Charging System Concern? Battery Concern? Or normal? :-)

[MarkOnEarth]

Hi all,

I'm trying to keep our C8 plugged in when not in use. I bought the Corvette charger for this.
So after a 5 -6 hour jaunt with lunch, shopping and driving around I'll plug it in when we get home.

What would you expect to see on the charger? There are 4 levels of charge and lights show current charge status.

Here's what I've seen twice. This is what I see after unplugging before leaving (showing full charge), driving for an afternoon, coming home and plugging it back in the same day. I waited 15-30 minutes before taking the picture.



Should I be concerned?

I was modifying the main display and remember seeing 12.5 listed when I scrolled past "Battery Status" while driving. Don't know if this, 12.5, is good or not.

Thanks!
Mark

[John]

I leave mine on the GM charger. Unplugged it and when it started up it was 15.1. Five minutes later down to 14.4, then down to 14.0 about five minutes after that. But never noticed it after that. Sorry.

What are others of you experiencing?

[Jetdriver]

You have nothing to be concerned about. Mine operates the same way. When first plugged in, the charger will assess the battery level by progressing through the various charge stages. It will gradually return to full charge. Its circuitry uses pulse and float charging. The float charging will occur during the "full" indication where it applies current only if the voltage drops. I had the doors and hood open on my car once for some cleaning and adding something. The charger was plugged in the entire time I was working and when I had finished, I found the charger had dropped to the level yours is showing in your illustration. Shortly it returned to full condition. It's working as intended.

[MarkOnEarth]

You have nothing to be concerned about. Mine operates the same way. When first plugged in, the charger will assess the battery level by progressing through the various charge stages. It will gradually return to full charge. Its circuitry uses pulse and float charging. The float charging will occur during the "full" indication where it applies current only if the voltage drops. I had the doors and hood open on my car once for some cleaning and adding something. The charger was plugged in the entire time I was working and when I had finished, I found the charger had dropped to the level yours is showing in your illustration. Shortly it returned to full condition. It's working as intended.

I have not measured how much time it takes to get back up to FULL. But... I was hoping it was something like this. So I would anticipate if I unplug the charger for 10 minutes and plug it back in, it should have the same behavior. I try it:-)

Thanks for sharing!
Mark

[Jetdriver]

I have not measured how much time it takes to get back up to FULL. But... I was hoping it was something like this. So I would anticipate if I unplug the charger for 10 minutes and plug it back in, it should have the same behavior. I try it:-)

Thanks for sharing!
Mark

Yes that has been my experience with it. It seems to automatically go through the process of measuring voltage and adding whats needed when needed.

[16falcon]

You have nothing to be concerned about. Mine operates the same way. When first plugged in, the charger will assess the battery level by progressing through the various charge stages. It will gradually return to full charge. Its circuitry uses pulse and float charging. The float charging will occur during the "full" indication where it applies current only if the voltage drops. I had the doors and hood open on my car once for some cleaning and adding something. The charger was plugged in the entire time I was working and when I had finished, I found the charger had dropped to the level yours is showing in your illustration. Shortly it returned to full condition. It's working as intended.

That’s how mine works too. I’m pretty sure that’s just how they display the charging program.

I also have the CTEK MXS 5.0 that I use on my GMC Sierra. It works in a similar manner but the display is different. It shows each “step” (8 total) of the process. After driving 300 miles yesterday I plugged the MXS 5.0 into the Sierra, it still started with step 1 and takes awhile to process through all the steps to a green “fully charged” status. Since the C8 version doesn’t have all of the “step” lights, I think it just defaults to the 1/3 full icon (as shown in your picture) while it’s running it’s “program”.

[MarkOnEarth]

That’s how mine works too. I’m pretty sure that’s just how they display the charging program.

I also have the CTEK MXS 5.0 that I use on my GMC Sierra. It works in a similar manner but the display is different. It shows each “step” (8 total) of the process. After driving 300 miles yesterday I plugged the MXS 5.0 into the Sierra, it still started with step 1 and takes awhile to process through all the steps to a green “fully charged” status. Since the C8 version doesn’t have all of the “step” lights, I think it just defaults to the 1/3 full icon (as shown in your picture) while it’s running it’s “program”.

Thanks for your observation:-)

[Milliwatt Rob]

I am somewhat confused by some comments here. Why do you need to attach a CTEK battery tender after driving 300 miles in one day? Such a drive should result in a fully charged battery. The CTEK is needed when the car is infrequently driven, on very short drives, or long term storage.

Am I missing something?

[16falcon]

I am somewhat confused by some comments here. Why do you need to attach a CTEK battery tender after driving 300 miles in one day? Such a drive should result in a fully charged battery. The CTEK is needed when the car is infrequently driven, on very short drives, or long term storage.

Am I missing something?

I most likely won’t be driving it again for a couple of weeks, so I put it on the maintainer. Only takes 2 minutes.

[capevettes]

Even after a long drive, when you first plug in the tender, it takes about 2 hours to reach an indicated full state of charge. It's been that way with every C-Tek charger I have used on any modern, C5 to C8. I just plug it in every time I pull it into the garage. It's so simple, why let the battery discharge. Unless I'm driving it the next day, I plug it in.

[MarkOnEarth]

I am somewhat confused by some comments here. Why do you need to attach a CTEK battery tender after driving 300 miles in one day? Such a drive should result in a fully charged battery. The CTEK is needed when the car is infrequently driven, on very short drives, or long term storage.

Am I missing something?

I plug it in because I really don't know when I'll be able to drive it next. So I'm trying to get used to keeping it plugged in this time of year. Same with the motorcycle. I won't fool with it in a month or so HOPEFULLY.

[ByteBiz]

How do you guys run the power cord for the battery tender? Do you fully latch the frunk or just to the first catch?

[GAG]

How do you guys run the power cord for the battery tender? Do you fully latch the frunk or just to the first catch?

First catch and have the cord resting on top of a microfiber cloth to protect the paint.

[16falcon]

I have just been setting the hood down, not even latching it at all. I too lay a microfiber towel on the paint where the cord lays, just in case.

[jagtoes]

How do you guys run the power cord for the battery tender? Do you fully latch the frunk or just to the first catch?

I didn't feel like exercising the frunk every time I wanted to plug in. Works for me.