Recommended car battery charger

[zesty_bum]

Good morning all,

Hope you're all doing well.

It looks like my car may be idle for a while and I'd like to have a car battery charger handy in case it dies. Can anyone recommend one they've used?

I've found one on Halfords for a 12v lead acid battery (£37.99), which seems suitable, but what's throwing me off is it says not suitable for "Start Stop" cars; I think my 2019 jazz falls under that category 

Maybe I'm better off paying a little more than double the amount and buying the NOCO Charger Genius 5 (£86)? 

Thanks in advance
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-chargers/halfords-fully-automatic-charger-190907.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&&_$ja=tsid:%7Ccid:17145159354%7Cagid:%7Ctid:%7Ccrid:%7Cnw:x%7Crnd:13785438583570072120%7Cdvc:c%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:9045916&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17149814071&gbraid=0AAAAADrJx6xTuLB1lbISB26wam1Rib-rV&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm6POBhCrARIsAIG58CJbqOXubcQaqBvOI6AxV-Ly1_BbVaO8ezUDHzK6_SKcVVwHfV5i0tEaAvX_EALw_wcB

[TnTkr]

I have good experience ftom CTEK, so I would look at this:

https://www.ctek.com/uk/battery-chargers-12v-24v/ct5-start-stop-uk

[Kremmen]

+1 for CTEK

[bill888]

+1 for CTEK CT5 'Start/Stop'

I bought one earlier this year, replacing 11 year old CTEK MXS 3.8 which I discovered didn't perform well for frequently 'topping up' the charge in the EFB Start/Stop battery in my current car.  We don't use the car much/enough.

Both the MXS 3.8 and CT5 'Start/Stop' are 3.8 Amp chargers.

The issue with my old MXS 3.8 was its maximum charging voltage.  It maxes out at 14.4v in normal 12v mode and 14.7v in snowflake mode, which was fine for former 2007 Jazz, but caused the charging to reach first green LED far sooner than I'd expect when 'topping up' the charge in the EFB battery of my current car.   The CT5 'Start/Stop' maxes out at 15.0v.   

I've seen the voltage at the 12v cigarette lighter socket vary from 12.1v to 15.0v when driving using a plug-in USB adapter with built-in voltmeter, so I know charging at 15.0v is safe for my current car. (Yes, i've checked the accuracy of voltmeter against my multimeters)


Note the CT5 'Start/Stop' was discontinued by CTEK in June 2024.  It's been superceded by CT5 'Time to Go', which is perceived to be less reliable imho.

If buying CTEK chargers from Amazon, apparently CTEK will NOT honour their 5 years warranty. They will push you back to Amazon.  Halfords is an authorised UK reseller.

I did consider buying Noco charger but after reading a few bad reviews for reliability, decided to stay with CTEK.  Better the devil you know.

[TnTkr]

I've had CTEK multi xs 7000 for over 15 years charging various different cars and batteries up to 100 Ah. First one was toasted by a voltage surge during a thunderstorm, but since we installed an overvoltage protection, this current charger has lasted now over 10 years. The model has since been discontinued and replaced be MXS 7.0.

[zesty_bum]

Huge thanks to you all for the recommendation! I will be going for the CTEK CT5 from Halfords for £79.

Out of interest, how often do folks use their battery charger? Do you tend to have a lot of trouble with your battery? I had mine replaced by RAC in roughly Jan 2024, and then in a subsequent cold snap (in the same year) the battery didn't start after just 2 days of not driving it!

I have noticed my start/stop doesn't engage at the moment when I'm idle presumably because it doesn't have enough charge.

[Kremmen]

When you first get the CTEK see how long it takes to go green

Then leave it a couple of weeks and use it again

I was a very low mileage driver and after 2 weeks it took about 5 hours

You'll need to judge for yourself how often you need to use it but once it goes green your battery is fully charged

[zesty_bum]

Thanks a lot for the heads up - I'll definitely do that. Annoying thing now is that Halfords won't be able to deliver until 28 April whereas Amazon can deliver in a few days. But I'd rather buy from an authorised/recommended reseller  :'(

p.s. sorry to hear that you sold your Honda  :'(

[TnTkr]

I have never used charger on my Jazz, because I drive regularly and not very short trips. For cars that are standing for longer times (several months) I try to charge the battery full before disconnecting it, and then from every month to every three months depending on temperature.

[zesty_bum]

I never even thought about disconnecting the battery. Probably a good idea since I won't be driving for several weeks. Do you have any issues when you reconnect it? e.g. the head unit reset.....

[TnTkr]

As I mentioned I have never charged the battery in my Jazz, and although I would not expect any problems I would not bother disconnecting the battery for any shorter times than three or four months in UK weather unless you have some battery drainage issues.

Those other cars I spoke about are older ones, from last millenium. And when the head unit looks like this, there are no issues. 

[ColinB]

I never even thought about disconnecting the battery. Probably a good idea since I won't be driving for several weeks. Do you have any issues when you reconnect it? e.g. the head unit reset.....

Make sure you know how to lock/unlock using the physical key. Also bear in mind the alarm won't work, which might have insurance implications (unless you can garage it securely).

When reconnecting there shouldn't be any significant issues with the head unit. You may get a warning to press and hold the power button to force the unit to retrieve the anti-theft code from the ECU, and you may lose some or all of the presets. Oh, and - whenever I've disconnected the battery - the audio restarts at minimum volume, which results in mild panic "I've broken it!" until you realise you just need to increase the volume.

Another strategy is to get a solar panel battery maintainer connected to the OBD socket (not the 12V aux socket); they're not powerful enough to charge a battery, but will offset the parasitic drain of the systems that stay "live" when the car is switched off. But provided your battery's in good condition beforehand (how old is it?), you'll be good for at least a month, probably more, without any special measures.

[jazzaro]

Good morning all,

Hope you're all doing well.

It looks like my car may be idle for a while and I'd like to have a car battery charger handy in case it dies. Can anyone recommend one they've used?

I've found one on Halfords for a 12v lead acid battery (£37.99), which seems suitable, but what's throwing me off is it says not suitable for "Start Stop" cars; I think my 2019 jazz falls under that category 

Maybe I'm better off paying a little more than double the amount and buying the NOCO Charger Genius 5 (£86)? 

Thanks in advance
https://www.halfords.com/motoring/battery-maintenance/battery-chargers/halfords-fully-automatic-charger-190907.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&&_$ja=tsid:%7Ccid:17145159354%7Cagid:%7Ctid:%7Ccrid:%7Cnw:x%7Crnd:13785438583570072120%7Cdvc:c%7Cadp:%7Cmt:%7Cloc:9045916&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17149814071&gbraid=0AAAAADrJx6xTuLB1lbISB26wam1Rib-rV&gclid=Cj0KCQjwm6POBhCrARIsAIG58CJbqOXubcQaqBvOI6AxV-Ly1_BbVaO8ezUDHzK6_SKcVVwHfV5i0tEaAvX_EALw_wcB

CTEK approved.