by GraemeW » Fri Oct 11, 2019 11:25 am
I'm raising this here, because Ive only just found it out. In case you didn't know. It may be in some instructions somewhere, but I haven't seen them.
When I got my Atom 3.5, I also got the standard issue Ctek charger, which as you know has various charging modes. I read the Ctek instructions and have used the "car" mode to keep the Atom on trickle charge. All was well, except when I have left the car for longer periods, say 3 or 4 more weeks, usually over winter, it would sometimes struggle to start, and sometimes had to revert to push starting it once or twice. I was puzzled because it had been on trickle charge, but didn't think too much about it, as it wasn't frequent, and just put it down cold weather etc.
Yesterday, after a three weeks, of not driving, i thought I would take advantage of a gap in the non stop rain. Car wouldn't start. Voltage ok, fuel pump ok, engine wouldn't turn. It had been on trickle charge since I last used it. I phoned Steve at the factory, and after various diagnostics, we assumed it was probably a faulty battery. One last question though, he said, have you got it on the Ctek AGM Car mode? No. I didn't know it was an AGM battery. He said it requires a different charge pattern. I switched the charge to CAR + AGM and in 30 minutes car fired up without hesitation, and did again this morning after not being on charge over night
I will monitor it over next few weeks as I may have damaged the battery over the last 3 years of the incorrect trickle charge pattern.
So in summary from all that waffle is make sure your Ctek is set to CAR and AGM mode if charging the Odyssey battery
I'm raising this here, because Ive only just found it out. In case you didn't know. It may be in some instructions somewhere, but I haven't seen them.
When I got my Atom 3.5, I also got the standard issue Ctek charger, which as you know has various charging modes. I read the Ctek instructions and have used the "car" mode to keep the Atom on trickle charge. All was well, except when I have left the car for longer periods, say 3 or 4 more weeks, usually over winter, it would sometimes struggle to start, and sometimes had to revert to push starting it once or twice. I was puzzled because it had been on trickle charge, but didn't think too much about it, as it wasn't frequent, and just put it down cold weather etc.
Yesterday, after a three weeks, of not driving, i thought I would take advantage of a gap in the non stop rain. Car wouldn't start. Voltage ok, fuel pump ok, engine wouldn't turn. It had been on trickle charge since I last used it. I phoned Steve at the factory, and after various diagnostics, we assumed it was probably a faulty battery. One last question though, he said, have you got it on the Ctek AGM Car mode? No. I didn't know it was an AGM battery. He said it requires a different charge pattern. I switched the charge to CAR + AGM and in 30 minutes car fired up without hesitation, and did again this morning after not being on charge over night
I will monitor it over next few weeks as I may have damaged the battery over the last 3 years of the incorrect trickle charge pattern.
So in summary from all that waffle is make sure your Ctek is set to CAR and AGM mode if charging the Odyssey battery