Similarly I asked CTEK about the OEM Panasonic gel battery in my NB and they said use Normal mode.
My Ctek MXS 5.0 died after 3 years regular service (used on 3 cars). Remembered they have a 5 year warranty so returned it to smarterchargers.co.uk. where I bought it and they replaced it next day. Great company to deal with, keep your receipt!
If CTEK are “Smart” chargers why do you have to select their functions manually?
Seriously!
@Dawasdave thats strange as I have an nd2 and asked CETEC the same question they said charge on the NORMAL (14.4v) setting unless it’s an agm battery which it isn’t !! AGM mode puts out a slightly higher 14.7v …
Once it’s in maintenance phase, both NORMAL and AGM seem to be 13.6v according to manual.
@Countryboy I guess they’re not smart enough to know what battery they’re connected to and each battery type has a different program see pic …
Thanks! I’ll stick with what I’ve got, it’s “plug and play” for all those battery types and functions.
Absolutely… If it ain’t broke don’t fix it
I have the “5” and I assess the state of the battery by whether or not the start/stop function works (then I turn it off), when I take my ND2 out.
If start/stop doesn’t work, it’s time to “top up” the battery. I then charge it for about 6 hours, although this is more a question of practicality than scientific reasoning. The battery is always fully charged by the time I turn the charger off.
If the OP is only going to charge it for 4 hours at a time, perhaps the “5” might be the better option?
If my cars don’t get used for a week, I usually take them out for a 50-mile “spin”, so I only have to use the charger occasionally.
@JBCCDU Very odd, here’s the email response i had from them… I guess in a nutshell is shouldn’t matter what of the two car modes you use it in
@Dawasdave yep, got a slightly different response saying that I need to check with my manufacturer for the best charging voltage and ….
“If no particular information is possible to acquire, you always can use normal charging option, 14.4V
It suits perfectly well most lead/acid batteries, including GEL, VRLA, etc., including batteries for start/stop vehicles like EFB and AGM”
At that point I moved on and just used NORMAL mode as suggested,it works fine , and if I want to leave it on long term, I’m happier doing that on the slightly lower voltage.
In all truth it’s probably no issue either way
Our Golf has an AGM labelled battery so I used the higher voltage AGM mode for that.
I agree I discarded my comfort indicator because it was showing amber or 'red even only an hour after being fully charged
There will be a fuse in the CTEK plug into the mains and a trip on the mains. You might replace the 13amp fuse with a lower rated fuse, perhaps.
@NicWalt absolutely, I was more thinking of the comfort adapter itself which is left permanently attached to the battery. Ie the 12v side. The version with the Traffic light voltage indicator has an in line fuse block, the standard lead (which I’ve fitted) without voltage leds does not appear to have one unless it’s buried in the plug itself…(unlikely) It’s no major issue just something to be aware of. I’ve positioned the cable with cable ties where it shouldn’t be chaffed. Thanks for your answer.