First Time Using CTEK Charger/Maintainer
#21
#22
Few will choose to buy the Jaguar branded CTEK charger instead of the identical CTEK branded at a fraction of the cost but the Jaguar fitting instructions may be useful:
JAF 0040 (10) - 1E - Battery Charger.pdf
Graham
JAF 0040 (10) - 1E - Battery Charger.pdf
Graham
#23
#24
Have my CTECK charger for a year now and i always keep it plugged in when the car is not in use. These cars a prone to electrical gremlins as we all are aware of. I took my car out for a drive last week after been garaged for a month due to weather and have been driving it on and off. Always connected when parked. Today i noticed the clock had lost 5 minutes in time. Mine has a 6 month old AGM battery and it shows fully charged after around 5 minutes plugged in. Just shows how these car drain power at any time.
#25
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JonWat (01-23-2016)
#26
#27
O I just received my new charger today and it looks pretty slick compared to my old one. It's a Ctek MUS 4.3 8 step test and charger. I didn't get the lighter adapter yet so I just hooked it up using the clips as a temp setup. Looked like the battery was low so apparently the other charger before it broke must have been failing. It took maybe an hour before it showed a complete charge (step 7). I let it go into float (step 8) and then run the battery and start and alternator test program and see how that comes out. Interesting to see how it works out.
#28
#29
Yes I stand corrected. It is in step 7 (full charge) which after I looked is the FLOAT mode. It is not in step 8 as I thought . I'm just reading the direction sheet to see how to do the other tests. Pretty interesting set up.
#30
Save your money and don't buy the cigarette lighter adapter. That socket is switched, which means that it is "on" when the ignition is on and "off" when the ignition is off. When "off" the circuit is open, which means the battery is disconnected from that circuit. So the only way the Ctek will work to charge the battery through the cigarette lighter is when the ignition is "on". You want to charge the battery with the ignition "off". That can't be done through the cigarette lighter socket.
Stuart
#31
jagtoes,
Save your money and don't buy the cigarette lighter adapter. That socket is switched, which means that it is "on" when the ignition is on and "off" when the ignition is off. When "off" the circuit is open, which means the battery is disconnected from that circuit. So the only way the Ctek will work to charge the battery through the cigarette lighter is when the ignition is "on". You want to charge the battery with the ignition "off". That can't be done through the cigarette lighter socket.
Stuart
Save your money and don't buy the cigarette lighter adapter. That socket is switched, which means that it is "on" when the ignition is on and "off" when the ignition is off. When "off" the circuit is open, which means the battery is disconnected from that circuit. So the only way the Ctek will work to charge the battery through the cigarette lighter is when the ignition is "on". You want to charge the battery with the ignition "off". That can't be done through the cigarette lighter socket.
Stuart
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Stuart S (01-24-2016)
#32
Another observation about the Ctek MUS 4.3 unit I just purchased. This morning I went out and looked at the unit as it was hooked up over night. The unit was in the float position or step #7. I also had a parallel port where I could measure voltage and it read 13.6 volts. My question is why would it be so high if it were a float voltage or is it just running at a lower current. I was under the impression that the voltage for maintaining a battery was no more the 12.6V. Later today I'll do the battery , starter and alternator test modes to see how that works. As luck would have it we got NO snow yesterday and the cut off was 25 miles south of us. So no snow shoveling and I can take the plow off.
#33
Stuart you must not have seen my hook up. I posted some months back where I had wires from my boot + post into the spare tire area and out under the rear bumper. I mounted a cigarette (marine type) socket so when I come home from a drive all I need to do is plug in the unit. So the socket is hot all of the time and also waterproof in case I get caught in the rain. Picture below.
You're right, I didn't remember your unique and clever hookup. Obviously, that'll work since your DIY socket is always hot.
Stuart
#34
#35
Stuart you must not have seen my hook up. I posted some months back where I had run wires from my boot + post into the spare tire area and out under the rear bumper. I mounted a cigarette (marine type) socket so when I come home from a drive all I need to do is plug in the unit. So the socket is hot all of the time and also waterproof in case I get caught in the rain. Picture below.
#36
After reading about the "need" for these for a few years I finally decided to be a cool kid too. I hooked up my Ctek MUS 4.3 for the first time yesterday. It did initially stay at step 3 or whatever but took about 8 hours to get get up to step 7.
I haven't had my xkr long but I have noticed an intermittent left turn signal outage which is just weird. I'm not driving it as regularly as I did my 08xk so I thought this might be a good investment. On my 08xk I did notice if I didn't drive it for a few days occasionally the LCD would lock up and stuff so it probably would have benefited from this as well. I figure its a small price to pay to potentially alleviate future electrical issues.
I haven't had my xkr long but I have noticed an intermittent left turn signal outage which is just weird. I'm not driving it as regularly as I did my 08xk so I thought this might be a good investment. On my 08xk I did notice if I didn't drive it for a few days occasionally the LCD would lock up and stuff so it probably would have benefited from this as well. I figure its a small price to pay to potentially alleviate future electrical issues.
#37
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Naperville, Illinois USA
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For you CTEK MUS 4.3 owners out there, which 'mode' do you use?
I don't have a CTEK (have a different brand which works fine for me), but due to the rave reviews it gets on this forum, I recommended it to a buddy, who bought one to use on his brand new Miata convertible, so he was asking me which mode to use.
Do you always leave it in the 'normal' mode? Or do you switch to the 'cold weather' mode when storing your car over the winter?
Would you ever use the 'small battery' mode, to charge at a lower rate?
Thanks.
I don't have a CTEK (have a different brand which works fine for me), but due to the rave reviews it gets on this forum, I recommended it to a buddy, who bought one to use on his brand new Miata convertible, so he was asking me which mode to use.
Do you always leave it in the 'normal' mode? Or do you switch to the 'cold weather' mode when storing your car over the winter?
Would you ever use the 'small battery' mode, to charge at a lower rate?
Thanks.
#38
For you CTEK MUS 4.3 owners out there, which 'mode' do you use?
I don't have a CTEK (have a different brand which works fine for me), but due to the rave reviews it gets on this forum, I recommended it to a buddy, who bought one to use on his brand new Miata convertible, so he was asking me which mode to use.
Do you always leave it in the 'normal' mode? Or do you switch to the 'cold weather' mode when storing your car over the winter?
Would you ever use the 'small battery' mode, to charge at a lower rate?
Thanks.
I don't have a CTEK (have a different brand which works fine for me), but due to the rave reviews it gets on this forum, I recommended it to a buddy, who bought one to use on his brand new Miata convertible, so he was asking me which mode to use.
Do you always leave it in the 'normal' mode? Or do you switch to the 'cold weather' mode when storing your car over the winter?
Would you ever use the 'small battery' mode, to charge at a lower rate?
Thanks.
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kj07xk (05-25-2016)
#39
I suggest your buddy use the normal mode which is the icon with the car.
If your buddy lives in a cold weather climate like the Northeast, I suggest he use the cold weather mode, during winter months.
The MUS4.3 has the cold weather mode so it should be used. The cold weather mode is ideal for conditions of around -4 degrees F to as low as -40 degrees F.
The unit should be switched to the snowflake icon.
If he resides in South Carolina it may be doubtful that your temps get this low. Then use the CAR icon.
Hope this helps.
If your buddy lives in a cold weather climate like the Northeast, I suggest he use the cold weather mode, during winter months.
The MUS4.3 has the cold weather mode so it should be used. The cold weather mode is ideal for conditions of around -4 degrees F to as low as -40 degrees F.
The unit should be switched to the snowflake icon.
If he resides in South Carolina it may be doubtful that your temps get this low. Then use the CAR icon.
Hope this helps.
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kj07xk (05-26-2016)
#40
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Naperville, Illinois USA
Posts: 4,730
Received 2,048 Likes
on
1,372 Posts
I suggest your buddy use the normal mode which is the icon with the car.
If your buddy lives in a cold weather climate like the Northeast, I suggest he use the cold weather mode, during winter months.
The MUS4.3 has the cold weather mode so it should be used. The cold weather mode is ideal for conditions of around -4 degrees F to as low as -40 degrees F.
The unit should be switched to the snowflake icon.
If he resides in South Carolina it may be doubtful that your temps get this low. Then use the CAR icon.
Hope this helps.
If your buddy lives in a cold weather climate like the Northeast, I suggest he use the cold weather mode, during winter months.
The MUS4.3 has the cold weather mode so it should be used. The cold weather mode is ideal for conditions of around -4 degrees F to as low as -40 degrees F.
The unit should be switched to the snowflake icon.
If he resides in South Carolina it may be doubtful that your temps get this low. Then use the CAR icon.
Hope this helps.
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