I notice that every time I plug in my Ctek 4.3 it goes into the 8 step process of charging. Considering that as it sits there and the battery is fully charged it would be nice if it was smart enough to not go through the cycle and go right to float. An example is the system is in float at 13.7 V with a fully charged battery. Not when I unplug the car and move it off the lift to do other work I park and lock the car. Then maybe 10-20 minutes later I move the Jag back into the garage and plug in the Ctek. It goes all the way through the charging process and finally gets to the float part. It would be good if it reads the battery and skips some of the steps to get to the float mode.

 

I also have a Ctek MUS 4.3 and never noticed. I just plug it in, make sure it's working, and walk away. It probably works better by enjoying a little foreplay to do its thing.

 

Jagtoes:

The CTEK MUS 4.3 is doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

When you connect the MUS 4.3 it goes through the cycles and steps. If you just move the car from one place to another and connect the MUS 4.3 it goes through the cycle. It analyzes the battery. I am sure that within 10 minutes your CTEK will move to step 7. Step 7 is the first GREEN LED.

The only time the MUS 4.3 will move to step 8 is when the CTEK has been connected to the battery for 10 days and there has been no open doors, unlocked doors etc to create an immediate drain.

Same as Stuart, I too, just connect and walk away. I would not get overly concerned about the LED's changing quickly. The unit will constantly be reading the battery and that is all that matters.

I guess in today's society, we all want and expect instant action from electronics. Waiting 10 minutes for the CTEK to complete the cycling should not make you nervous or create any anxiety. Just connect it and forget it. Move on.

All that should matter is once who go back to the car when you are ready to use it, the CTEK MUS 4.3 shows LED #7 is GREEN and you're good to go.

I own 4 of these and would not be without them. My vehicles are constantly connected to the CTEK MUS 4.3 and I have never had any electrical issues on any of my vehicles.

If you want to test the CTEK, wait until LED #7 turns green. Unlock the door, open a door and you will see that immediately the CTEK's LED's will change even due a minor battery draw. While you may think the battery is fully charged, the change in LED's shows the sensitivity of the CTEK unit.

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Richard is correct on every point. But I understand Jagtoes' desire because I too often unplug the CTEK for a few minutes and then on reconnecting it I feel the slightest bit of discomfort? irritation? annoyance? that the unit has the need to analyze the battery all over again. But as has been said, a little while later and the green light is on again and all is well. And my experience, like Richard's is that using the CTEK has resulted in a completely problem-free ownership.
Weather cooperating, I will be taking the XK tomorrow for a good and very long run into one of the beautiful wine districts of British Columbia. I'll bet that a lot of readers are unaware that there are some, many superb wines made in Canada, most not exported. If the weather doesn't cooperate I will still be going, but in my X-Type Sportwagon (another great Jaguar).

 

I'm not nervous as to whether it is functioning correctly . Coming from the semi-conductor engineering community in my previous life it would not be difficult to improve the functions to reduce the steps when hooking up a fully charged battery. If you look at the initial start up steps it goes through a de-sulfide process followed by reduced voltage steps. For a fully charged battery this voltage excursion isn't necessary and with proper sensing the system can go directly to the step 7 voltage . Step 8 is as we know for long term storage which a lot of us will not see until maybe the winter storage months. The system works well but I feel it can still be improved.

 

Jagtoes:

CTEK engineers and tech support is very good about answering questions from consumers.

You may consider dropping them an email for a detailed explanation of why the unit works as it does, and ask the same question as you asked above in Post#1.

Happy CTEK-ing. These are great units.

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