Member Since: 14 Nov 2010
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 158
CTEK Charging help....
Hi Everyone,
After leaving my side lights on, I flattened my battery. Previous to this on another occasion I almost flattened it and it would only just start. I decided to buy a CTEK 5.0 battery charger and recondition the battery. The battery is OEM and about a year old.
I put it on charge selected Recon after a few minutes lights 1-6 went amber and number 7 green. Twenty seven hours later the lights are the same! Is that right or could there be a fault with the charger? In the manual is says stage 1 will take Max 8 hours, though i'd have a few green lights by now.
I've put red led on the + battery terminal and black on a earth point on the body.
Click image to enlarge
Click image to enlarge
7th Apr 2012 2:23 pm
DiscoDunc
Member Since: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 16390
I connect mine direct to the battery.
what happens if you choose the normal charge mode ?Duncan
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7th Apr 2012 3:15 pm
NIDisco3
Member Since: 28 Apr 2005
Location: Derry City
Posts: 610
I also connect mine direct to the battery, I am using a cTek MXS 3.6, full charge on my Disco3 battery took around 20hours
7th Apr 2012 3:18 pm
Wiggy Man
Member Since: 14 Nov 2010
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 158
I haven't tried it in any other mode yet. The manual is a bit vague about were you attach it, a pic showing to the battery - terminal and text saying about a earth point? NIDisco3 did you get the lights progressively turning green and was it 20 hours for a charge or a recon?
I'm thinking i might give it till the morning and if no change try the -terminal.
Thanks for the replies
7th Apr 2012 3:38 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
Ctek 5.0 is a little too small for the D3 battery although the normal modes should be ok. In a way the reduced output of the 5.0 has helped you are you are not supposed to use the recondition mode with the battery attached to anything!
Next time suggest you connect direct to the battery and select either * mode (snow symbol) or normal mode and leave it alone. The * mode has a higher voltage to compensate for cold conditions and the D3 charging voltage is a little higher than most.
The smaller Cteks are fine for trickle charging the D3 (I even use a XS3600 (3.6 amp) if my XS7000 is elsewhere) but you really need the 7amp Cteks (such as the MXS 7.0) or above for the D3 battery.
Anyway the big point is that the green light means your battery is charged. It takes 10 days and a voltage drop to go into the next 'pulse' mode.Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
Member Since: 14 Nov 2010
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 158
Hi Robbie
After your worrying face i've disconnected the charger and check the car is still alive and all seams ok.
I've now taken battery out and put it on charge and different set of lights so looking good. Are you sure its not powerful enough....
"The MXS 5.0 is a fully automatic 8-step charger that delivers selectable 0.8A or 5A to 12V batteries from 1,2-110Ah and is suitable for maintenance charging up to 160Ah. "
....as the D3 battery is 90Ah it should be good enough for Recon mode, do you think?? The 3.6 MXS is only up to 75Ah so i can see this might not be 100% suitable.
7th Apr 2012 5:15 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
If the battery is in normal health the MSX 5.0 will be fine. As I alluded to the 3.6 amp Ctek will also work and many (including me) have used one for trickle charging as they are fantastic little units. However, for a badly discharged D3 battery or one that is sulfated the higher amperage of the 7.0 (or higher) is required. A Ctek 3600 will recover a battery that is healthy but too low to crank to full health in around 24hrs.
The old rule of thumb for charging amps is either 1/10th of Amp hour or 1% of Cold Cranking Amps for a 3 to 5 hour charge. Eg 950CCS = 9.5 amps for a 3 to 5 hr charge. You can (and probably should) run lower than this so the 7 amp Ctek is a nice balance - other opinions may vary.
The recondition mode runs at around 15.8v or so, which is too high for a number of car electrical systems. The Disco 3 has other ideas and a typical max alternator charge runs at 15.8v (way higher than most cars) and the protection systems kick-in at over 16v - please note there is no overvolting protection when connected to a battery charger. The recondition mode is sensitive and may be phased if the car is connected to a load (eg the car) so it is good practise to use this mode with the battery out of the car in case of overcharge, leakage of off-gasing/venting etc.
The Ctek chargers are fantastic and do work miracles and I recommend regular maintenance charges, especially in the winter or when used for repeated short journeys. It takes over 8 hrs to charge a D3 battery from 'enough to start' to 'fully charged' and many owners never get their batteries to a fully charged state. Given how easy it is to discharge one (radio on whilst cleaning the interior is the summer favourite) and the hissy fit the car throws with low voltages I think ownership of a Ctek is a must. Plugging one in via the tow electrics (with a reminder ribbon tied to the steering wheel) takes all the drama out of it too.Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
Member Since: 14 Nov 2010
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 158
Thanks Robbie,
Unfortunately i don't have towing electrics. I have just gone out to garage to see how it's going and i have the same lights as before, 1-6 are amber and number 7 is green, this is on normal car charge mode. Is this right? Looks like pic above. Should number one go green then number two and so on?
The green 7 means it has reached a maintenance charge state, the green 8 lights as and when required to top up
Sounds like it is fully charged if 7 is green
I use the same one (or the aldi equivalent on mine with no problems at all)
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7th Apr 2012 6:46 pm
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
Sorry Wiggy, whilst I have used a number of Cteks I have not memorised all the different variations but from your picture I would say the green light = fully charged (or at least the charger thinks it is).
Best way to check your battery is to leave it connected to the car overnight and check the voltage in the morning. This thread may help too:
Member Since: 14 Nov 2010
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 158
Lovely, Thanks for help, will let you know how it goes.
7th Apr 2012 6:56 pm
Wiggy Man
Member Since: 14 Nov 2010
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 158
Just to update you, yes Robbie you were right the above pic of lights is fully charged. I'm getting 12.7v from battery without car running. So looking good.
Thanks again.
8th Apr 2012 10:33 am
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
Sounds good so far.
Remember to check it again tomorrow morning before starting so that surface charge effects don't influence the results.Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
Member Since: 23 Feb 2006
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Posts: 867
Hi Wiggy Man and that charger you have is perfect for what you want to do, just leave it on your battery when ever you can.
Next, folks, it is suicidal connecting a battery charger or jumper leads to the both terminals on any vehicle’s cranking battery.
The correct way to connect up for charging is to first connect the positive lead to the positive terminal of the battery.
Then connect the negative lead to a ground point away from the battery.
The reason for connecting the second lead ( negative lead ) away from the battery is to avoid causing a spark near the battery as this may ignite any hydrogen gas that may be coming from the battery, particularly if the battery is faulty.
Wiggy Man, if you look at your second picture you will see a nut on a stud protruding from the inner guard, just in front of the red cable going into your fuse box.
You would have a second lead that came with your battery charger. This lead has eye terminals on the two leads.
Connect the positive lead’s eye terminal to the bolt on the cranking battery’s positive terminal and put the negative eye terminal on that earth stud and you are then permanently set up to charge your battery SAFELY.
Sorry Robbie but much of your info is not correct.
For a starter, the 1/10 charging recommendation is a trade off between how long it will take to charge a battery and using too much current to charge a battery.
If you need to charge a FLAT battery over night so the battery is fully charged the next day then the 1/10 is the recommended maximum charge current to use to avoid shortening the battery’s life span, if the battery is charged in this way on a regular basis.
If on the other hand, you have plenty of time to charge a battery, any type of battery, then the lower the charge current you can realistically use, the far better it is for the battery.2008 TDV8 RR Lux + 2009 D4 2.7
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face i've disconnected the charger and check the car is still alive and all seams ok. 
