CTEK Charger Buzzing Noise

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#232063 27-Mar-2018 15:12

My CTEK Charger has this light buzzing noise even if battery is not connected. I haven't used it much at all since I bought it which was some time ago but I believe the noise has always been there. Seems to go up a little when battery connected and going through different modes it slightly changes. Can anyone who has CTEK charger please confirm if there charger makes any noise at all with battery not connected or connected. My model is MXS 5.0

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#1984472 27-Mar-2018 19:46

I have two - the 5.0 and a larger one. They are virtually silent (unless one clamps it to their ear) so I get the feeling something isn't quite right in yours. In saying that, does it work as it should?

quebec

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#1984481 27-Mar-2018 20:25

Ge0rge:
I have two - the 5.0 and a larger one. They are virtually silent (unless one clamps it to their ear) so I get the feeling something isn't quite right in yours. In saying that, does it work as it should?

Well I’m not sure as I only tried it with two batteries, it completes the cycle but batteries didn’t work. Batteries could be faulty as quite old, one of them has been in an alarm box. Don’t have receipt, wonder if it’s worth pursuing under warranty.
It’s not loud but you can easily tell without getting it anywhere near your ears.

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#1984489 27-Mar-2018 20:37

Hmm interesting. Mine won't complete the cycle if the battery is faulty - it will illuminate the red fault light and discontinue the charging cycle. I've seen it twice now, and neither of the two I have would charge the poked batteries.

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#1984491 27-Mar-2018 20:42

Really I have a small 12V battery in my alarm which his only 2 years old but won’t work. Charged with this charger completes the cycle then plug battery back in, turn off power alarm stays in it for like 5 seconds.Anther 12 V battery I tried today, went to no.4 step rather quickly but battery is dead. Any way to test the charger if it’s doing anything? Emailed ctek about a clamp issue some time back and they said noise is normal!!

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#1984494 27-Mar-2018 20:45

You could try a multi-meter during the charge cycle - measure the battery voltage before putting the charger on, then measure while it is on there - that'll tell you pretty quickly if it is doing anything. You could also measure the amount of current being drawn by the battery when it is being charged - if it's dead flat you should see at least a few amps being pulled as the charger moves through it's cycle.

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#1984498 27-Mar-2018 20:49

How do you measure the amount of current being drawn by battery with multimeter?

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#1984504 27-Mar-2018 20:56

put the multimeter in series with the battery and charger when its being charged. it red charger lead, multi meter read lead, multi meter, multi meter, red battery terminal, then black battery terminal to black charger lead.

if its being use do the same as above but make sure what ever using the battery isnt using more than the rated amount on the fuse of the multi meter, normally 300ma and 10a.

i had one battery charge fully on the charger but when loaded ie starting the car it would show 10.5v, ie a dropped cell, but when charged it was fine at 12.5v

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#1984505 27-Mar-2018 21:01

You need a multi meter that has the ability to do this by either

A) placing the multi meter in "A" mode and placing it in series with the charging circuit, or

B) using a 'clampmeter' style multimeter or attachment

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#1984657 28-Mar-2018 08:38

Ge0rge:

You could try a multi-meter during the charge cycle - measure the battery voltage before putting the charger on, then measure while it is on there - that'll tell you pretty quickly if it is doing anything. You could also measure the amount of current being drawn by the battery when it is being charged - if it's dead flat you should see at least a few amps being pulled as the charger moves through it's cycle.

Battery voltage without charger connected around 12.5 V and with charger connected little over 14V. Just noticed that when I plug the charger to mains, I get the buzzing sound but when I connect the battery it goes away to a point that I have to put it against my ear to hear the faint buzz. Does yours make any sound when connected to mains with no battery connected to it?

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#1984979 28-Mar-2018 15:15

what is the battery voltage when connected to a load?

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#1985192 28-Mar-2018 22:39

I'll check tomorrow.

I doubt I would have ever noticed that - best practice is to always connect the charger to the battery before connecting to mains, and then disconnect mains before disconnecting battery.