- My model of MX-5 is: __MK 3 NC
- I’m based near: __Hull
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on: Battery trickle charging, just trying to get some clarity on this, is it 100% safe to leave your battery terminals connected when using a smart/trickle battery charger.
Cheers
Hello
Just trying to get a bit of clarity on this, is it 100% safe to leave your battery terminals connected when charging with a smart/trickle battery charger.
Cheers
Yes
The clue is in the name - “smart” charger
I have had no issues leaving the battery connected when charging with a CTEK charger across several vehicles: two BMWs, a Mini, and my MX-5 ND. If you have a vehicle whose manual advises connecting to terminals that are separate from the battery then I’ve read that it’s wise to adhere to that. If you connect straight to the battery you bypass electronics within the vehicle that keep tabs on the battery’s charge state and condition. I doubt that applies to your NC, but in case you own, say, a modern BMW as well.
FWIW if I am putting a battery on a recondition cycle I will remove it from the car, but that’s simply me being overcautious.
You can with a CTEK trickle charger, even for months at a time. They de sulphur the battery plates, trickle charge and draw current automatically to keep a battery healthy. The worse thing you can do is disconnect a battery, let it run down to nothing and then fully re charge . Car batteries like to be active all the time to give long life and CTEK’s do it all for you. There is another brand but the name eludes me at the moment.
Thanks to all for the detailed information that pretty much clears things up for me, and a CTEK seems to be the weapon of choice.
I keep my NC outside covered during the winter months ,plugged in to a smart charger all winter ,I occasionally start the car with no problems , I have been doing this for four years now and the battery is still good .The battery has not been renewed during my ownership.
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I always say that, looked after properly, a Mazda factory battery will last the life of the car.
I bought the car in June 2020 and it’s spent the last two winters outside, despite starting it every couple of weeks and running it for 30 mins the battery still became sluggish and once didn’t have enough juice to start it, this winter it’ll be garaged and attached to a trickle charger, I also swap the wheels back to the originals for it to sit on end of October through to May when I put it back on the road.
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Totally agree with getting a CTEK. It may seem expensive but it is well worth the investment.
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Hi H,
The ones sold by Aldi and Lidl are more than adequate for everyday use and are normally around £15. I have used them for a few years now without any issues. The choice is yours.
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I completely agree. A CTEK MXS 5.0 is currently about £70 on Amazon. Depending on the car, that’s about the price of a tank of fuel (unfortunately 
). It’s also less than the cost of a lot of car batteries. Whilst the Aldi and Lidl ones might be fine, put into context I don’t think that £70 is a lot to pay either.
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I used a CTEK for almost 20 years for my NSX which as I was working overseas for 5 yrs of that, the car was left sometimes for 6 months or longer.
The CTEK finally died and I have now replaced with a NOCO GENIUS as it got really good reviews. Not really noticed any difference as both just work.
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Like many people here, I’ve installed a permanent ctek ‘comfort connector’ and ‘battery sense’ monitor so I can see whether to charge without opening the bonnet.
On another car laid up in my garage the ctek is left on 24x7 with no issues and battery is still live on the car.
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I have used a Noco Genius 2 for a few years on my old Westfield, and rotating it between 2 “normal” road cars in a 3-week cycle. Used it whilst 2 cars were on SORN during 2020. Just got a Genius 1 so I can have 2 on charge/ condition together. Plan to put my 2l NC under wraps and on conditioner over winter.
Just a little up date I bought this today as everyones watching the £££ with electricity bills I am not keeping the CTEK charger on All the time …I bought this accessory which will inform me when the the battery is low so I can power down the garage electrical sockets till needed well they say every penny counts… 
TRACK THE HEALTH OF YOUR BATTERY WITH THIS UNIQUE BLUETOOTH ENABLED SMART TRACKING DEVICE.
CTX Battery Sense is a Bluetooth® enabled, smart battery management tool which helps to prevent vehicle breakdowns and maximises battery performance by offering valuable, simple to understand information regarding the current health of your battery charge. The device is linked to a free and easy to download app, a connection is then made to the Battery Sense Monitor which is linked to your battery. Simple in-app instructions are given and your mobile phone will provide battery data 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, all year round. When and if your battery’s charge falls to a critical level, Battery Sense will send a notification to advise on connecting your CTEK battery charger.
Features & Benefits:
- Provides advanced notifications in case of battery failure
- Suitable for all cars & motorcycles engine starter batteries 4.5AH or over
- Automatically syncs via Bluetooth®
- Continuously monitors battery’s charge
- Records stats for up to 3 months
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Ctek, Ctek every time. I’ve had one for many years and it works perfectly on every battery Ive tried it on.