Unkel Kunkel Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 3 years ago, one of my two CTEK 5 type failed - green light but no ‘ function’ button responses. The replacement has now also died. Not the cheapest of these devices. Have you had similar disappointments? I have now got an ABSAAR charger from ‘ Car Builders Solutions’ - incidentally If you’ve never see their catalogue it’s really wonderful… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Clark Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 I bought a similar "smart" charger from Lidl a few years ago. It only lasted about 18 months before failing. Nigel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trigolf Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 I've had an Accumate 'Intelligent' batt charger for 15yrs now. It's still working fine. I think good value @ £55.00 for it's life so far...🤔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 My CTEK is working fine but the selection button is often erratic and needs repeated presses before moving the LEDS. I've had it 15 years or more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 think there is some lifetime warranty on ctek but mine faiied and the lidle £12 replacemnt has been fine for many years these types of changer will not responde to a flat battery they are top up only so sometimes the lack if result is more battery than charger Pete 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 yes Ive got the Lidl unit and the worst thing for me is that if theres a power cut, even a micro one, the charger doesnt restart automatically☹️ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 Had a Ctek 20 years and all good till a month ago, daughter who lives up country pinched it whilst down here, so I brought a Repco cheapie, only issue is having to manually select battery type ie Calcium, Lead Acid, or Gel, I couldn't find info easy on the battery! Ctek set this automatically? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qu1ckn1ck Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 My CTEK is still going strong after many years use. The GT6 is always connected to the CTEK when not being driven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagger Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 (edited) Lead Acid (Liquid) batteries only require a constant voltage to charge. Depending upon temperature this is between 13.5 and 14 volts. I made my best ever charger aged 25 and it could start the car. Big transformer, massive rectifier and stout wire. I used a brake lamp bulb in series to observe the state. Bright mean 'Flat' and Dim meant 'Charged'. However. if a flat battery always indicated Dim after a few hours, it was knackered. Unfortunately, I loaned it out. The stout wires caught in a colleagues car fan blades and threw it though his radiator. I had others, so never repaired it. Lithium and gel batteries need complicated chargers for optimum charge times, but my old idea of using a bulb in series will still work if all else fails. Edited September 1 by Wagger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 even the cheapo Lidl units will shut down if the battery is too flat and Ctek is the same , they are to top up charge not charge from flat , they then just shut down and appear dead i never got my Ctek to awaken and the £12 Lidl does keep going , yes if theres a power outage you need to reset the mode , but its not a problem ( if you keep an eye on the red/green lights) saves clock and radio draining . Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 I have 2 chargers one will charge from stone dead flat the other won't. My best ever charger was a power supply "rescued" from a Ferranti Argus 700 computer. My Ex made me get rid of it because it didn't have a case and was "dangerous" I like to see the Ctek clicking between modes, I could watch it for hours. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rlubikey Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 Modern "intelligent" chargers won't charge a lead-acid battery with less than a certain minimum voltage on the terminals because this indicates a dead or dying battery which runs the risk of generating/venting hydrogen and oxygen in the perfect ratio for combustion. So I also have an older "dumb" charger to start sick batteries charging after which my intelligent Lidl one can take over. In fact I use them both in parallel for faster charging. Yes, it's annoying that The Lidl defaults to off and you have to step it through to car battery mode before it does anything. Possibly down to their legal department not wanting an unattended battery charging? Cheers, Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unkel Kunkel Posted September 1 Author Report Share Posted September 1 I have a battery charger / starter for ‘flat’ batteries.It will start almost anything Still have a functioning CTEK - ( the oldest one, in fact) - and this works fine where the other one does absolutely nothing despite attempts to reconnect swith on and off, press the function button repeatedly etc. 5 year guarantee. No receipt.Cant remember where I bought it … Before it failed it was prone to emit a faint but high frequency type of whistle at random intervals. On ‘U-tube ‘ there are are a few very clever folk who open up failed 5 series CTEK diagnose and fix them the multifunction switch seems an issue sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DerekS Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 I've had a CTEK for 17+ years now, still working fine. The guy in the shop where I bought it was really in to his stuff, he said he'd been told by someone from CTEK that failures occurred when they were fastened or resting on a surface that absorbed heat and the chargers overheated from the back. Whether there's anything in that or not I don't know, but mine has always rested on the wiper arm, plugged in to a CTEK hard-wired socket 24/7. Derek. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpitFire6 Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 Hi, If you care about your batteries by utilising a top-tier charger, you purchase a top-tier battery to benefit. An AGM battery type 027 costs under £80 and has a five-year guarantee. (Tayna website. An AGM can resist low charge and still function OK if periodically charged with a smart charger. Loads of benefits, Cheers, Iain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unkel Kunkel Posted September 2 Author Report Share Posted September 2 Spoke too soon. Humble Pie on the menu today… I failed to check thoroughly - I was wrong. Found some different leads and after much ‘ waggling’ and ‘tugging’ connections, I found that one connection - one with ‘traffic light ‘ connector could result in the unit functioning again. - which I am very pleased about as the units are great. Working well. need new set of leads 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 Not very tasty is it, humble pie? But weve all had some one time or another🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unkel Kunkel Posted September 2 Author Report Share Posted September 2 6 hours ago, johny said: Not very tasty is it, humble pie? But weve all had some one time or another🤣 I’ve become quite accustomed to it …. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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