I have the LED lights on my CTEK 12V outlet adapter. As soon as I plug it in, b4 I connect it to the CTEK battery maintainer, the lights illuminate.

Doesn’t matter what small current drain since I plug it into battery maintainer w/in a minute & then after battery is fully charged & I disconnect everything, it is plugged in by itself again for < 1 minute.

The eyelet accessory is different bc it will be used as a permanent connection to the battery. I think it will illuminate those LED lights as soon as it is connected. 99+% of the time there will not be a battery maintainer connected. So, there will be a current drain.

I have a question pending with CTEK asking if the lights turn themselves off after a short time (2 hrs?)

The reason I’m considering this (Eyelet M8 - Part no. 56-382)
instead of the 3 eyelet accessories that do NOT have the indicator lights
(M6 56-260, M8 56-261 & M10 56-329) is that all 3 w/o lights are ~ 16” long but, the 56-382 with lights is almost 20” long.

With 19.6” length, I can hook it up to my 911 battery with the cable end routed through the ‘hole’ by the passenger side frunk strut.
My plan is to connect the + eyelet to the vertical 6M bolt just to the left (when standing @ front bumper) of the + battery terminal. The angled 6M bolt that secured the battery cable itself has the end modified so a nut cannot be added & the existing nut will not come all the way off.
The - eyelet will be placed on one of the 3, 8M, vertical, strut tower bolts. Left of the battery, next to passenger side fender.

So, I can then charge my battery with my CTEK MUS 4.3 battery maintainer, w/o the need to remove/replace the front engine cover.
If I use a 16” long eyelet, (M8 56-261 ) I am 3” short & will need to use the 8 FOOT long extension cable.

So, does anyone here have/use this? Do the lights stay on 24/7?

 

Yes, the light stays on / flashes all the time. You can look at it anytime and know your battery status.

 

That's my setup.
I can't imagine this LED draining more than the many other electronics in the car.

 

hook up a dvom inline and measure the draw, extrapolate, and you have your answer.

maybe that's why all these people insist you should plug your car in if you leave it parked for longer than a few days...

 

All CTEK "comfort connect indicators" draw 1,5mA, so the monthly draw is 1.1Ah.
https://smartercharger.com/collectio...dicator-eyelet

PERFECT FOR SEASONAL VEHICLES SUCH AS LAWN MOWERS OR JET SKIS AND AUTOMOTIVE

• Eyelet M6 -Practical for all powersports battery applications. Part no. 56-629
• Eyelet M8 -Practical for all automotive battery applications. Part no. 56-382

FEATURES

• An INDICATOR is the easiest way to monitor the charge in your battery. An accurate voltage reading for your battery is displayed two hours after you’ve used your vehicle.
• GREEN means the battery voltage is more than 12.65 V. No need for charging.
• YELLOW means the battery voltage is between 12.4 and 12.65 V. It’s time to consider charging the battery.
• RED means the battery voltage is below 12.4 V. It’s definitely time to charge the battery.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

• Current drain: 1.5mA
• Current drain/month: 1.1Ah

Connectors with no indicator (comfort connect) draw no current:
https://smartercharger.com/collectio...t-connect-m8-1

 

Just a couple observations:

Be sure that the - side connection to the strut towers reaches chassis ground. You can check this with an ohm-meter between your selected strut tower nut and the "actual" chassis ground lug provided by Porsche for jump starting - the resistance should be zero or essentially zero. If you see an appreciable impedance, the strut tower is not a good choice for ground. I don't know why the strut tower bolt/nut would not be a good ground, as I've not seen too many people use that as a ground. It might work, it might not.

You asked if this device would drain the battery, yes, it will, eventually. The key is "eventually". I ran a quick calculation: if the battery voltage went from green (12.65V) to red (12.4V) for a typical 80 Ah Porsche OEM Banner battery. Assuming this change in voltage equates to an equivalent consumption in battery Ah capacity, then 12.65 --> 12.4 works out to be a discharge of -1.58 Ah (80 Ah to 78.42 Ah). With the rated current of the CTEK, it would take a drain of 0.0015 A (1.5 mA) about 1,054 hours (1.58Ah/0.0015A) or about 44 days for this to happen. So using this device, it appears that it will drain your battery from "green" to "red" in about a month and a half. (Hopefully somebody can check numbers).

I am with you in wondering if the LED lights on this CTEK monitor turn off after a time - it would make sense and would be highly preferable to reduce battery drain. I don't believe, for me personally, I would like to use this device on a 24/7 basis. I have a pigtail for my NOCO Genius 1A charger connected direct to the battery via the M6 nuts on the battery posts. This is fed out near the passenger wiper arm. I just plug in my unit when I put the car away. Since I'm not driving regularly it stays on the charger most days.

 

I verified that each of the 3 strut tower bolts/nuts are a ground. 0.00 Ohms. Same as testing between the - battery post & the official jump start - terminal way over on the driver side.
Thanks for the suggestion Rich_Jenkins.

@ Joan Alcover, thanks for the specs showing the Current drain: 1.5mA, Current drain/month: 1.1Ah. It seems very small as I expected but I’d still rather not add any additional current drain on the Porsche battery. The indicator lights are virtually useless for me. Hopefully I’ll hear from CTEK that it does shut off after a time.

 

No, the lights never turn off.
Like you, I connect the CTEK charger as soon as I have not been driving the 992 for a week or two.
I have never (yet) seen the light turn yellow of red!

 

I received a reply from CTEK & the lights do NOT time out. They are on 24/7.
“There is a current drain on the battery with this accessory but it is very small, about 1.1Ah per month.”

So I think this would work using the unneeded LED indicator lights w/o issue, unless I was to leave my car sitting for months at a time, w/o hooking up the CTEK (I do not & will not)


I think I am going to buy the non LED 8M eyelet accessory (~ 16”) & add several inches of stranded wire. (I think it s/b 18 AWG.)

I will connect using “Posi-Lock connector” (Posi-Lock, Red, 18-24 Gauge connectors.)
I can buy from Amazon or Posi Products direct.
CTEK manual states 18AWG is minimum size.

I will see what types of stranded 18 AWG wires Home Depot will sell by the foot. I may have to purchase 18 AWG lamp cord or speaker wire & pull apart the 2 strands myself.

While the cable will not be in an area subject to direct rain or car washing water, I will look into waterproofing the connections.

Thanks for the replies!

 

One alternative is to buy the Indicator Clamp and to replace the clamps with eyelets (solder them).
The length of the cable is 150 cm (60 inches), so no need to add inches of cable.

INDICATOR– ClampIndicator
Clamp uses a simple ‘traffic light’ system to show the state of charge of your battery.
Easy to move between vehicles, – ideal for workshops and showrooms.
Should charging be required the cap can be removed from the unit and a compatible CTEK charger plugged in to restore the battery to fully charged status.
Cable length 1.5m.
Current drain: 1,5mA
Current drain/month: 1,1Ah
Part no. 56-384
https://www.ctek.com/storage/3D772B2...-low-UK-EN.pdf

 

4-14-21
Thanks for the suggestion. In the photo the INDICATOR – Clamp (56-384) looks very short but, the description does state 1.5m.
This won’t work for me.


1) I can’t solder (I’ve tried)
2) 5 feet is way too long & I’d need to coil & twist tie & stow much excess cable. Same as if I simply bought the 16” eyelet & added the 8 foot long extension.

Too bad CTEK does not make a shorter extension cable.
I suppose most buyers don’t care.

If I could solder, I suppose I could buy the Indicator clamp, cut off the clamps & also cut a lot of wire length & then solder the eyelets on.

 

I see CTEK (56-384) Comfort Indicator Clamps on Amazon & it has that @!!*! LED end which is what I am trying to avoid.

Amazon

Amazon

This defeats my entire purpose since If I wanted those LED lights to slowly drain current, I’d simply use the Eyelet M8 - Part no. 56-382 …which is long enough for my application.

Now I’m looking into heat shrink tubing for my splices/connections instead of the bulkier/easier to use Posi-Lock connectors. Benefits; slimmer & waterproof!

I do not have a heat gun but think I can use a hair dryer (1875 W) & it will just take longer to shrink it. (I just learned about heat shrink tubing.)

 

1) You can crimp the eyelet instead of soldering;
2) You can indeed cut off some of the excess length of the cable.
I have this accessory; the length of the cable is (repeat is) 150 cm.

 

Thanks Joan but, as I said, that LED light up end is what I am trying to avoid. Also 150 cm = 59+ inches (Almost 5 full feet. The regular extension is only 3 more feet long.) Yes, as long as I’m cutting off the clamps I can easily shorten the wire. If it did not have that LED light end, I’d use this.

My current plan is to learn to solder (Found some good how to videos)
Buy the short M8 eyelet 56-261. I need an M6 size for the + connection but need an M8 size for my - connection to the strut tower bolt. The CTEK Eyelet connectors (except the one with the lights) no longer have an inline fuse! (The 6M one that came with my MUS 4.3 did have this fuse but I already used it on my Macan)

Buy these 16 AWG wires with fuse holders inline. They are ~12” long.

Buy heat shrink tubing.

I will need to make 4 connections with solder & heat shrink tubing.
So, I’ll use one for the + side to add ~ 12”& for the - side, I’ll cut off the fuse holder & just use the wire to add length.

 

I think you have a good plan. Fusing the + line is a great idea. Soldering is not extremely difficult; make sure the connections are secure, clean and bright, and use enough heat. I sometimes brace the work on a wooden backer, and feed the solder into the connection, so the wires melt the tin, not the gun. This way the wires themselves can actually "wick" the solder in. A wet sponge nearby helps to clean and quickly wipe the gun tip to remove any oxidation, for maximum heat transfer. Heat shrink tubing is great stuff, too. Good luck! (Sorry, can't help myself; I'm a retired EE out of the Aerospace biz. ).