Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Morgan Three Wheeler & Super 3 Trickle charger setup for Super 3

Hi all. I’m setting my Super 3 up for winter storage in the northern USA. The handbook helpfully suggests using a battery conditioner as you’d expect. I have a couple of trickle chargers so I’d prefer not to purchase a new Morgan-specific one.

Quick question - does anybody know whether you can use the usb ports for trickle charging? I usually set my cars up with the 12v “cigarette lighter” port which is easy to connect and disconnect for use on the occasional nice winter day rather than removing the bonnet and reconfiguring the battery. But the Super 3 has made such a jump into the future that it seems to have traded its circular 12v outlet for a couple of usb ports. The price of progress, I guess.

Any suggestions for a quick and easy to set up and remove trickle charger for the Super 3, or should I just install a battery dongle under the bonnet?

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, I know nothing of the Super 3. The best type of charger would seem to be a FLOAT charger the charge rate floating relative to the needs of the battery.

The favoured float type charger seems to be of the CTEK type, though they come in a variety of types and sizes.. Modern vehicles tend to have sealed ADVANCED GLASS MATT batteries (AGM) which have different charging needs from the old style lead acid types, thus CTEK make chargers suited to both old style and modern batteries

As best I understand it a trickle charger`s output, although generally small, tends to be at a fixed rate and thus it may be still possible for it to overcharge a battery in time..?

Sorry, I've never heard of a USB charge output also being used for input. Hence all the mobile booster batteries on the market (AFAIK) have separate charge input and output sockets. Plus USB-A is 5v (USB-C can vary in output).

I suspect for a trickle charger you will need a separate lead dangling somewhere accessible like under the seat (probably requires some drilling) or somewhere accessible from the bonnet (where the battery is if I recall).

Thanks @Luddite. I have the CTEK-type chargers, mostly looking for input connection options. Appreciate the suggestions.

@PaulV - that’s pretty much where I’d ended up before posting but was hoping I was just missing something and somebody had an alternative recommendation. Appreciate the guidance.

A USB port "outputs" just 5 volts. Don't even dream of using as a charge point. Put your battery conditioner directly to battery terminals which I believe are easily accessed on Super 3.

Some chargers offer an extra set of leads with non reversible plug which can optionally connect to charger output lead. The other end of such lead has eyelets which allow permanent connection to battery terminals to allow easier hookup.

On my old Jaguar I simply connected a female cigar lighter socket directly to the battery and located it in an easily accessible position. Worked a treat!

On my M3W I connected the CTEK fused wire to the battery feeding it through the gap to the side of the dash from the cockpit no drilling required, the connector hangs down just over an inch and is not that visible providing an easy connection to the charger.

I've wired in my CTEK and it works fine. There is a little access place below that steering wheel where I can access it

Being lazy which CTEK connector did you use? Looks like they have a couple of different sizes available M6, M8 or the half moons?

Is it easy to feed through the fire wall? Are you able to share a couple of pictures please

Have you thought about just swapping out for lifepo4 battery? They don't discharge as fast and some even have auto cut offs if they sense a drain. Been a trend in motorcycles for a bit now. Charging in sub 0 temps is an issue though, so might be moot.