Odyssey PC680 drained by CTEK MSX 5 - Error stage 5

[Jonathan Kay]

"Is this what you mean from Halfords, might get one just incase I have problems tomorrow...

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/jump-starters/halfords-advanced-lithium-jump-starter---up-to-2l-677444.html(link is external)

or maybe this is better...

https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/jump-starters/gb40-1000a-noco-jump-starter-721898.html"

 

That sort of thing. But I don't have one myself. 

 

There are lots of comments and some experiences in the archives:

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:lotus7.club+lithium+jump&client

 

Jonathan

 

 

[Jonathan Kay]

"Are you sure that you didn't disturb the battery connections while adding the CTEK connector?"

Same thought, and that's why I asked for the photos.

But it looks as if a solution is appearing. : - )

Jonathan

[Jonathan Kay]

"CTEK disconnected, all power off: 13.5v

Cranking: 10v

(It took about 6 goes to start because it's very cold right now)

idle: 14.47v

3,000 rpm: 14.8v

(after revving it is sitting happily at 14.8v)"

Thanks.

The charging from the alternator looks fine. That's going to be important in the next stage.

10 V during cranking is lower than desirable. Apart from having enough oomph to turn the engine sufficiently quickly the battery has to power the electronics. On some Sevens problems occur if the voltage drops below 10.5 V even though the cranking seems OK.

So I'd measure that minimum cranking voltage repeatedly. The battery might be on its way out and that measure dropping any further would confirm that.

And if there are any problems with the engine picking up during cranking that could be the cause.

Jonathan

[Jonathan Kay]

"I must admit I thought the Odyssey batteries were gel, had one for 8 years and didn't know they were AGM."

Ahem:

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:lotus7.club+gel+agm+jonathan

: - )

I think that it's the G in AGM that causes the confusion, but it might be the attractive idea of a gel not containing liquid. 

Jonathan

[Phillip Meyer]

Hello,

I did disconnect everything so that I could attach the new connectors for the CTEK but it was all wired back up correctly (hopefully visible in the photo of the battery above).

However, what I meant was, everything has been connected since that point and since I started charging (just to be clear that I didn't isolate the battery while charging).

 

Also, just to be clear:

• The car battery was not 'dead' originally, it had a good charge and the CTEK went through the first 4 steps very quickly.
• Overnight something happened for the CTEK to kick up an error code (possibly as mentioned by someone, the AGM battery caused an error)
• This then drained the battery completely and I'm a bit worried about that as I wouldn't necessarily know about this for weeks/months if it happens again.

Since charging it last night on the CAR-AGM-RECOND setting it seems to have charged and held it's charge (see volt readings in my earlier post). I had a good drive in it to Halfords as well as a petrol station and it started perfectly every time.

I washed it before garaging it for the night and the battery was reading about 12.8v after having the ignition off for an hour or so. I'm not sure if this is good or bad but doesn't seem terrible.

Hopefully the NOCO GB40 Boost Plus lithium jump starter will keep me safe if it doesn't start in the morning, fingers crossed. (If it doesn't start then I guess it's definitely a new battery that is required)

 

[Jonathan Kay]

"I washed it before garaging it for the night and the battery was reading about 12.8v after having the ignition off for an hour or so. I'm not sure if this is good or bad but doesn't seem terrible."

The unloaded voltage is a very late indicator of a failing battery. The minimum during cranking, as above, will give you better early warning.

Jonathan

PS: Is the digital voltmeter (not the multimeter) now showing plausible readings?

[ECR]

I have a noco gb80 (to start a two litre diesel). I didn't believe it would work. 
for its size, it's incredible

 

[Mark w]

Maybe coincidence but i have a 620 and a CTEK 5.0 and the battery doesnt like the CTEK , sometimes it works fine , other times it crashes.

I have reverted to using an old banner charger which works just fine .

[Jonathan Kay]

"Maybe coincidence but i have a 620 and a CTEK 5.0 and the battery doesnt like the CTEK , sometimes it works fine , other times it crashes."

What's the battery, please?

Thanks

Jonathan

[Geoff Brown]

I know this will appear as a red herring but after many years of owning a CTEK 3.8 I have found that Banners do not like this charger if left permanently connected in trickle/top up mode.

The Banner 'crashes' to the point of no resurrection after a few starts come the Spring. This theme seems to be familiar with advanced batteries as described ?

So during winter lay up I briefly connect the CTEK once a month to top up with the negative lead disconnected. Since this procedure Banners last a lot longer.

[Phillip Meyer]

So the battery was absolutely fine yesterday.

I did not plug the CTEK in (just in case) and I didn't need the lithium jump start pack (although I suspect it will come in useful in the near future). The car started flawlessly in the morning and every time on track (Brands Hatch) so I think the battery is okay.

I suspect therefore that the CTEK was to blame for the flat battery which is exactly what it was supposed to avoid. I put it on charge when I got home last night with a normal setting (just CAR-AGM rather than RECOND) so I will check it later and see if it is still running. If it fails again I might send it back and look at other chargers or perhaps just leave it on CAR-AGM-RECOND which seemed to work.

[Jonathan Kay]

Thanks for the update.

The UK agent for CTEK was very helpful with my faulty charger. I thought that they had agreed to test it, which would have been interesting, but instead they replaced it.

Jonathan

PS: We tried to negotiate a Club discount but without success.

[David_Long]

I suspect the CAR-AGM-RECOND is the mode that I attempted to describe in my earlier post. These batteries do behave oddly at times and may fail to charge on intelligent chargers designed for wet lead acid batteries. The good news is that the battery is likely to have a new lease of life for a while. We scrapped several before we discovered how to recover them, and they went on to last for years longer than expected.

[Benton]

Not as though it helps but I've had no problem using a CTEK 5 with either the Odyssey PC680 (over a year) or Banner (nearly 3 years)  In both cases charger is/was connected all the time the car is garaged.

[Phillip Meyer]

Would you happen to have a contact there? Maybe by private message rather than posting their details publicly?

[Jonathan Kay]

Sent by Private Message.

Jonathan

[Phillip Meyer]

Plugged the CTEK back in on a normal CAR-AGM setting and it seems to have worked fine, all lights on and at green stage 7. I will check again tomorrow and the next day and the next...

I wonder if it just didn't work because the battery was already fairly depleted and it needed an initial RECOND mode charge. I guess I will never know. I will however report back if it does it again.