Ctek on a 987 - confused

[tomtom]

I have been neglecting my poor 987 and had a Ctek on the shelf in the garage so thought I may as well hook it up. I have read that if you connect a conditioner directly to the battery terminals it can confuse the battery monitoring stuff in the car and it's better to use the earth post for the negative.

I tried to do it last weekend and realised the eyelets I have with the Ctek are too small to go over the earth post next to the battery. But then the battery terminal seems to be connected to that same earth point anyway, so is there any point in connecting the Ctek to the earth instead of the negative terminal?

Or can I just connect it to the battery clamps like I would on other cars?

Ta in advance etc

[Sandy59]

tomtom said:

I have been neglecting my poor 987 and had a Ctek on the shelf in the garage so thought I may as well hook it up. I have read that if you connect a conditioner directly to the battery terminals it can confuse the battery monitoring stuff in the car and it's better to use the earth post for the negative.

I tried to do it last weekend and realised the eyelets I have with the Ctek are too small to go over the earth post next to the battery. But then the battery terminal seems to be connected to that same earth point anyway, so is there any point in connecting the Ctek to the earth instead of the negative terminal?

Or can I just connect it to the battery clamps like I would on other cars?

Ta in advance etc

I also have a 987 on a Ctek, connected to both battery terminals and never had any issues to date.

[ChrisW.]

Don't you have crocodile clips as well as the eyelet contacts ?

I have used both methods with no problem ... but I was told that using the negative contact on the chassis ensures that the ECU can see the full history of the battery which may make a difference to its performance ...

[freedman]

Sandy59 said:

I also have a 987 on a Ctek, connected to both battery terminals and never had any issues to date.

Me too, no issues over several years

[trevalvole]

tomtom said:

I have read that if you connect a conditioner directly to the battery terminals it can confuse the battery monitoring stuff in the car and it's better to use the earth post for the negative.

Is the recommendation not to confuse the battery monitoring primarily for cars with stop-start?

[Megaflow]

tomtom said:

I have been neglecting my poor 987 and had a Ctek on the shelf in the garage so thought I may as well hook it up. I have read that if you connect a conditioner directly to the battery terminals it can confuse the battery monitoring stuff in the car and it's better to use the earth post for the negative.

I tried to do it last weekend and realised the eyelets I have with the Ctek are too small to go over the earth post next to the battery. But then the battery terminal seems to be connected to that same earth point anyway, so is there any point in connecting the Ctek to the earth instead of the negative terminal?

Or can I just connect it to the battery clamps like I would on other cars?

Ta in advance etc

No there isn't. As you rightly said, the earth point is connected directly to the battery. As will all other earth points around the car via the body shell.

[Klippie]

If you have an older type Porsche battery remember to check the fluid levels in each cell, there is a level marker inside so its dead easy.

[tomtom]

Thanks guys.

ChrisW. said:

Don't you have crocodile clips as well as the eyelet contacts ?

I have used both methods with no problem ... but I was told that using the negative contact on the chassis ensures that the ECU can see the full history of the battery which may make a difference to its performance ...

I do have crocodile clips but I prefer to use the eyelets and the convenience plugs. It saves a bit of time and hassle when wanting to drive the cars.

[Doddler]

I plug my CTEK straight into the 12v inside the car (987.2) and no problems charging the battery whilst being very convenient to remove and drive.

[rwillia2]

Doddler said:

I plug my CTEK straight into the 12v inside the car (987.2) and no problems charging the battery whilst being very convenient to remove and drive.

Does anyone know whether this works on a 718. I’ve just got a ctek mxs 5 with the cig lighter adaptor and unsure whether irs working or what setting I need it on. Any ideas?

[alscar]

Maybe buy some bigger eyelets - CTEK do many sizes.

[tomtom]

alscar said:

Maybe buy some bigger eyelets - CTEK do many sizes.

Yes, I was hoping to avoid that

[Cw4578]

rwillia2 said:

Does anyone know whether this works on a 718. I’ve just got a ctek mxs 5 with the cig lighter adaptor and unsure whether irs working or what setting I need it on. Any ideas?

On my 981 you have to put the ignition on, then turn on the charger then turn ignition off then lock the car. Don’t quote me but I believe it’s something to do with keeping the 12v live when starting the charger up. I have been using this method for 2 years and it works well.

[Doddler]

Cw4578 said:

rwillia2 said:

Does anyone know whether this works on a 718. I’ve just got a ctek mxs 5 with the cig lighter adaptor and unsure whether irs working or what setting I need it on. Any ideas?

On my 981 you have to put the ignition on, then turn on the charger then turn ignition off then lock the car. Don’t quote me but I believe it’s something to do with keeping the 12v live when starting the charger up. I have been using this method for 2 years and it works well.

It didn't work on my 981 Spyder had to hard wire it on to the battery with the neg earthed onto the tower strut on the side. Loads of threads on this topic like here https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[boitjie]

Cw4578 said:

rwillia2 said:

Does anyone know whether this works on a 718. I’ve just got a ctek mxs 5 with the cig lighter adaptor and unsure whether irs working or what setting I need it on. Any ideas?

On my 981 you have to put the ignition on, then turn on the charger then turn ignition off then lock the car. Don’t quote me but I believe it’s something to do with keeping the 12v live when starting the charger up. I have been using this method for 2 years and it works well.

^^^^ this on 718 too

[tracydeedance]

freedman said:

Sandy59 said:

I also have a 987 on a Ctek, connected to both battery terminals and never had any issues to date.

Me too, no issues over several years

Ditto above on 987

[rwillia2]

boitjie said:

^^^^ this on 718 too

Daft question but how do you know if it’s working/charging?

[tomtom]

Thanks all, finally got round to hooking it up to the terminals yesterday.

rwillia2 said:

Daft question but how do you know if it’s working/charging?

Daft question back at you - is your username a hangover from your university network username at Sheffield Hallam? I was given an almost identical username during my very short time there and still occasionally use it. I had to do a double-take when I saw your username.

[boitjie]

rwillia2 said:

boitjie said:

^^^^ this on 718 too

Daft question but how do you know if it’s working/charging?

Daft reply .... Because I used it last Friday to charge my battery .... and the indicator lights say it is charging

Edited by boitjie on Monday 28th November 09:04

[Greedydog]

rwillia2 said:

Doddler said:

I plug my CTEK straight into the 12v inside the car (987.2) and no problems charging the battery whilst being very convenient to remove and drive.

Does anyone know whether this works on a 718. I’ve just got a ctek mxs 5 with the cig lighter adaptor and unsure whether irs working or what setting I need it on. Any ideas?

In my 718 Boxster I just plug it into the 12v socket in the passenger footwell and carefully shut the door leaving it happily charging away. I’ve never done anything with turning the ignition on/off etc. I position the Ctek where I can see it so I know the state it’s in.