Ford Performance Ctek Charger Desulfation Mode

[matthewr87]

I just hooked up my FP Ctek Charger for the first time and it is stuck in stage 1 or desulfation mode. My battery works well and is not malfunctioning. Is it normal for the charger to stay in this mode if the battery seems fine?

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[pilotgore]

I just hooked up my FP Ctek Charger for the first time and it is stuck in stage 1 or desulfation mode. My battery works well and is not malfunctioning. Is it normal for the charger to stay in this mode if the battery seems fine?

How long has it been it that mode? If you disconnect it from the car, does it still say it’s in stage 1? If you switch to alligator clips, does that change anything.

I’m very familiar with all the ctek chargers (I have 25-30), but I’m not sure which one FP uses. Model number or pic would be helpful.

 

[matthewr87]

How long has it been it that mode? If you disconnect it from the car, does it still say it’s in stage 1? If you switch to alligator clips, does that change anything.

I’m very familiar with all the ctek chargers (I have 25-30), but I’m not sure which one FP uses. Model number or pic would be helpful.

It is the Ford Performance M-10300-FP which I believe is a rebadged Ctek MXS 5.0.

It has been on stage 1 for about an hour. I use the clamps and not the eyelets. I connected the positive to the positive and the negative to the strut tower bolt as per instructions.

 

[pilotgore]

It is the Ford Performance M-10300-FP which I believe is a rebadged Ctek MXS 5.0.

It has been on stage 1 for about an hour. I use the clamps and not the eyelets. I connected the positive to the positive and the negative to the strut tower bolt as per instructions.

Typically it won’t stay in that mode for more than a few second unless the battery is completely toast, or it’s not properly connected.

For modes, do you just have it set to the car picture?

Try attaching the clamps directly to the battery just to rule out a poor connection.

 

[matthewr87]

Typically it won’t stay in that mode for more than a few second unless the battery is completely toast, or it’s not properly connected.

For modes, do you just have it set to the car picture?

Try attaching the clamps directly to the battery just to rule out a poor connection.

Yup just the car picture.

I disconnected everything and reconnected once more and now it is at stage 3. It only stayed at 1 for a few seconds and I could hear it pulsating quickly, then it progressed to 3.

Hopefully I didn't damage my battery with the one hour at stage 1 before....

 

[pilotgore]

Yup just the car picture.

I disconnected everything and reconnected once more and now it is at stage 3. It only stayed at 1 for a few seconds and I could hear it pulsating quickly, then it progressed to 3.

Hopefully I didn't damage my battery with the one hour at stage 1 before....

More than likely it just didnt have a good connection and wasn't actually doing anything. Those chargers are the best!

 

[matthewr87]

More than likely it just didnt have a good connection and wasn't actually doing anything. Those chargers are the best!

Thanks man! Do you find that the alligator clips work better than the eyelets?

 

[pilotgore]

Thanks man! Do you find that the alligator clips work better than the eyelets?

No sweat.

No, I go for the eyelets if it's a car that'll be on the charger regularly. The alligator clips can easily fall off if you trip on the cord during winter storage, or tug on the cord any other way. I thought you had the eyelits installed already so I was going to have you use the alligators just to be able to quickly rule out a connection issue (since I know the set usually comes with a set of each.)

I don't have any pictures of it now, but for my 350I ran the eyelits to the battery, then installed a 3'ish foot extender (from them) which lets me drop the attach point to just behind the passenger side headlight. I have it wrapped in thread tape, and zip tied where applicable so its totally hidden. When I'm going to let the car sit on the charger, I can pop the hood, get the female charging connection just behind the headlight and put it out over the top of the passenger headlight, close the hood, make the connection, and then cover it over. Very slick setup.

-Jon

 

[matthewr87]

No sweat.

No, I go for the eyelets if it's a car that'll be on the charger regularly. The alligator clips can easily fall off if you trip on the cord during winter storage, or tug on the cord any other way. I thought you had the eyelits installed already so I was going to have you use the alligators just to be able to quickly rule out a connection issue (since I know the set usually comes with a set of each.)

I don't have any pictures of it now, but for my 350I ran the eyelits to the battery, then installed a 3'ish foot extender (from them) which lets me drop the attach point to just behind the passenger side headlight. I have it wrapped in thread tape, and zip tied where applicable so its totally hidden. When I'm going to let the car sit on the charger, I can pop the hood, get the female charging connection just behind the headlight and put it out over the top of the passenger headlight, close the hood, make the connection, and then cover it over. Very slick setup.

-Jon

Ah okay. I was going to install the eyelets but then became confused as to where to place the negative eyelet. Logically it makes sense to attach it to the negative terminal on the battery but then I read that on vehicles with a battery management system it is best to install it somewhere else? I was thinking the ground cable but again not sure if that is the best way to go.

 

[gfcobra04]

Here is thread showing several ways to hook up a battery tender.
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/battery-terminal-connections.153344/

 

[matthewr87]

Here is thread showing several ways to hook up a battery tender.
https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/threads/battery-terminal-connections.153344/

Right, thank you. I know I saw that somewhere before, just couldn't remember where.

 

[GT4EVR]

I was going to install the eyelets but then became confused as to where to place the negative eyelet. Logically it makes sense to attach it to the negative terminal on the battery but then I read that on vehicles with a battery management system it is best to install it somewhere else? I was thinking the ground cable but again not sure if that is the best way to go.

Matthewr87: If it helps any, here is how I connected my CTEK eyelet wiring, as shown by the arrows. The negative is connected to the strut tower (tan arrow), and the positive to the lowest of the 3 wired terminals as shown by the red arrow. The "traffic light" connector (w/ green light showing) that I've zip-tied in place is where I connect the wiring from my CTEK 7002 and run the wiring under my hood as described by Pilotgore.

That red/yellow/green light charged indicator is an optional extra cost item I purchased from CTEK, but not essential to the connection. I also bought an extra length connecting cable from them to preclude any problems reaching my sole electrical outlet in the garage regardless of which side of the garage my Shelby is parked.

Hope this answers your concerns. Good luck!

 

[matthewr87]

Matthewr87: If it helps any, here is how I connected my CTEK eyelet wiring, as shown by the arrows. The negative is connected to the strut tower (tan arrow), and the positive to the lowest of the 3 wired terminals as shown by the red arrow. The "traffic light" connector (w/ green light showing) that I've zip-tied in place is where I connect the wiring from my CTEK 7002 and run the wiring under my hood as described by Pilotgore.

That red/yellow/green light charged indicator is an optional extra cost item I purchased from CTEK, but not essential to the connection. I also bought an extra length connecting cable from them to preclude any problems reaching my sole electrical outlet in the garage regardless of which side of the garage my Shelby is parked.

Hope this answers your concerns. Good luck!

Thanks man. Probably a stupid question but I have very little experience with vehicle electrics, do I need to disconnect the battery before wrenching around those terminals to install the eyelets?

 

[GT4EVR]

Thanks man. Probably a stupid question but I have very little experience with vehicle electrics, do I need to disconnect the battery before wrenching around those terminals to install the eyelets?

Not a stupid question at all; in fact, one of the concerns I had as well when doing mine, since I didn't want to lose and have to reset any settings stored in memory if my battery was disconnected! So, I connected my eyelets one at a time, without disconnecting my battery, with no problem. Engine off, of course.

There's also a good thread on this topic elsewhere, entitled "Simple (but clever) CTEK Battery Panel Install" where myself and others discuss this whole process and various options, in case you haven't seen it.

 

[pilotgore]

Pics showing the extender location.

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