CTEK problems and warning

[TdM-GTV]

I was going away on holiday and what with it being cold out, I thought I'd treat the car to a CTEK mxs 5.0 while I was away to keep everything topped up. All plugged in, checked out went to green, no warning lights, went on holiday.

I came back went to use the car and the battery was completely dead, so dead it wouldn't come back to life at all. OK, I thought, be battery, maybe the old one died (it was about 4 years old and a good battery, but your never know).

New battery installed, make sure it's all good for a week or two, I'm nervous to try the CTEK again, but I think, fine, I'll give it a go for a couple of days to check if it works. Again plug in, all lights go green. Come back two days later and the battery is dead.

I contact CTEK. Their answer? Both batteries must have been faulty, you should send the new one back. Oh yeah guys, that totally seems the most logical explanation here. I've seen other reviews that people have received similar service from them. Beware, their attitude stinks of something goes wrong.

[Unreal]

TdM-GTV said:

I was going away on holiday and what with it being cold out, I thought I'd treat the car to a CTEK mxs 5.0 while I was away to keep everything topped up. All plugged in, checked out went to green, no warning lights, went on holiday.

I came back went to use the car and the battery was completely dead, so dead it wouldn't come back to life at all. OK, I thought, be battery, maybe the old one died (it was about 4 years old and a good battery, but your never know).

New battery installed, make sure it's all good for a week or two, I'm nervous to try the CTEK again, but I think, fine, I'll give it a go for a couple of days to check if it works. Again plug in, all lights go green. Come back two days later and the battery is dead.

I contact CTEK. Their answer? Both batteries must have been faulty, you should send the new one back. Oh yeah guys, that totally seems the most logical explanation here. I've seen other reviews that people have received similar service from them. Beware, their attitude stinks of something goes wrong.

The second battery went flat in two days?

It's faulty or you have a significant current drain.

[The test driver]

You did plug the charger into the wall and switch it on right?

[TdM-GTV]

Unreal said:

TdM-GTV said:

I was going away on holiday and what with it being cold out, I thought I'd treat the car to a CTEK mxs 5.0 while I was away to keep everything topped up. All plugged in, checked out went to green, no warning lights, went on holiday.

I came back went to use the car and the battery was completely dead, so dead it wouldn't come back to life at all. OK, I thought, be battery, maybe the old one died (it was about 4 years old and a good battery, but your never know).

New battery installed, make sure it's all good for a week or two, I'm nervous to try the CTEK again, but I think, fine, I'll give it a go for a couple of days to check if it works. Again plug in, all lights go green. Come back two days later and the battery is dead.

I contact CTEK. Their answer? Both batteries must have been faulty, you should send the new one back. Oh yeah guys, that totally seems the most logical explanation here. I've seen other reviews that people have received similar service from them. Beware, their attitude stinks of something goes wrong.

The second battery went flat in two days?

It's faulty or you have a significant current drain.

The significant current drain being a faulty CTEK. The car is fine if off the charger.

[alscar]

I’ve used CTEK ‘s and Optimates ( for Lithium batteries ) for around 17 years / currently 3 cars on.
Usually the MXS5 version.
I’ve had the 3.6 version fail after a few years but wasn’t a case of all orange plus green lights it just wouldn’t get past the solitary red.
Would be odd for both batteries to have displayed all correct lights on the conditioner only for the battery to then fail.
I am assuming on the 5 you had the correct mode set ie to the car logo rather than the bike ?!

[Huzzah]

I'd expect the charger to getting pretty hot, all that energy needs to disapate somewhere.

Edited by Huzzah on Friday 20th February 09:17

[swisstoni]

Why not get a known good battery and run an off-car test of the CTEK to see if the fault can be replicated?

I assume the CTEK is still under warranty? If it isn't then the above would just be for your own 'satisfaction'.

[paul_c123]

Did you do any basic troubleshooting, for example observe voltages before, during and after the CTEK was connected? Or do a battery test with a battery tester? It does sound like the charger is at fault, if the car/battery is more or less trouble free if its not connected, but I'd be interested in the mode of failure here. After all a battery charger should be putting energy INTO the battery (or resting), not draining it. The voltages, or even the relative voltages, would soon confirm this.

[TdM-GTV]

Huzzah said:

I'd expect the charger to getting pretty hot, all that energy needs to disapate somewhere.

Edited by Huzzah on Friday 20th February 09:17

This is the case, the charger is quite hot when in use. I haven't had one before so I wasn't sure if that was the norm.

To update, after a discussion, CTEK have apologised for their initial response and are now sending me a new upgraded unit to try free of charge (my unit was still under warranty).

[Huzzah]

TdM-GTV said:

Huzzah said:

I'd expect the charger to getting pretty hot, all that energy needs to disapate somewhere.

Edited by Huzzah on Friday 20th February 09:17

This is the case, the charger is quite hot when in use. I haven't had one before so I wasn't sure if that was the norm.

To update, after a discussion, CTEK have apologised for their initial response and are now sending me a new upgraded unit to try free of charge (my unit was still under warranty).

Mine gets warm, once up to speed and all the green lights are on it sits at an ambient temperature.

[The Dictator]

I have a ctek mx5 that I bought over 10 years ago to keep on my 1981 Mercedes 500 SEL battery over winter to keep it conditioned.

I bought a couple of extra battery attachment cables so that we can swap it onto the two daily cars (neither of us do many miles) and it has occasionally thrown a bit of a fit and displayed a red light after a little whole connected - this hasn't happened for a while in fairness and may have not been related to the unit, but perhaps conditions.

I really rate it and like the visual display so that you know what stage it is at.

Good to hear they have reconsidered their original response.

[Tommie38]

I’ve been using CTEKs for around 15 years and had quite a few failures. Including ones that were sent back to CTEK who confirmed component failure. Connected to mains in a dry garage so hardly worked hard.

Surprising considering they sell so many. I have moved to Noco now. So far so good.

[swisstoni]

I think they have been well and truly caught up by other manufactures of quality gear. But I have a few cars using them and have a lot of their proprietary accessories.