 2 and start your engine.

If it fires right up and there are no electrical glitches you know that your battery is still good. Otherwise, it's time for a new battery, particularly since it's over 5 years old - even though it's always been kept on a CTEK.

 

I've been using a CTEK3300 on mine for a few years now, it typically stays on Green unless I unlock the car or open the door which will flip it over to Amber. I have noticed once and awhile I'll walk by and see it on amber, but not consistently and definitely on green 95%+ of the time. I'd say it's likely that your battery is struggling to hold charge, if it's an older battery I'd consider replacing it as a preventative measure.

 

Firm.....Is your CTEK hooked up directly to the positive and negative posts or did you connect the negative eyelet/clamp to a ground? My battery is 4 months old. As mentioned, when checking it at the posts when off of the CTEK for over an hour it reads 12.74 volts. Both of my CTEK 3300s have the same symptoms. I do have the CTEK hooked up with the eyelets with the negative eyelet to a ground. I wouldn't think the hookup is an issue. I'm stumped.

 

Weird. I responded to your PM before I saw this post - but for anyone else reading this, my XKR is hooked up directly to the battery terminals using the eyelet harness. However, at one point I owned a 2007 XK and the previous owner had wired a charger (NOCO brand) to the positive boosting post behind the tail light and a body ground somewhere, it worked fine too.
Do you lock your car when it's sitting and plugged in? If not, the systems may not all be going into sleep mode and therefore creating excess draw.

 

Thanks Firm... Yes, I always lock my car every time I get out. I decided to move my CTEK negative eyelet directly to the battery. I don't believe it made any changes. However, when I was installing the CTEK Cable I happened to notice that on the right side of the battery where there are 3 stacks of electronics..bottom is a black box for the Nav DVD, on top of that in the middle there is a silver box with wires coming out that was definitely warm...Why would any electronics be warm to the touch when the car has been totally turned off? I wonder what that box is? I took a picture of it, and if I figure out how to get it on the forum, I'll post it.

 

When my Battery Tender brand of tender starts alternating light colors like that, it usually means the battery is dying. I just had one of my classic cars do exactly this and the battery was toast, even though it had never even started the car.

 

That's what I'm afraid of...And I recently purchased the battery (a few months ago) from Walmart with a cost of over $200 after installation....I really don't have the patience or time to return a 60LB battery to Walmart... and that's if the issue was a defective battery and not the car's electronics....

 

Apologies, some of the information is not entirely accurate. The car will “eventually” shut down all electrical systems, even when left unlocked.

The following is an exert from “Battery and Charging System - General Information - Battery Care Requirements” in the workshop manual.
Cheers

 

Great stuff Guy.... Thank you.

 

I had a Ctek unit that came with a motorcycle I purchase. However the Ctek unit ran HOT. When its connected you can hardly hold it in my hands.
Maybe it was a faulty unit, I binned it and replaced it with something I got from Amazon called Gooloo, yeah stupid name.

My concern was that I had a faulty Ctek unit and might catch on fire in my garage. I had 5 motorcycles that were priceless and I didn't want to risk it.

The Gooloo trickle charger does AGM, lead acid and lithium batteries which is suitable for my MC. I checked with a multimeter and the voltage and amperage output were spot on and it runs cool.

 

Yes....A characteristic of the CTEKs is that they do run hot when charging.. . It is a concern for many, but totally normal for these chargers.

 

With regards to the vascillation issue with my charger... I was wondering if it would be worth while for me to bite the bullet and pay Jaguar do a diagnostic on my battery/electrical system to see if there might be any unusual parasitic draw or just a faulty battery? Is it reasonable to believe that they have software or tools to do a better diagnosis than my Indy or am I just throwing my money away? My Indy has limited equipment which probably consists of a load test, which concerns me with the fragile electrical system of Jaguar.

 

Both of you have 5.0L models. Attached to your negative battery terminal is a Battery Monitoring System Module. You should not have attached your negative battery maintainer pigtail directly to your negative battery terminal. That probably caused damage to the BMS Module.

There is a significant difference between 4.2L and 5.0L charging systems. For 4.2L models, It's OK to use either the remote battery terminals in the trunk or attach the + and - smartcharger leads directly to the corresponding battery terminals. However, because 5.0L models are equipped with a Battery Monitoring System Module, your smartcharger negative pigtail should have been connected to a chsssis ground.

 

Thank you Stuart. I have been aware to connect the eyelet to a ground for some time now as that is how I've had it for years. I've used that method just about the entire time of ownership. I was just wondering if it really makes any difference with charging. Originally, when I purchased my car, for a few years I didn't connect it to a ground. Thanks for the info. I do know that there are a number of 5.0 members that have it connected directly to the battery. I don't remember them mentioning issues. I'll probably connect it back to the ground again, just to play it safe. Do you happen to know where the actual battery module is? Is it to the right of the battery above the DVD GPS disc player?

 

Good tip Stuart, but mine has been connected like that for 3+ years now - and my car lives on the ctek, unless I am out driving it, I've had no electrical or battery issues at all, so I am not about to mess with what works.

 

Firm...Stuart got me to rethink the CTEK battery monitoring system setup again, so I went back to my original CTEK eyelet installation with my negative to a ground rather than to the battery post. I'm going to visit Jaguar today to ask the Service manager ( who was originally a Jaguar Tech and who I know from previous visits) how he might suggest I go about diagnosing my battery/car electric scenario. I had this vascillating between charging and fully charge lights with my previous battery. I don't want to purchase another new battery ( mine is 3 months old) and have the same thing reoccur. I want to exclude any phantom parasitic draw somewhere. I did many of my own observations yesterday after the car was fully charged. Opening the door has a HUGE pull on the battery as everything wakes up...What a drop on the voltmeter! Wow...Even with the doors closed and locked, there are still modules doing things as shown on my Voltmeter. It takes another period of time after locking the doors before most of the electrics are turned down/off. It's amazing watching the voltmeter over a period of time....Even the trunk being open has juice going to the lights until they too are turned off....and I believe the trunk being open effects the car's alarm system..another draw. After all of this, my car's battery still showed 12.63 volts consistently after things came back to a resting state. Oh.....I also started the car and shut it off immediately before the alternator could do any significant charging. That was another huge electrical draw on the battery which was ultimately still holding a charge.

 

12.6VDC when the battery is not being charged by the alternator or trickle charger is normal as there are 6 cells in a battery and each cell outputs 2.1V.

 

I have a 2007 XK base convertible. I use a Viking battery charger/maintainer. The Viking does a great job charging my one year old battery, but when left for a few months the battery ends up dead. This has happened twice now, once in the fall, and once in the spring. My eyelets are connected directly to the appropriate battery terminals. It seems like the Viking is not working in maintenance mode. Any suggestions?