Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing CTEK MXS 5

So - during my motorcycle years, I had an Optimate, which I'd connect to each motorcycle for a couple of days every month - particularly during the winter months when usage was significantly reduced.
I was told this wasn't suitable for a car, and I acquired this CTEK unit, which seems to fulfil the same function.
I'm interested your views on whether the same sort of application is advised - my Roadster has a specific 'cigar lighter' socket under the instrument panel which I understand allows direct charging.
I'm having difficulty understanding whether there's any significant difference between the two units and more importantly whether there may be any drawbacks or risks associated with overcharging.

Many thanks!

I would use the cigar lighter as the connection can be poor, I use the CETEK comfort connector to the battery with an inline fuse.

Ben, I use a MXS 5.0 and have found it to be excellent. In particular, I like the battery conditioner mode. After many years of use, I have zero complaints.

One thing to watch is the price does vary drastically - I've bought my two via Amazon and found the prices swings by +/- £20. A site like CamelCamelCamel UK will give a good bench mark as to price trends and will alert you when the price drops to a level you are comfortable with.

In terms of connection, I've tended to use these, direct to the battery, as John mentioned:

https://amzn.eu/d/a63WuVp

The indicator one is pretty basic, with the traffic light system but does help a little if you don't want to plug your car in each time you use it and just want a simple visual reference as to if you need to charge it or not. You can, should you prefer, get one without the indicator:

https://amzn.eu/d/hAMEZrl

I use the CTEK MXS 5.0 with magnetic comfort adapter for more convenience, no problems!

I connected my CTEC directly to the battery terminals and drilled a hole through behind the passenger seat to feed the cable through for ease of connection, leave it connected most of the winter unless I'm using the car once or twice a week.

Same as Keith for the connection. Whilst I have never tried to charge using the 12v lighter socket I have heard that it can cause problems so best go for the dedicated connector, the cables are normally supplied with the Ctek.
Once charged the unit goes into a battery maintenance mode, no idea how it works but it does, so no chance of overcharging or damaging the battery.
Have used the charger on my Morgan’s for the last 20 years and never had any problems.

I've used CTEk's for years, both direct to battery or through the "12v outlet'', ciggy lighter to me, never had a problem with either.

There can often be a large difference between something working and something engineered to be optimal. The cigar lighter socket was designed for just that. It doesn't have any locked connection, relying on a sprung positive contact and little more than friction for the return connection, limiting the current it can handle. It's location under dash further adds to the likelihood of connection breaking. Clearly not best suited for alternate tasks.

The supplier of my highly recommended Maypole 4 amp charger and some others, provide a small loom to allow permanent connection direct to the battery. This minimises volt drop by reducing the electrical path and many unseen connection points in between. It terminates in a polarity sensitive connector that matches that of charger and includes an insulating cover.

I used the Ctek on my 2011 Plus 4, always through the lighter socket. The Ctek seems very useful for maintaining battery health:

https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-cha...yAB_Sa6oPgWPyNjyX22okMgOHX3Smgruv_v2UhRZ

Marvellous - thank you all very much; that's really helpful.
I'll continue with the cigar lighter plug-in and also continue with the system I use on the motorbikes of charging up for several days every month during the winter.
Particularly useful to note no chance of overcharging, that's what I liked about the Optimate.

Many thanks All.