Ctek charger connection, under a cover

[Tony B2]

I might be using a Ctek charger on my Spyder, outdoors, with the car under (an outdoor) cover.

This could be every so often, for a period of a few weeks.

So I want to find a way of connecting the charger without lifting the front bonnet lid, and removing plastic cover thingie immediately above the battery.

Is there a convenient alternative?

Cigarette lighter socket or...?

[M11rph]

CTEK do this accessory. Connect to the battery, can be done without interrupting the power.
Leave it poking through the scuttle guard. When you want to drive it only takes a moment to tucjk it away somewhere.

https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/a...

[Redline88]

I’ve just started doing mine via the cigarette lighter socket. Both the socket in the central ashtray and the 12v in the passenger footwell worked. I can’t leave the car connected permanently but having sat for 4 weeks, the ctek had it back to full battery health within the day. Before connecting the ctek it gave the message around low battery - drive for an extended period so it must have been quite depleted.

[AdrianFRST]

On my 991 I used the comfort connector that comes with the charger - positive connected to the battery positive, negative connected to the mounting bolt for the left hand wiper. The connector then passes behind the plastic cover and through the gap in the scuttle trim where the washer jet is. If you cut the connector ring terminals into “C” shapes then you won’t need to unscrew the bolts completely, the battery terminal bolt is tricky to completely undo all the way.

[john_1983]

M11rph said:

CTEK do this accessory. Connect to the battery, can be done without interrupting the power.
Leave it poking through the scuttle guard. When you want to drive it only takes a moment to tucjk it away somewhere.

https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/a...

This is what I do for my Spyder - mine is stored inside, but I've cut a hole in the cover approx. where the tax disc would be so the connector can poke through

[plynchy]

I run my cable under the passenger door at the very front to connect to foot well power socket.

Cable still moves with door fully closed.

[Darlo74]

john_1983 said:

M11rph said:

CTEK do this accessory. Connect to the battery, can be done without interrupting the power.
Leave it poking through the scuttle guard. When you want to drive it only takes a moment to tucjk it away somewhere.

https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/a...

This is what I do for my Spyder - mine is stored inside, but I've cut a hole in the cover approx. where the tax disc would be so the connector can poke through

So you just leave the connector hanging loose through the scuttle guard?

[ForzaWhitesGen2]

plynchy said:

I run my cable under the passenger door at the very front to connect to foot well power socket.

Cable still moves with door fully closed.

I do pretty much the same for my 991.2 into the cigarette lighter socket though.
Q. My OEM Porsche charger was purchased for my first 997.1 - I presume now with a 2018 car there isn't any difference?
Thnks

[john_1983]

Darlo74 said:

So you just leave the connector hanging loose through the scuttle guard?

Most of the time; there's not a huge amount of slack so I'm not worried about it moving around and damaging anything. For a longer drive I'll pop the front lid and stow it underneath. It's finished in a rubber coating so I don't think it would damage the scuttle panel

[Slippydiff]

As fitted by Ferrari on their cars :

https://hethelsport.com/tools/charger-connection-k...

Original is made by these guys :

https://herthundbuss.com/en/theme/more-than-just-j...

Just make sure you keep the contact pins and pads covered in petroleum jelly or lithium grease at all times, as once the contact points corrode they won’t allow any current to the battery.

[AdrianFRST]

This should explain a bit better. This is in the garage but I have the same setup on my Mini which lives outside. I bought the CTEK extension cable so the charger is in the garage and the cable just runs under the garage door.

[Tony B2]

Many thanks, all, for the helpful responses!

[Tony B2]

AdrianFRST said:

This should explain a bit better. This is in the garage but I have the same setup on my Mini which lives outside. I bought the CTEK extension cable so the charger is in the garage and the cable just runs under the garage door.

I love the colour!!

[AdrianFRST]

Tony B2 said:

I love the colour!!

Thanks! Some proper photos here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[Roadrunner996]

I've always plugged mine into the cigarette lighter and closed the door on the cable. No issues.

[Tony B2]

AdrianFRST said:

Tony B2 said:

I love the colour!!

Thanks! Some proper photos here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

Wow - what a start!

[Tony B2]

OK - more advice please...!

I have bought the dongle (CTEK 40-165 Battery charge indicator with 12 V Comfort connector 22 cm).



I plugged the dongle into the cigarette lighter socket and initially the "red" indicator flashed, including when I closed the driver's door and locked up.

I did not connect the charger at this point.

However, an hour or 2 later I checked again and ...no flashing LED.

So, I now connected the charger via the dongle, and initially got the "amber" and "green" LEDs flashing. Locked up again, and within a couple of minutes these LEDs had gone out.

Checked the CTEK indicator lights, and it seems not to be charging.

Does this cigarette lighter socket power-down after locking?

Should I actually be using the other socket in the passenger footwell?

Or maybe I should just go out and enjoy the car for a couple of hours....

TIA!

[M11rph]

The sockets power down 30 minutes after ignition off if not in use.

Ignition ON. Connect the charger and turn it on, then turn ignition OFF. The socket should then stay live and charge correctly.

[Tony B2]

M11rph said:

The sockets power down 30 minutes after ignition off if not in use.

Ignition ON. Connect the charger and turn it on, then turn ignition OFF. The socket should then stay live and charge correctly.

Many thanks - I think this has worked!

[jdavis7600]

New guy here. You might want to look at this thread: https://rennlist.com/forums/981-forum/1315458-clea... in particular post #19.