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On a side note .... can I hookup my CTEK to multiple batteries (3)? Would it have to be in parallel or series?
I just recently looked at this thread. This is an answer to a slightly off topic question asked earlier. You can hook up a CTEK to 12V system in parallel (maintaining 12V but doubling AH) as long as you are under the maximum AH specified by the charger. My CTEK max is specified at 140 AH (total). These batteries are hooked up in parallel--they happen to be my boat batteries. Negative to negative and positive to positive with the charger leads attached to one positive post on one battery and one negative post on the other. The total for the system is 132 AH.
It is best to leave outside the car and buy the C-TEK extension connectors for a few reasons: 1) You can safely close the trunk lid without concern for damaging over time the main (wall electrical receptical) cord; the thinner cord from charger to battery fits safely between the weather stripping of lid and car 2) by having the lid closed you prevent the incursion of critters & dust over time 3) Even though some my have the charger in the trunk with the lid closed; there is always the risk of forgetting its in there and you drive off with the power cord slapping its three prongs against your paint; if they haven’t been broken off inside the electrical outlet. I have my unit mounted to the wall and use the smaller C-TEK cords to connect inside the trunk, and I am glad I do because 3 times I have forgotten to disconnect and have backed out of my garage. The quick connects in the trunk & Outside the trunk are rubber coated and I would see them dangling from the ceiling thus telling me of my mistake before leaving the driveway. NO HARM DONE.
I've been using Deltran Battery Tenders for about 20 years now...have 8 currently...our four summer rides, a 2010 Ford F-150 Larriat I rarely use, a 2002 Ford Ranger ( my "beater"..I charge the battery on that once a month for "giggles"),and two tractors. Never had a problem with one, batteries last an an average 10-12 years. Battery Tenders come with a short harness that you can install on the battery, the connector hangs outside the engine bay somewhere so one does not have to open the hood to charge the battery. They work great...assume the CTek's works the same.
The Roadrunner is sold "hopefully".....for making room for a 10-11 XKR Convert.
Hi George, I have had a CTEK on my 07 XK Convertible for 7 years and I have mine directly hooked up to the battery terminal, with the quick connect accessible popping out under the battery compartment panel. I would recommend NOT hooking up via alligator clips to your battery quick “jump start” terminal. As the alligator connection is a spring “bite” vs a threaded bolt down attachment; road vibration, jarring of the cable or weakening spring tension over time may not provide a complete connection that may not be known till your car doesn’t start one day. As to why you should not have your charger in the trunk/boot; it's pretty straight forward. If you have it in the trunk, then in the event you forget to unplug it from the wall 1) you risk damage to the wall outlet, and or the plug 2) you then drive off with the power cord & it’s copper “legs” flapping against your beautiful paint job. On the other hand, if this should happen and you have the charger outside the car, mounted to the wall; the connecting cables and extension cables all have rubberized plastic quick connect/disconnects. This minimizes the risk of damage and likely you will see dangling, disconnected cables as you are backing out and can stop and easily correct the situation. I speak from experience on this as I have done this very thing 3 times. No Harm Done, other than to my self esteem for being so negligent. Enjoy your XK, the CTEK does an amazing job at ensuring the longevity and dependability of your battery.
^^This is useful advice.I apologize for this long post but I thought I would share my experience and opinion regarding installing a charger on an XK and I was hoping my experience would help others that were hesitant to DIY. When it comes to hooking up a charger, here are some tips that I have considered useful and also gleaned from the wise and more experienced Forum members over time.
There are a few ways to safely do the charging with a CTEK, connect the leads and route the wiring. Options include: Temporarily secured versus bolted on leads to battery posts. You can choose to route wires with no fuss but cosmetically less appealing or hide them under trim/floor panels. You can use the supplied lengths of lead wires that came with the charger or lengthening the leads with extensions.
1) Temporary versus bolted on.
a. Temporary connection: Open the vented plastic panel located towards the rear left side of the trunk. You will find a covered Positive post as described in the manual under instructions for jumping a dead battery. You can attach the red positive lead with an alligator clip to that post. The negative ground is located on the trunk floor and is a simple protruding bolt adjacent to the spare on the left side. While this mechanism is supported by others, I don't like this system as it is potentially unstable.
b. Bolted on: There is a difference between XKs that have a battery control module on the negative battery post and those that do not. It has been suggested that hooking up a charger directly to a battery with a BCM may cause some form of glitch with the electrical and computer systems of the car. Do we really need more of that? Therefore XKs (4.2s) that do not have the BCM can attach the charging leads directly to the battery posts. XKs (5.0s) with a BCM need to use the remote negative ground hidden under the left side trunk trim.
As we all know, the battery in the XK is located in the trunk behind the forward trim. It's a PIA to get to in the coupe but even a bigger PIA in the convertible. In the convertible you need to remove the luggage separator as well as the stiffening bar that spans the trunk (in front of the battery) followed by releasing the hold-down clamp of the battery. You need to do this while leaning in and over the trunk lip--oh my back. All this just to get access to the battery posts. Bolt on the positive red ring lead on the positive post. If you do not have a BCM (an odd rectangular gizmo that definitely looks out of place on the negative post), bolt on the negative ring lead to the negative post.
If you have a BCM, there is more fun involved. Release several of the clips holding down the left wall trim in the trunk. You don't have remove the trim but only pry it up enough to feel and work with the remote post. You will find a remote negative post with its own nut. Unfortunately the post diameter will probably be too big for the ring connector that came with the charger leads. You have two options. Split the ring connector so that if fits over the post or cut it off and swage on a larger size. Use the nut that came on the post to bolt on the negative ring lead.
Thread the leads with the quick disconnect out into the trunk.
2. Routing the wires: You can either cut a small slit (preferred) near the bottom edge of the flimsy trunk trim to route the wire out from behind it or loop the wires underneath it and out into the trunk. You now have a quick disconnect in the trunk. You can stop the project here or continue with further refinements.
You can now connect, awkwardly, and disconnect the charger lead to the quick disconnect in the most forward part of the trunk or buy an extension and thread the lead under the trunk floor (in the spare tire compartment) and up and out at the rear of the trunk floor. It can then dangle out the closed trunk lid for easy access when charging and be placed back in the trunk nearly invisible when not charging. I like this setup.
You will need to have some basic garage tools and a bit of courage to work this project. With a little ingenuity and patience you will find it very rewarding.
Hello all, noobie owner here. Just purchased a 10 coupe, and not really planning on driving it for a couple months due to the weather. Planning on hooking up a CTEK, do I have the "BMS"? Also, anyone know what size nut is needed for the remote negative lug? Great forum! Thanks!
Last edited by necompressor; 01-09-2021 at 09:41 PM.
Reason: wrong term
Yes sir! It's the gray rectangular plastic part on the negative terminal. Nice picture! it will help others identify what they have. I don't know the size nut for the remote negative post. Like many of us, I had a bin of miscellaneous sized nuts and selected one that fit. However, the remote post (at least in my car) had a nut on the post already (if I remember correctly). It was securing the lead that came off the negative battery post to the the remote post.
Regards
The BMS is the Battery Monitoring System module that is attached to the negative battery cable on all 5.0L models. It monitors the battery condition.
The important thing to remember is that the negative (black ground) CTEK pigtail must not be directly attached to the negative battery terminal, and must be attached to a chassis ground.
... XKs (4.2s) that do not have the BCM can attach the charging leads directly to the battery posts. XKs (5.0s) with a BCM need to use the remote negative ground hidden under the left side trunk trim. ...
Doc,
If this is the "remote negative ground hidden under the left side trunk trim" that you're referring to...
then you're mistaken. Under that cover is the remote positive (red) battery terminal.
The remote negative battery terminal is in the bottom of the trunk where the spare tire resides, closest to the bumper and about in the center.
Stuart, thank you for the correction. You are correct that I mislabeled the name of the module attached to the negative post of the battery. It is correctly called the BMS module as you have helped me label it now. My error. Thank you for correcting the name--it is however the module that needs to be "protected" from direct attachment of the negative charging lead. The negative charging lead should not go directly to the battery.
Your excellent pictures have identified the conventional remote positive and the readily accessible remote ground negative that is discussed in the owners manual. However, there is an alternative negative grounding post that better suits the bolted in installation of a charging system when the positive lead of the CTEK is directedly attached to the battery. The CTEK leads are short and have limited initial reach, making the alternative hidden negative ground post that is closer to the battery, both convenient and necessary. It permits attachment of the positive lead to the battery and permits the negative lead to reach the alternative grounding post (avoiding the negative battery post with the BMS) and then finally has enough slack to thread the quick disconnect out into the trunk.
The tricky part of making this useful connection attachment is finding that dog gone alternative negative grounding post.. You have correctly identified the positive post that lives inside, and at at the bottom of, the vented recess on the left side of the trunk trim and the negative grounding post that lives on the floor of the trunk next to the spare. These are the connections that the manual identifies as the connections for jump starting the car. They can also be used for connecting a charger as you have pictured and usually the attachments are made with clamps--not bolted on just like you have pictured.
The battery with the BMS on the negative post has a black cable as pictured by necompressor in post 107 and represented by your schematic in your post 110. It snakes leftward and arrives at its own remote (and concealed by left wall trunk trim) grounding post on the left side of the trunk about a foot from the forward wall and much father forward than the vented panel. I believe you may have misinterpreted my description when I was identifying a negative post beneath the left trunk trim. The remote positive post lives behind the left trunk vent, the hidden remote negative post lives behind the forward left trunk trim. It is this post that needs to be utilized and uncovered by taking off some of the trim pin connectors and lifting up the trunk left wall trim piece. It is hidden but can be accessed with a little pulling and teasing away of the left sided trim--but not removing the left sided trim entirely.
While this sounds complicated, and I apologize for mislabeling the BMS the biggest casualty is going to be your back when do this project.
Needlessly long threads happen when someone joins a thread and doesn't read it from the beginning. Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it. Compare my Posts #8 and 111 above.
I hooked up the ctek positive to the battery and the negative to the module rack on the right side of the battery. I is a sufficient ground and the wire is long enough to reach. Pretty simple.
Quite reasonable. There are workable improvised metal grounding surfaces that can be used for the negative lead just as you have identified. The rack adjacent to the battery is certainly easier to get to versus the concealed negative post.
I hooked up the ctek positive to the battery and the negative to the module rack on the right side of the battery. I is a sufficient ground and the wire is long enough to reach. Pretty simple.
It works, but it's not what the factory recommends. They want you to buy the OEM accessory Battery Charging Kit so they can make more money. See Post #151 from 2014 in this thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-107738/page8/
Why spend the money and have a more complicated installation? Gimme a KISS! Keep It Simple, Stupid!
It works, but it's not what the factory recommends. They want you to buy the OEM accessory Battery Charging Kit so they can make more money. See Post #151 from 2014 in this thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-107738/page8/
Why spend the money and have a more complicated installation? Gimme a KISS! Keep It Simple, Stupid!
That's just like how I attached the CTEK to the battery in the XK
12-29-2020, 04:24 PM
