Your bias against Ctek is starting to show and is becoming a little tiresome, not to mention mis-informative and misleading. I am not an apologist for Ctek but speak from experience as I have two which I have been using for some years now and have found both to be well built, reliable and effective. I also know some Indy's near to me who also rely on and speak highly of them. Yes, you will pay more but I would not trust the 'half-cost' allegedly comparable units mooted here with my lawnmower let alone my Jag. I really don't understand this misplaced pride in saving a few tens of dollars when caring for a vehicle worth tens of thousands of dollars. I guess it must be a macho insecurity thing or perhaps you get click-throughs from Amazon?

Just for balance, while your point about batteries past recovery is valid, the recon mode on my big Ctek has re-rejuvenated two batteries for me both of which have gone on to give another couple of years of service. Gosh, if only I had known that I could have found a $5 knock-off from AliExpress which would have done a better job - I still would not have bought it.

 

I can tell you have never actually tired to recondition a bad battery. Or used a dedicated desulphator. Wouldn't that make you biased.
If you did you would see the following. A dedicated desulphator you can hear working, it requires that loud of a frequency pulse. But one could say the ctek uses such ultra frequencies that one cant hear them. However the proof is in the pudding, a battery that is diminished to 25% of its capacity still will charge in 25% of the time it normally requires, after 2 days on CTEK or any other charger/reconditioner product. I.e. no change in capacity. On a dedicated desulphator which takes 4 days- there is a noticeable change in charging time and capacity. What percentage I dont know for certain. But as I mentioned in my post, its not enough to save a battery.

One flaw in your accusation. I own a ctek. Do you own any of the alternatives? And I did say none of them work.

 

This seems entirely unnecessary as many on this thread referenced items on Amazon. And the Schumacher that Q&C listed is a perfectly fine brand as an alternate, personally I have had an old-school analog volt needle unit for 15 years that works perfect. If we are to attack everyone who offers a difference of opinion then most threads won't proceed past the first post. Certainly Tire (Tyre) threads are chock full of opinion, as are maintainer, oil, wax...you name it.

Chill dude.

 

but 'I' have the right opinion ;-) get a new battery.

 

It seems your comprehension might also be in need of a little reconditioning. Please re-read my post which is factual.
No, so far I have had no need of one and, no.
I think you mean 'hear'.
Actually, you can't really hear them although I do recall hearing the Ctek clicking during the process. What you are actually hearing is the magnetostriction of the inductors in the SMPS as they deliver high current fast-switched bursts to the battery to try to loosen the sulphate deposits. Regrettably they are like bird **** which can harden almost like concrete and can be very difficult to shift.
That is a truism, and I have had two not inexpensive batteries rescued by my Ctek. I don't doubt other models could have also achieved it.
As I already said, no disagreement there.
That is a flawed assertion as I have had no need for an alternative thus far. BTW I thought you said 'BTW the reason I never bought a ctek is, they too make a 15amp charger, they want $200 for it. what a rip off.'
Not that I saw, sorry if I missed it but I'm not sure which 'them' you refer to unless it is this bit about Cteks - 'That recon mode on Ctek does f-all.'

 

I respectfully disagree, that is the impression the poster has given me. Referencing Amazon items is not a sin but neither does it make the products any more palatable.
If you have direct experience with them you can offer I'm sure your experiences would be welcomed here. I don't so I can't comment. Personally, I have an old Ferranti Anode Feed Type 3 unit from 1928 with selectable 4,000, 15,000 and 20,000 ohm values that still works perfectly but I wouldn't dream of inserting it into the HT line of any of my receivers (not that they have any valves).
There is 'difference of opinion' and there is 'I'm right and you are crazy if you don't do what I do' which is the impression I get. The former is always welcome, a constant drip-feed of the latter is just annoying.
That is true, which is why I never get involved in tyre (tire), lubes, cleansers or any posts like that. Opinions on those topics are like ar$eh0les - everybody has one.
You do know that is one of the most annoying phrases on the planet, right?

 

What is it called when two Jaguar Forum members strongly disagree? Catfight!

 

Its incredible that without ever having used a dedicated desulfator you can tell a person who has what it should sound like.
It is rich internet righteous condescension at its best.
Some work on current, some work on frequency. But none of them 'work'.

Here is a brilliant and balanced chap, demonstrate that reconditioning does not work.
He used the same charger that I have and the same scenario as Jahummer- a battery on a Ranger Rover that was allowed once to completely discharge. And that is what my post was about- to save him the time, that's all.
Those who complain that its a long video; it was summarized initially as the recon mode does f-all.

 

I took a look at the Advance Warranty and you are right, they have a really good program it seems. I just put in a new battery that I bought from Sam's Club and they have the same deal, just so long as I stay a member during the duration.

The only battery warranty I ever exercised was on an Interstate Battery that was in a car I bought used and they prorated the date stamped on the battery.

Not sure why you are messing around with anything other than getting the battery replaced under warranty. Even if you are able to breathe life into it a new one is much better.

 

I didn’t recall what specifics they are looking for in honoring the warranty, I did attempt to replace a battery under warranty before and the Midtronics tester they use stated the battery was fine just dead. At the time he mentioned if the tester states bad cells they replace it. Even Optima Battery’s website says bad or dead AGM batteries can be brought back to spec without needing to buy a new battery which is not good for their business if that is the case. I’m just attempting to avoid any hassles if indeed the battery is okay.

So the recon mode took all day after I had already brought the battery to step 8 with the CTEK 5.0. I waited a bit and measured the voltage at 12.53. I let the car sit all night unlocked without the CTEK and measured the voltage again and this time it measured 12.93 🤷🏻‍♂️

 

Well, considering how difficult it is to remove the battery this is a better idea, especially if the fix sticks. It isn't like the old days and simpler cars, pop the battery out of your car and take it in for a test.

 

The great thing about getting batteries at Sam's and Costco is they replace them no questions asked, no testing.
So they replace them even if capacity is diminished. That makes the $177.99 AGM worth staring over for 6 years and effectively getting discharge insurance.

 

Actually no, if you interpret challenge of your statements as condescension I can't help that, what helps me is a degree course in electronics and many years of experience with SMPS's (and of course a few years of Cteks).
Actually, all he has demonstrated is that it did not work on that battery. A sample of one is not definitive. It looks like a competent exercise on a quick scan (I'll look into it deeper later) although I would question his use of such thin cables for charge/discharge tests not to mention the odd connectors on the battery.
Again, I thought you said you never bought a Ctek? Plus, one swallow doth not a summer make. I have tried and failed to re-con some batteries and as you say yourself, you can't re-con them all. Personally, if a battery got to such a state that it needed such treatment I would be rotating it out of the Jag anyway (which is what I did). I certainly wouldn't be wasting time and money on dedicated de-sulphaters. I only tried it as it was an option on the Ctek. A new battery (even a quality make) is not that expensive in the big picture and a much better investment.

 

Hallelujah, my Greenville SC Jaguar dealer, Josh/Rafael, after becoming acquainted with my 2016 F-Type R battery drain problem have fully cured the parasitic battery drain by installing 4 updates to the vehicles RFA, GWM, IPC & BCM modules. They could not tell for sure which one solved the battery drain problem but guessed it was the software update to the IPC, [instrument panel ?]. Jaguar does not publish to the dealers what their software update were designed to do unlike what our phone app suppliers do. They also don't pay the dealer for doing software updates under these circumstances.
If you have read my earlier pains and posts, I had a persistent, seemingly unstoppable 2.5 amp battery drain after shut down which was only initiated by plugging in and removing either my BlueDriver OBDII reader or my Allstate Milewise dongles. So Jaguar has a software update which will cure this OBD initiated parasitic battery drain problem on the F-Type.

Thank you ScubaAddict for keeping us focused on this issue and likely for getting Jaguar to address the problem.... and to many others like the TheRock who have helped with interim solutions like a quick and easy battery negative disconnect and AntiGravity Battery replacement. I don't regret installing these two enhancements along the way. AMEN"
Steve Chase, 864-903-5493

 

Yay for F-Types!

 

Leaving a dongle plugged into the OBDII port can cause all sorts of electrical glitches when you start the engine. You should remove the dongle before starting the engine. Ask me how I know. This happened over 5 years ago.

I use an ELM327 OBDII Bluetooth reader together with an ancient HTC Droid Incredible phone and the free Torque app to provide virtual Water Temperature and Voltage gauges in my 2013 XJ. I forgot to remove it and the next time I started the engine my dash lit up like a Christmas tree with all the warning lights flashing. Panicked, I immediately drove to my dealer and when my Service Adviser saw that dongle he had a big laugh. He removed the OBDII reader, restarted the engine and all was OK.

Are those F-type software updates you mentioned available for the X150? That's a rhetorical question, as I suspect that no one knows for sure.

 

Thank goodness that’s not a problem with the F type that I have. No problem leaving it in now.

 

actually, all batteries eventually deteriorate. Even Deep Cycle batteries.
https://www.batterybusiness.com.au/b...y-life-and-cca

 

Do you leave your new dongle plugged in? I left a code reader plugged in after replacing the octopus hose on my wifes old XJ8. Talk about Christmas lights. I have a new dongle but fear of leaving it plugged in for the before mentioned reasons.

 

How hard is it to unplug it when you shut off the engine, and plug it in after you restart it? That's what I do.

But who knows? Maybe your new dongle won't give you any problems if you leave it in.

There's only one way to find out ...