Ctek 7002????

I ordered one of these today and was wondering if anyone has them and where they attached them to the car.
The owners manual says not to connect a battery charger directly to the battery but instead use the terminal in the engine compartment.
I have a feeling that the on board battery circuit is in-line with the engine compartment terminals AND that it will reduce the effectiveness of the CTEC especially when using the reconditioning mode to break down sulfates.
Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Wes

Mine is in the trunk attached to the battery... I haven't had any issues

I also have a CTEK 7002. I figure if you can jump start the car from the terminals under the hood they must be direct to the battery. The battery recondition mode works like a charm - it revived an old dead battery on my E30 convertible before I sold it.

I have had a battery explode while charging my M3 and it was not pretty. The battery cover was blown to shreds and the battery compartment was full of acid. I spent 3 hours in the middle of the night cleaning and re-cleaning the battery compartment and trunk in an attempt to prevent acid damage. I went though pounds of baking soda, thank god for 24-hour grocery stores. When battery acid and baking soda meet it's quite a show BTW.

It was an OEM battery with the vent hooked up and the charger was in the trunk, which was open thankfully. Charger was not a CTEK. Needless to say I charge from under the hood now.

Yorgi,
Wow, that is quite a story. Most people don't realize just how much power a battery holds.
Did you use a constant voltage charger on the battery that blew? Were you able to tell if it was from the drain being plugged?
I'm thinking of putting it in the trunk. I also got one of the comfort access panel indicators that will mount nicely there.
Thanks,
Wes

I have my battery permanently wired at the battery in readiness to connect the C-Tek battery conditioner. The wiring plus in line fuse are sold by C-Tek and has a battery conditioner built into the wiring. So when I want to connect my charger I just pull up the cable connector and connect the charger, I can then close the boot and lock the car and leave overnight or however long it is necessary ...........
If you buy from BMW you get this wiring with the C-TEK, but at BMW prices.
The experience that Yorgi had would not apply with the C-Tek, which is why they are the best on the market and have overcurrent monitors etc. As an engineer I would not follow the process if I thought it would result in damage, but you still have to check that everything is operational, never assume.....

Well I have an electrical engineering background and I still managed to blow my battery.

My winter-stored M3 battery was fully discharged after my tender had died at some point during the winter. In an attempt at desulfation, I hooked up my large constant voltage charger (14V) directly to the battery and went inside. I set the oven timer for 1 hour.

When I opened the door to the garage I could smell the battery acid and knew right away I was in for a long night. Luckily BMW uses heavy duty epoxy paint in the battery well so there was only very minor acid damage.

I guess the vents on my battery were clogged because in theory, the hydrogen should not build up to the point where it can blow the battery. Let's just say I have a new appreciation for the power of hydrogen gas and sulfuric acid.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

Well I have an electrical engineering background and I still managed to blow my battery.

My winter-stored M3 battery was fully discharged after my tender had died at some point during the winter. In an attempt at desulfation, I hooked up my large constant voltage charger (14V) directly to the battery and went inside. I set the oven timer for 1 hour.

When I opened the door to the garage I could smell the battery acid and knew right away I was in for a long night. Luckily BMW uses heavy duty epoxy paint in the battery well so there was only very minor acid damage.

I guess the vents on my battery were clogged because in theory, the hydrogen should not build up to the point where it can blow the battery. Let's just say I have a new appreciation for the power of hydrogen gas and sulfuric acid.

We can all make claim to some form of technical competency, but we still get caught out, that is also part of the learning process, which is why good people like yourself put there experience on here to help those who don't. As side point as a life learning lesson, during my apprenticeship I was replacing some new batteries which came in very tight cardboard boxes from which I could not get the battery out. Given the weight of them smarty me decided to up-end and use the weight to drop out of the box, forgetting about the vapour hole, thus sulphuric acid running into my lap and covering my jeans, working in a vicarage meant I could not blaspheme ......... at the age of 19 I thought my world would end, but alas the only thing to happen was the front of my jeans falling out as I climbed onto a bus, had some wonderful looks...........

Originally Posted by 645/333

We can all make claim to some form of technical competency, but we still get caught out, that is also part of the learning process, which is why good people like yourself put there experience on here to help those who don't. As side point as a life learning lesson, during my apprenticeship I was replacing some new batteries which came in very tight cardboard boxes from which I could not get the battery out. Given the weight of them smarty me decided to up-end and use the weight to drop out of the box, forgetting about the vapour hole, thus sulphuric acid running into my lap and covering my jeans, working in a vicarage meant I could not blaspheme ......... at the age of 19 I thought my world would end, but alas the only thing to happen was the front of my jeans falling out as I climbed onto a bus, had some wonderful looks...........

had to laugh at your story. Had something similar happen to me but I was in chemistry class.

Originally Posted by TxTaz

Yorgi,
Wow, that is quite a story. Most people don't realize just how much power a battery holds.
Did you use a constant voltage charger on the battery that blew? Were you able to tell if it was from the drain being plugged?
I'm thinking of putting it in the trunk. I also got one of the comfort access panel indicators that will mount nicely there.
Thanks,
Wes

The TIS manual specifically says that charging of the battery should occur from the "external start-support point". It goes on to say "only then can the energy being fed into the vehicle be registered". If you have the TIS it is under REPAIR INSTRUCTIONS/61 GENERAL ELECTRICAL SYSTEM/21 BATTERY/VAPOUR SEPARATOR. Once in the page DISCONNECTING AND RECONNECTING NEGATIVE BATTERY LEAD. Then the sub link in the instructions listed as POWER SUPPLY.

Sounds like it is supposed to flow through the IBS. Anyway, just more information to digest.

I've mounted mine to the wall in my garage. I attach the cables directly to the battery in the trunk. The trunk closes nicely without pinching the cables.

Cheers!

Originally Posted by tampamark

Sounds like it is supposed to flow through the IBS. Anyway, just more information to digest.

Thanks Mark,
I thought that would be it. I think I'll do a reconditioning on the battery, then a battery reset and mount the comfort access panel under the hood and maintain it from there.
I'm glad you found it in TIS. I swear I have a hard time navigating it. I guess I should start thinking German.

Wes

They need to add a better search function to the TIS, it is brutal to navigate. You would think by now they would have added a Goggle-like search text box. Car-specific hard copies would be great too.

The online version of the TIS is nice but it's out of date and incomplete. I use it for quickie searches but always rely on my desktop version for important tasks.

Funny, I tried to find it in the online TIS and it was not there! I wanted to post a link so that it could be viewed without me having to quote.

I had come across the battery charge info a couple of months back on my local PC version. Even knowing it was in the TIS I had a hell of a time finding it tonight. I knew what I was looking for and it took me nearly 15 minutes of drilling into different categories to find it! I agree, it would be a lot easier if it could be searched. Nothing is more irritating than knowing the info is there and not being able to locate it.

One interesting note if you navigate to that section is that it says the cigarette lighter is not a trickle charge option since it does shut down after a time.

Speaking of batteries blowing...My friggin UPS blew up last night. Good think it was sitting on tile.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

I also have a CTEK 7002. I figure if you can jump start the car from the terminals under the hood they must be direct to the battery. The battery recondition mode works like a charm - it revived an old dead battery on my E30 convertible before I sold it.

I have had a battery explode while charging my M3 and it was not pretty. The battery cover was blown to shreds and the battery compartment was full of acid. I spent 3 hours in the middle of the night cleaning and re-cleaning the battery compartment and trunk in an attempt to prevent acid damage. I went though pounds of baking soda, thank god for 24-hour grocery stores. When battery acid and baking soda meet it's quite a show BTW.

It was an OEM battery with the vent hooked up and the charger was in the trunk, which was open thankfully. Charger was not a CTEK. Needless to say I charge from under the hood now.

Hi Yorgi,

My battery also exploded in my M3 while connected to a CTEK charger ... I'd really appreciate it if you could please teach me how to clean up this mess as I don't know what I should do right now. I've removed the battery and there's acid in the battery well and all over the concrete floor of the garage. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you very much.

Originally Posted by Ci Boy

Hi Yorgi,

My battery also exploded in my M3 while connected to a CTEK charger ... I'd really appreciate it if you could please teach me how to clean up this mess as I don't know what I should do right now. I've removed the battery and there's acid in the battery well and all over the concrete floor of the garage. Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you very much.

That sucks! You have some work ahead of you, baking soda is your friend.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=how+you+clean+car+battery+acid

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4232831AACLwIS

Wow, that does suck. Mine did not blow up while connected to the CTECK, it was a larger charger that I had built myself when I was a kid.

Put on some heavy duty rubber gloves, some old clothes and eye protection. Battery acid will burn your skin badly if you have any direct contact.

I got a large 5 gallon plastic bucket and used shop rags and then paper towels to absorb as much acid as possible. Throw the rags into the bucket.

Then spread a thick layer of baking soda over the entire area. Then I started using wet rags to clean the area. Then more baking soda and wet rags. Then I started using wet rags soaked in water mixed with baking soda until there was no more acid smell. Final rinse with water only.

Use a brush with water/baking soda solution to clean carpet.

Originally Posted by Yorgi

Wow, that does suck. Mine did not blow up while connected to the CTECK, it was a larger charger that I had built myself when I was a kid.

Put on some heavy duty rubber gloves, some old clothes and eye protection. Battery acid will burn your skin badly if you have any direct contact.

I got a large 5 gallon plastic bucket and used shop rags and then paper towels to absorb as much acid as possible. Throw the rags into the bucket.

Then spread a thick layer of baking soda over the entire area. Then I started using wet rags to clean the area. Then more baking soda and wet rags. Then I started using wet rags soaked in water mixed with baking soda until there was no more acid smell. Final rinse with water only.

Use a brush with water/baking soda solution to clean carpet.

Thanks guys for the tips! Do you know if the black bracket under the battery comes off? There's too much debris inside and it's hard to see if it's bolted down. I've just spread the baking soda and starting to clean the area, but I don't know how good of a job I would do cleaning it. Are there people that do this professionally? I'm really scared of the aftermath damage that will occur from this, especially as the acid is going to start eating up and rusting the metal. Is there any way to remedy this?

Forgot about that bracket. I removed it and had to repaint it actually. The paint on the bracket is not epoxy-based like the rest of the battery well so the acid will eat into the paint.

Pull the bracket. If the metal has not been eaten away - Clean it with water/baking soda paste. Clean it with water. Sand it down. Paint it with a can of black spray paint.

You can grab a new bracket from the dealer too.