We are planning on being gone for 6 weeks. Being naturally paranoid, I'm leery of leaving my CTEK tender running for that long with no one around in case of malfunction and fire risk. I know they are high quality units, but **** happens.

My question is whether anyone knows of any reason why it would be a bad idea to simply disconnect the F Type's battery while we are gone. I've done that on other cars during extended travel and not had any problems, but the F Type is a different animal.

I get that I might lose seat memory settings, radio presets, etc, but don't mind that. Thanks.

 

I believe the manual suggests you should remove the battery for long term storage. I can't imagine there'd be a problem.

 

If your battery is fully charged, then just disconnect the CTEK for the 6 weeks - it'll be fine. At worse, it'll need an ovenight charge when you get back, but I bet it'll fire straight up without that.

 

The CTEK can be left connected for MONTHS and months. I have done it with zero isssues. that is what these maintainers are designed for. The result is a fully charged, happy battery (and a happy owner - fully charged, I am not sure).

 

I had the same concerns with MY2016 (or however you put it). Anyway, I was advised not to leave the battery disconnected as there are just too many computer things dependent on it. So, that's when I bought the CTEK. I left it on for over 2 months without a problem several times. You are right that stuff happens, but that's what insurance is for.

 

Good input. The manual does not say anything about disconnecting for storage that I can find. And I'm thinking there could be stuff that runs off a capacitor during short disconnects that might not like a long one. My brother's Tesla 3 had to be rebooted by a factory tech when he let it sit so long the battery went completely flat. Known issue apparently. It would not accept a charge until the tech did some magic.

I think I'll just unplug the CTEK and let it sit. I'll update this when we get back with how that works. Thanks for the ideas.

 

I’ve left mine with CTEC when someone came in the house every week of so…and this past winter disconnected the battery for 5 months, reconnection, started immediately, no fuss no muss.
Flip a coin.

 

I've left my ctek chargers hooked up for months without issue. I have an old Range Rover I keep on the other side of the country and don't see it for 6+ months sometimes. the ctek tenders are a godsend.

that said I forgot to plug in my f type once and went away for ~6 weeks to ski -- when I got back it was fine

 

My CTEK charger stays connected the entire time my car is covered and stored indoors for the winter from Nov to April without an issue. I would have zero issues leaving it connected for 6 weeks.

 

Why would you do that if you have a CTEK unit? To repeat, the CTEK can be left connected for indefinite periods - with absolutely NO damage to the battery or the car. To the contrary, the battery will be kept fully charged and when you go to start the car, it will start. And there will be nothing to reset, and there will not appear the “Battery Low. Please Start Engine” message, and you will not have the possible odd symptom because the battery voltage has dropped. It is a no-brainer with no downside!
Or you can take a chance. Up to you.

 

The CTEK is designed especially for this purpose(your scenario) so it is illogical for you not to use it if you already happen to one. If you dont own one and didnt want to spend more $ then that makes sense.

Your logic would also mean that your should drain your petrol tank because fuel can ignite and ****/rodents happen.

6 weeks isnt a particular long time so you should be safe leaving it alone but you also have a 5yo ($600+) battery that can die beyond being able to be recharged .Just food for thought. Im sure you will be fine what ever you choose.

 

People seem to be forgetting that a malfunctioning charger could cause a fire. CTEK makes a great product, but no one is perfect. I leave mine plugged in for long periods, but with no one here to check on things for 6 weeks I'm a bit nervous. Let's agree to disagree and call this thread done.

 

Well, you did ask for information. You asked if it is safe to leave a CTEK unit connected for a long period. Those who answered and have done exactly that, have assured you that it is both simple and safe.
There is no history of any fire caused by a CTEK unit (but there is with another well known brand). My cars are all on CTEK units all the time, including periods of several months. Zero issues. I have gone overseas and left 3 CTEK units in operation. Zero issues. You seem to want to go to the trouble of disconnecting your battery despite the fuss involved (disconnecting, connecting, resetting…and a battery whose charge has decreased simply by sitting). So there really is nothing more to say.

 

I've been on car forums a long time and I've read about some bizarre circumstances with vehicles but not once I have I ever heard or read about a CTEK tender causing a fire.

By this logic, I hope you unplug every appliance in your home when you leave for that six weeks because most of them have a power supply that still sips electricity even when they're switched off and a malfunctioning or overheating power supply could cause a fire. There is always a risk with electricity (as with so many things in life) but when the probability of catastrophe can't statistically be measured it's really a non-issue.

 

As I replied earlier, I have used the CTEK unit and not had any problems. However, I totally understand you concern and had the same ones. Don't let anyone CTEK-shame you into doing something you are not comfortable with. When I first bought the unit, I set it up and put the car on it for a couple weeks just to make sure it did not get hot or have any problems. Perhaps that might be something to consider that will ease your concerns. I also have to admit, while I've read a number of posts on how to hook it up using the electric connections instead of the clips on the battery, I haven't done that myself. I've asked a few service departments and they all have said to use the clips. So, there is another example of something plenty of people on this valuable forum have provided information and I'm doing it the more involved way. We all have to work within our own comfort levels. Personally, I'd rather use the charger then take the chance of either messing up the battery or something else during disconnect/connect, or having to reset a bunch of stuff.

 

God help us when we all have EV's

 

I leave my maintainers on for months. Always have. Nearly 20 years now, first on motor bikes. Never had a problem. Of course it's conceivable that a unit could be faulty and start a fire, although I'm not sure how. But remember, it is also conceivable (and more likely) that the car itself could start a fire through some fault if the battery is left connected. But we don't normally disconnect the battery when we leave the car. Up to you, but I'm with the "just leave it connected" group.

 

We got back today from 5 weeks away. I left the CTEK unplugged. The car started immediately with no low battery warning or any other warning or issue. This is the original battery, but the car has been consistently trickle charged over the years and has only about 11,000 miles on it.