Phil G.

I purchased a new CTEK MUS 4.3 charger/tender to keep my battery refreshed. When I purchased the car last winter, I had it on an old Porsche Tequipment Charge-O-Mat charger that worked fine up until a few weeks ago - assumed it was a faulty cigarette plug adapter, so bought a new unit. I'm having the same issue with the new unit. The charger charges for around 15', then just flashes. I'm thinking the cig lighter or 12V input dies after that. Tried it with doors locked or unlocked. I do have the battery connectors which should work fine, but it's just so much simpler to use the cigarette adapter. Can the power supply be reprogrammed by my dealer such that it not die after a short period? Strange, because I was able to charge up the car fully during the winter using the inside adapter. Any thoughts?

il pirata

My 2016 Spyder charges (CTEK 7002) fine though the cigarette lighter all winter long so I would doubt yours somehow shuts off.

Is it the error light that flashes?

I would also check the water level in the battery...you never know.

Pep!RRRR

I have a CTEK charger that exhibits the same symptoms. It worked fine for the past two winters, but this year began to flash after a few minutes. I'll see if I can check the charger output with a voltmeter (thanks for the reminder!), but I'm guessing that it has failed. Maybe you can take yours back for an exchange?

Worth noting is that the charger does the same thing on both my Cayman and the Spyder, so it seems unlikely that the 12v outlet would have gone out on both cars at the same time.

Phil G.

Interesting. The charger I'm using is brand new and doing exactly what the 8 year old Charge-O-Mat started doing. Hopefully just a defective charger since the old one worked fine all winter. I'm going to take the car in to have the battery checked for a bad cell. Hard to believe it would sulphate after 4 months!

Pep!RRRR

I checked the CTEK charger output at the 12v plug and it seems completely dead, although the power light on the box is on. There is a small 8A fuse inside the plug, which in my case does not look obviously burned out. I'll see if I can find a replacement fuse and report back.

Phil G.

Let me know. I'm taking my car in Friday to have the battery fully evaluated for a dead cell or sulphation. The dealer is going to test my new charger on a new Boxster to see if it's a defective unit. I do get the power light from either the cigarette lighter or 12V plug, but within 10 mins or so, the error light on the charger flashes, so those inputs are not dead.

Pep!RRRR

Did a continuity check on the fuse and it appears to be okay. Be curious to hear what your dealer finds out.

Naturally the CTEK has a two year warranty, which is almost exactly how long mine lasted

hellboy_mcqueen

https://rennlist.com/forums/gt4/9272...a-lighter.html

Phil G.

Took the car in today. They did a recode so the inputs should act like the live ones on the new Macan. I'm going to try it tomorrow and see. They claim my charger was still going strong at 15 minutes. Will try lighter, 12V in console and footwell input if needed. If needed will also start the process with ignition in the on position, then remove it. Will post tomorrow on whether anything changed. Winter option is to charge directly off battery. Getting the 340 tomorrow so may not post til Sunday.

Phil G.

No dice. The charger works for 20 minutes, sequences to 4 lights, then gives me an error message. The inputs die after that. I've had it with this - when I need to charge the car in the winter, will simply charge off the battery. I can't put any more energy into this. Not worth it.

Phil

Pep!RRRR

Thanks for the update. I wonder if the charger will even work with a direct battery connection? I'll see if mine will work with a battery pigtail.

Phil G.

I'm going to do the same and try it with a direct battery connection, either the clips or the pigtails -- if that doesn't work, it's a defective charger.

Blue Flame

I had the same problem with my 2016 Spyder and with my friend's 2016 GT3 RS - wie tried different CTEKs. Last week wie connected the charger direct to the battery, now it works.

The black plastic cover of the battery has some holes, the cable fits perfect through...but the trunk-hood has to stay open during charging.

Blueflame

Phil G.

Blue Flame, hooked the MUS 4.3 directly to the battery - works perfectly, so at least I have piece of mind that the battery will charge and be protected during the winter months. I'll use the openings in the cover to run the connectors - will likely use the pigtails as well. But, at lease I know the charger works. Also wondered why the charger stopped lighting at "7" and didn't light all the way to "8". Turns out when I called CTEK they told me that can take up to 10 days to get to "8" and begin the "trickle charge."

Thanks for the advice!

stevencr

My CTEK 7002 is acting the same. Frequently I find the charging lights disabled but fortunately mine has a 5 year warranty.