Have a 2007 DB9. Since winter and cold weather is coming, thought it would be time to start the battery conditioner on the car. I have the official battery conditioner. I plugged the cigarette lighter plub into the socket in the back of the car (right next the the battery disconnect switch, and then plugged the 110V plug into the nearby outlet. I was hoping to see some lights on the conditioner. However no lights. I have checked the outlet, and it does work. I will check the outlet tomorrow, but I know it worked previously. This should be straightforward for someone of even my meager skills. Any ideas on why, other than a faulty charger?

 

Here is picture of my conditioner.

 

i just noticed mine stopped working a few days ag as well

 

Have you had a power surge lately at your house? There is a 2 amp fuse in the plug behind the red tip. If not connected properly or with a 110V power issue it can blow. Make sure it's connected with the right polarity to your 110V wall plate. Some connect it to an extension cord and reverse the polarity. Good luck!

 

Sometimes I really have to push mine firmly in the socket for it to come on.

 

If the product is defective, I own three Battery Minder model 2012 units for several years now without any failures. I have confidence in that product.

 

theyre made by CTEK and can be found all over the place. just wanted to keep the original AM Branded unit

 

That is interesting.... I need to look and see if it is the fuse. The 110V plug has the proper polarity in the outlet - I use a outlet with a fuse in it (like you use in a bathroom). Now to find if I can access the fuse in the cigar plug behind the red tip. Any idea how to access the fuse and if there is a replacement for it?

I checked the wall and have 110V. I checked the cigar lighter in the trunk where the plug is supposed to be inserted and it works (it has power). So the only thing left is the charger - now to find the fuse.

I should be OK for another week as I took the car for a nice drive, with the top up because it is too cold.

 

Opened up the cigar plug and checked the fuse with a multi-meter - I had continuity, so the fuse was good. I plugged the unit into the wall, and tried to check if the charger would supply any voltage - no such luck. It appears the charger is faulty. Oh well.

 

Buy a battery tender from Detron. You can find one on eBay for around fifty dollars. I use them on all my cars and the have been working for several years.

 

I have owned 3 CTEK chargers with the plug in cigarette lighter fitting. All, including my most recent acquisition for my 07 coupe have had the same issue. The red plastic plug fails, but only partially. To fix the lost connection I twist the assembly until I can reestablish it signified by relighting the bulbs on the control box. This is not a complete solution but it has got me out of problem, if only temporarily. When it fails again, I twist it again.

 

When you say fail - do you mean it doesn't make contact? Not sure how twisting it helps.

 

FWIW, a neighbor just got a used Mercedes SL with a CTEK battery tender. He put it onto the condition mode and walked away. Came back later to his garage completely engulfed in flames. Burned out his 4 car garage complete with cars... The battery blew up and caused a car fire which got the Porsche next to it. Smoke damaged the other two.

I'm assuming that conditioning a battery is a different cycle than just the trickle charge/tender... I will probably avoid that mode!

Best
Larry

 

Yes, the red ended plug we insert in the cigarette lighter type socket in the luggage compartment stops functioning. The CTEK conditioner is off, its lights on the housing are out.

I realize the problem must be at the conditioner's plug because when I twist it gently, a quarter inch or so, in the car's socket the electrical connection is reestablished. The conditioner's lights are back on.

 

I simply remove the red cap and never have had a problem