[jrmG05]

thanks for your posting regarding the CTEK charger- current my X5 has been sitting for about week and half - I put my CTEK MUS 4.3 on it which I had used on my 2016 BMW 435ix - the charger went to status 3 and didn't move for 10 hrs - I've disconnected for now - I place a call to CTEK tech support for their advise [let see if the call back] I find it both interesting and strange that you would need to get the CTEK to work only after the battery has first been fully charged - basically hooking up the CTEK after driving and parking it - if what you stated is accurate - I never had to do this for either my 2016 435 or my 2017 X5 - but thanks for the heads up

[jad03060]

This may be more than you need, but I have had one for quite a while now. https://www.boschautoparts.com/en/au...martcharge-pro They have other models that are less capable. It also has a function where if you needed to remove the battery, it would keep clean power applied so all of the memory functions don't get lost. It kept a battery in my GT going for about 7-years without issues.

[Fifthtoe]

Originally Posted by jrmG05

thanks for your posting regarding the CTEK charger- current my X5 has been sitting for about week and half - I put my CTEK MUS 4.3 on it which I had used on my 2016 BMW 435ix - the charger went to status 3 and didn't move for 10 hrs - I've disconnected for now - I place a call to CTEK tech support for their advise [let see if the call back] I find it both interesting and strange that you would need to get the CTEK to work only after the battery has first been fully charged - basically hooking up the CTEK after driving and parking it - if what you stated is accurate - I never had to do this for either my 2016 435 or my 2017 X5 - but thanks for the heads up

I don't have the ctek but have the rebadged bmw ctek charger. My m50i sat around for about two weeks before I hooked up the charger. Took about a day and a half to move on from 3. What you're experiencing, may be normal.

[MA2006x5]

Thanks.

[ChiefOne]

Hello, folks! I have an MY2021 X5 XDrive 40i, took delivery about two and a half weeks back with just four miles on it. Have about 600 miles on it now.
Reading through the forums I figured I need to top off the battery once in a while, and I bought a BMW charger, which I think is a rebranded CTEK charger.

I plugged in the charger, connected the terminals under the hood. It switched from stage 1 to stage 3 in about 30 minutes, but it has been sitting on stage three for roughly 16 hours now. Should it take this long? Hope I did not do anything wrong. The car is in the garage, and the temperature is in 60s. After connecting the terminals, I gently closed the hood (not all the way), and locked the car using key fob. Hope the locking is not disrupting anything.

[IftiBashir]

Reviving this old thread rather then start a new, especially considering all the useful information in it!

How are you guys running the charge lead out from the car? Do you lock the car but leave the hood slightly open so as to not damage the cables etc? Or do you close the hood completely?

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by IftiBashir

Reviving this old thread rather then start a new, especially considering all the useful information in it!

How are you guys running the charge lead out from the car? Do you lock the car but leave the hood slightly open so as to not damage the cables etc? Or do you close the hood completely?

The hood must remain open/unlocked when you are charging are you can damage/drain the 48v battery.

[IftiBashir]

Originally Posted by TurtleBoy

The hood must remain open/unlocked when you are charging are you can damage/drain the 48v battery.

Ah, so I can lock the vehicle, but just leave the hood down loose in place, without closing it completely?

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by IftiBashir

Ah, so I can lock the vehicle, but just leave the hood down loose in place, without closing it completely?

Yes, that should work.

[Marty in NY]

Originally Posted by IftiBashir

Reviving this old thread rather then start a new, especially considering all the useful information in it!

How are you guys running the charge lead out from the car? Do you lock the car but leave the hood slightly open so as to not damage the cables etc? Or do you close the hood completely?

Mine is in the garage while charging so I open the hood, connect the two alligator clips to the charge points and drape the cable over the grill and down to where the charger is near the floor in front of the car. I place a roll of shop towels, vertically, between the hood and the car and lower the hood till it meets the shop towel roll and walk away. Works great and I don't have to worry about the hood somehow closing during charging. When done, I remove everything, I do not leave the small charging end with the alligator clips attached to the car.

[IftiBashir]

Originally Posted by Marty in NY

Mine is in the garage while charging so I open the hood, connect the two alligator clips to the charge points and drape the cable over the grill and down to where the charger is near the floor in front of the car. I place a roll of shop towels, vertically, between the hood and the car and lower the hood till it meets the shop towel roll and walk away. Works great and I don't have to worry about the hood somehow closing during charging. When done, I remove everything, I do not leave the small charging end with the alligator clips attached to the car.

Good idea - I'll copy!

[uncle_sam]

Originally Posted by ChiefOne

Hello, folks! I have an MY2021 X5 XDrive 40i, took delivery about two and a half weeks back with just four miles on it. Have about 600 miles on it now.
Reading through the forums I figured I need to top off the battery once in a while, and I bought a BMW charger, which I think is a rebranded CTEK charger.

I plugged in the charger, connected the terminals under the hood. It switched from stage 1 to stage 3 in about 30 minutes, but it has been sitting on stage three for roughly 16 hours now. Should it take this long? Hope I did not do anything wrong. The car is in the garage, and the temperature is in 60s. After connecting the terminals, I gently closed the hood (not all the way), and locked the car using key fob. Hope the locking is not disrupting anything.

My G05 is a 2021 xDrive30d with 8500+ kms. I have the CTEK MXS 5.0 and connected the alligator clips on the terminals under hood then plugged into the garage outlet. I placed towels to cover each latch slots then lowered the hood with the hood latches just touching the towels. Left the doors closed but unlocked. In 15 minutes, CTEK reach Stage 3 and after 2hrs it shows Stage 7. Overnight, light still showing Stage 7 on battery tender.

It appears the hood should not be closed shut (lowered but latches off) in order for battery tender to work.

[Gilles79]

I was one of those folks whose CTEK MXS 5.0 would get stuck at stage 3 on my 2022 40i so I bought a NOCO Genius 10 and it charged the battery without a problem. I don't know if it was the state of the battery that was the issue or something else. The CTEK worked fine on my 2018 M240i.

[rmorin1249]

Originally Posted by uncle_sam

My G05 is a 2021 xDrive30d with 8500+ kms. I have the CTEK MXS 5.0 and connected the alligator clips on the terminals under hood then plugged into the garage outlet. I placed towels to cover each latch slots then lowered the hood with the hood latches just touching the towels. Left the doors closed but unlocked. In 15 minutes, CTEK reach Stage 3 and after 2hrs it shows Stage 7. Overnight, light still showing Stage 7 on battery tender.

It appears the hood should not be closed shut (lowered but latches off) in order for battery tender to work.

I have used the same CTEK on my 2019 with the hood closed and all doors locked. It cycles through to Stage 7 with no issues.

[jad03060]

The mild hybrids may be part of the difference in performance. Note, if you want to actually top off the 48vdc battery, you need two things:
- the hood open
- a charger that can supply >20A..i.e., not a battery tender/maintainer

[IftiBashir]

Silly question, but I assume i have the correct connection points highlighted below?

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by IftiBashir

Silly question, but I assume i have the correct connection points highlighted below?

You got them.

[IftiBashir]

Guess my battery wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Took my car for a service 2 weeks ago.
Asked them to look at why my iDrive update had copied across but just hadn’t started installing in the car for the past few months!
Was told as my car isn’t used much (weekend car mainly) that it was most likely because the battery was sitting in a low state.
Hence purchased the charger.

Put it on charge at 11:15am today.
Within 10 mins or so, it was on Stage 3 (charge to 80%).
Around 1:30pm (so 2 hours or so later) it’s already on Stage 4 (slower charge to 100%).

At this rate it should be done and trickle charging in another few hours, and leaves me ready for the winter months.

Plan to do this every quarter.

[RNorb]

Originally Posted by IftiBashir

Guess my battery wasn’t as bad as I thought.

Took my car for a service 2 weeks ago.
Asked them to look at why my iDrive update had copied across but just hadn’t started installing in the car for the past few months!
Was told as my car isn’t used much (weekend car mainly) that it was most likely because the battery was sitting in a low state.
Hence purchased the charger.

Put it on charge at 11:15am today.
Within 10 mins or so, it was on Stage 3 (charge to 80%).
Around 1:30pm (so 2 hours or so later) it’s already on Stage 4 (slower charge to 100%).

At this rate it should be done and trickle charging in another few hours, and leaves me ready for the winter months.

Plan to do this every quarter.

I purchased a new charger...it charged up to level 7 no problem. My iDrive still won't update.

[IftiBashir]

Originally Posted by RNorb

I purchased a new charger...it charged up to level 7 no problem. My iDrive still won't update.

Yeh my friend tells me I was fed rubbish and it is not related. My auto stop/start has always worked OK, and I understand that depends upon battery capacity also.

[jad03060]

The battery situation gets a bit messier with the mild hybrids...all of the batteries need to be above a certain level. Neither my phone or watch will update unless their batteries are charged above a certain level, and that's true with your BMW as well. A battery maintainer will NOT recharge the 48vdc battery...it takes one capable of at least 20A before that charging will kick in, and the logic requires the hood to be open to happen for the 48vdc battery to charge.