XSeries-forum

Hello........

picked up a x40d a few weeks ago, such is our usage it unlikely to be driven more than a handful of times a month.

Therefore i need to place it on trickle charge whilst its in the garage.

the official BMW charger is available for £70, any recommendations for any other brand?

I'll need a quick and easy way to plug the car on and off charge, therefore how are peeps putting in a fixed connection point with a quick release? any pics?

cheers

Dil

The BMW one is the re-badged CTek one. I use the XS3600 but that has been superseded, but any equivalent from that brand is fine.

I have the MXS-5 for the Porsche.

How do you have the ctex chargers connected up ? Under the bonnet or the boot....

I connect mine up under the bonnet as the terminals are easy to get to - unlike under the boot floor

[quote="gmc15"]
I connect mine up under the bonnet as the terminals are easy to get to - unlike under the boot floor
[/quote]

Have you fashioned a quick connect system or do you need to pop the hood every time ?

I leave the hood popped on the first click as my car is in the garage and the cables don't get trapped at all. Probably couldn't do this if it was outside as it would probably not be able to lock/alarm the car.

On the X5, the charge points that should be used are under the bonnet. The + side has a red plastic cap over it, the negative is the big bolt at the front on the same side of the car.

I use the supplied crocodile clips to clip them on and leave the bonnet open, in the garage that should not be a problem.

My dad actually closes his X3 bonnet to set the alarm, the wires do not get trapped as they sink in the rubber edge at the front.

I bought a set of CTEK quick release connectors that fit the charging points under the bonnet.  Add one of their extension cables and you're able to put the bonnet down without trapping wires.  The QR lead is fused and has 3 LEDs in it giving a traffic light display so you can instantly see the charge state just by opening the bonnet.

Got them on my X6, E46 and will fit to my Superb B8.  Saves faffing about with croc clips etc. 

Got them all from Amazon.

Comfort Lead

Extension 2.5m

They work on all the current range.

I bought the actual CTEKs (all 6 of them as I use them for the tractors as well) from ultimate finish. They were a reasonable amount cheaper there.

My CTEK failed & I replaced it with a conditioning charger from LIDL of all places. It seems to do the same job okay (& has led display & cold temp mode). It has 120 amp rating. I accept it is working towards (but within) the limits of its capabilities on the X5. No issues here & was under £20...charging as I type.

Where the Lidl ones fail is after a power cut. When the power comes back on they revert to standby mode and don't charge again till you set them. That's fine if you're around but not so good if you're away for 3 months and the power cut happens in the first week.

I have a couple of C-Teks and a couple of Halfords maintainers, neither of which are troubled by power cuts. I also have a Lidl. The Halfords items are circa £25.

Thanks - I wasn't  aware lidl chargers reset to standby after a power cut albeit I don't leave it in maintenance mode.

The only unexpected result I had from an XS3600 CTEK was after 2 months charging on my previous M, I took the car for a service and the report was that the battery was empty. They kept it overnight as it was an Inspection 1 service and recharged it during that time after which the battery was reading fine again.

Had not expected that to happen. No issues starting the car though to get it to the garage.

[quote="AW8"]
Thanks - I wasn't  aware lidl chargers reset to standby after a power cut albeit I don't leave it in maintenance mode.
[/quote]

I was charging a leisure battery last week and we had a power cut which only lasted about 3 secs and my Lidl charger went into stabdby mode as Denis O said
Apart from that the charger has revived flat batteries, trickle charged car batteries and charged leisure batteries without fault

[quote="pvr"]
The only unexpected result I had from an XS3600 CTEK was after 2 months charging on my previous M, I took the car for a service and the report was that the battery was empty. They kept it overnight as it was an Inspection 1 service and recharged it during that time after which the battery was reading fine again.

Had not expected that to happen. No issues starting the car though to get it to the garage.
[/quote]

Must have had the charger upside down and it was sucking instead of blowing