Battery Charging

M

MOz

New member
A bit of a frustrating "doh" moment. <br /><br />I have an Oxford Oximiser battery charger that I used to use on my motorbike. <br /><br />Thinking I could rig it up to the V6S, I bought the adaptor that allows the charger to plug into a cigarette lighter socket thinking I could run the cable through the window and charge the car via the lighter socket in the cockpit whilst the car was in the garage. <br /><br />All was well whilst the car was unlocked charging nicely but the moment the car locked itself the charger stopped working, I'm guessing due to the lighter socket not being powered when the car is locked? <br /><br />Am I missing something or is there no way around this?<br /><br />I've not discovered the boot access to the battery in there yet. Am I right in thinking the socket for the lighter in the car is actually powered by a different battery to the starter motor?
 
Here is mine hooked up with a fixed "quick connector" in the boot.<br /><br />I don't have a pic from where it is connected to the powergrid/battery, but when you remove both the lid to the left of the "dump" in the boot and then the rest of the floor, it's easy to see where to mount a fixed wire with a "quick connector that fits the charger you have.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/uploads/548/IMAG0796.jpg" border="0" /><img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/uploads/548/IMAG0795.jpg" border="0" />
 
Thanks for that. My only concern would be the risk of fire etc from the trapped wire. Is it possible to lock the car with the boot open or does it permanently keep boot lights on?
 
I do the same as Arne, but I can see why there might be concern about trapped wires.<br><br>I think it's also important to say that it wouldn't be wise to put the charger unit inside the boot and shut the lid down......It needs air to circulate around it for cooling.<br><br>I have in the past also just left the boot lid open while I have the charger connected.<br><br>I use the same charger for other vehicles particularly over the winter period. I rotate the charger between them about once a week. I don't think it's all that good for any battery to have the charger on and connected up for weeks on end.<br>
 
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<p ="msonormal"=""><b> </b></p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Ctek-M8-56-382-Comfort-Indicator
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CTEK also have a neat connector that fixes to the inner lining of the boot meaning no trailing wires when it's not in use / connected.<div>Jaguar have a wiring diagram, but I only have it in word format rather than as a picture.</div><div>I may be able to find the web link.</div><div><br></div><div><img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/uploads/699/CTEK_wired.jpg" height="490" width="666" border="0" /><br></div>
 
Here's another shot of how it looks<div><img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/uploads/699/CTEK_boot.jpg" height="423" width="684" border="0" /><br></div>
 
The wire is not a consern when the boot lid is closed. The rubber seal is thick enough to move the wire rather freely even after the boot is closed.<br /><br />Temperature of the battery or gases are not a problem with modern batteries and a Ctek charger/maintainer. <br /><br />You could leave the charger on for weeks, however it's enough just to hook it up once every month for long time storage.
 
That looks the business Big Bri. Very neat.
<img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/smileys/smiley20.gif" border="0" alt="Thumbs Up" title="Thumbs Up" /><br><br><br>Arne... I'm not sure if you've noticed or are aware, but the charger units can get hot if they are working hard. In fact one of the thinks that kills these chargers is over heating. Because of this, the latest Ctek's have a built in temp sensor which shuts them down to prevent failure.<br><br>I have a marine version on my boat and when it's working at full tilt, the plastic housing of the unit becomes extremely hot. That particular charger has cooling fans built into it to aid cooling. Good air circulation is beneficial for all chargers, I think.<br>
 
<blockquote>
That looks the business Big Bri. Very neat.
<img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/smileys/smiley20.gif" border="0" alt="Thumbs Up" title="Thumbs Up" /><br><br><br>Arne... I'm not sure if you've noticed or are aware, but the charger units can get hot if they are working hard. In fact one of the thinks that kills these chargers is over heating. Because of this, the latest Ctek's have a built in temp sensor which shuts them down to prevent failure.<br><br>I have a marine version on my boat and when it's working at full tilt, the plastic housing of the unit becomes extremely hot. That particular charger has cooling fans built into it to aid cooling. Good air circulation is beneficial for all chargers, I think.<br></blockquote>
<div> </div><div>You are correct - the charger it self might get a little hot, though the one I have (when connected to the battery in the Jaguar) has never gotten more than a little warm.</div><div> </div><div>As you can see from the pictures I have placed my charger on the outside of the trunk though, and another reason for that is that the wires from the charger to the battery are rather thin compared to the 230 (110) V going to the charger - so the size of the wire is not a problem when closing the trunk.</div><div> </div><div>Big Bri - very nice solution <img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/smileys/smiley20.gif" height="17" width="23" border="0" alt="Thumbs Up" title="Thumbs Up" /> I just put the connector under the lid when I am done with it, so it is out of the way when it's not in use. But with your solution I would not have to remove the lid(s) to get started, so I like that <img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/smileys/smiley1.gif" height="17" width="17" border="0" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /></div>
<edited><editID>Arne</editID><editDate>2016-12-16 12:58:04</editDate></edited>
 
Do you guys with permanent connections connect the negative to a grounding point or to the negative terminal on the battery? I have used crocodile clips in the past and grounded the negative but not sure about the permanent option which I might try hooking up this week. Also not sure where I would be able to ground the negative terminal permanently if that is what is suggested.
 
<blockquote>Do you guys with permanent connections connect the negative to a grounding point or to the negative terminal on the battery? I have used crocodile clips in the past and grounded the negative but not sure about the permanent option which I might try hooking up this week. Also not sure where I would be able to ground the negative terminal permanently if that is what is suggested.</blockquote>
<div><br></div><div>Neither. Connect it to the battery management system. It deals with both batteries then and is safe.</div><div><br></div><div>There is a PDF for the official jaguar charger floating around that shows the terminals required.</div>
 
I used Arne's method with no issues overnight. I'm guessing the battery in the boot floor is the engine starting battery rather than the systems battery??? Is this right?
 
I connect directly to the battery terminals in the boot.<br>Positive to positive and negative to negative......Simples!!......after all, it's the main battery you're charging....same as your alternator does.<br>
 
This is the way Jaguar recommend wiring in the CTEK.<div>It's pretty simple one to the fuse connection (red/yellow arrow) and the other to earth (black/yellow arrow).</div><div><br></div><div><img src="http://www.ftypeforums.co.uk/images/converted_files/uploads/699/CTEK_after_v1.jpg" height="468" width="700" border="0" /><br></div>
 
<blockquote>Do you guys with permanent connections connect the negative to a grounding point or to the negative terminal on the battery? I have used crocodile clips in the past and grounded the negative but not sure about the permanent option which I might try hooking up this week. Also not sure where I would be able to ground the negative terminal permanently if that is what is suggested.</blockquote>
<div> </div><div>Sorry, bit late on parade...at sea working!</div><div> </div><div>It is important that the F-Type is not charged via the cigarette lighter socket or the jump start posts.</div><div> </div><div>Firstly, the cig lighter option is a no go, as the system goes into sleep mode and it is isolated from the power once the ignition is off. </div><div>Secondly, due to the long leads from the jump start box (under the bonnet) to the battery and the associated volt drop that will occur, some chargers (those that are microprocessor controlled) like the Ctek MX5.0 get a little confused, and end of trickling a bit more current in than required, and never reach an indicated Full state.</div><div> </div><div>Because the F-Type has some serious battery management software embedded into the Battery management modules, it is imperative that the earth is connected to the body of the car as mentioned in the TOPix doc that is linked above. </div><div>If it is connected to the earth post on the battery, the BMM acknowledges that the battery is more than healthy all the time (as it is seeing the charger voltage directly) and doesn't shut down some systems or manage the residual current drain correctly.</div><div> </div><div>FWIW - I use the Ctek MX5. I have wired the comfort extension lead to the nearest earth stud and to the positive bus-bar. Anywhere on the bus-bar is fine, just make sure it is the correct side of the fuse! I then route and cable-tie this up the left hand side rear panel and out through the very small inspection hatch that is located on the top of the rear wheel arch (on the convertible). I just coil the lead up when not in use, and route it out over the boot seal when I'm away.</div><div> </div><div>Been like this for over a year, and frequent trips away of 4 weeks plus, and all seems to be tip-top.</div><div> </div><div> </div>
 
So are you suggesting connecting your charger direct to the battery terminals to charge damages the car Tel (serious battery management software????)???
 
<div>It won't 'damage' it per se.</div><div> </div><div>The battery monitoring module gets confused if you charge directly to the negative. </div><div>Because with the engine off it expects 12.6V 'ish, but a charger puts out a higher voltage around 13+, so the battery monitoring module resets its "minimum" to the voltage that the charger is putting out. </div><div> </div><div>When you disconnect the charger the voltage from the battery is lower, so the car will throw up low voltage warnings.<br><br> By connecting the negative of the charger to the earthing stud it's charging on the "other side" of the monitor so this resetting of the minimum voltage doesn't happen. </div><div> </div><div>Hope that helps Moz.</div>
 
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