That price seems about right. I paid $60 for my battery tender. I initially bought it with my bike in mind but I actually ride more than I drive . It's heavy duty enough that it works for both, so I'm mainly using it for my cars at the moment.

 

That Porsche model also comes with a very long power cord, which is nice if you need that much. Most of mine has never been unrolled because there is so much extra. It's simple and well-thought-out.

 

Just picked this up today for winter... same model as the one from Porsche, just without Porsche written on it.


Make sure you get the cigarette plug adapter as well for 10 bucks:

 

I think that'll do ya just fine.

 

I have a BMW tender that I used for winter storage. This one connects through the cigarette lighter also.

I guessing this would be safe for the 996?

http://www.eeuroparts.com/Parts/3303...FU7MtAodxn0Aew

Thanks,

 

Same insides...different badging.

 

Be careful to check your battery fluid level periodically.
I left my CTEK on for several months and the battery was nearly bone dry.
Tried to contact CTEK about this but customer service there is nearly nil.
Or is this typical of all trickle chargers?

 

That's strange?! The charger should give an error if something is wrong with the battery. Mine has two lights; one showing that is charging and one showing that is it in "standby mode". It should be in the latter most of the time. If there is some sort of problem with the battery, one of the lights will flash red. Have a look at the manual for your charger.

Also, make sure to use a battery tender, not a trickle charger! The latter keeps a constant charge, which is not good. A battery tender monitors the voltage and only charges when necessary.

 

They ctek 3300 for 60,bucks is the same as the Porsche branded one and it trickles and tends insofar as it does cycle on/off if left connected whether from the CIG socket or by the included alligator clips.

 

Nope, no error.
Green light all the way.
Tried to start the car and only a click.
Had to refill all cells with H2O
Battery is perfectly fine now.

 

It wont be for long. I would replace before you get stuck.


Once a battery runs dry, or bone dry as you stated, it will not be a good reliable source of power.

 

the thread reminded me to plug in the ol ctek last night and if i'm reading this right? the green light shouldn't stay lit for long. if the unit is working properly the green light will alternate back to yellow periodically indicating the charging function is intermittent on a ( nearly ) fully charged battery. meaning even charged it should revert back to yellow charging mode. then cycle on/off.

 

I connected mine to the battery and the connector sits right by the windshield under the hood. I don't dig the cig lighter set up at all.

 

Actually, under normal conditions you're probably right.
But remember that the battery was still being "charged" so the battery didn't really discharge till dead.
So I refilled all the cells, charged it back up, and load tested it.
Everything checked out so I'm just crossing my fingers it'll last for a while.
If not, that's what AAA is for! LOL!

 

I've been using mine for two years and other then going red and signifying bad battery its been alternating back to charging on occasion but mostly green.