Eh up all,

I’ve used my Ctek for years on my BMW, now I want to fit on my 12 plate L320.

On the BMW I connected via the charging points under the bonnet - dead easy

I’ve had to charge my RRS via the croc clips connected direct to pos and neg terminals, and have now fitted the Ctek quick connector to the same.

I now understand ( I think 🤔) that this may not be right

I’m no expert with electronics so, I think my 12 plate has an IBS fitted as it’s face lift - so is it safe / correct to go direct to the neg terminal or should it go to an earth point under the bonnet 🤔. I stil don’t get how it would charge up but let’s not go there

I hate electronic at the best of times so any advice welcome

Cheers all

I think you need to connect it to the Jump start points. Be a red cover somewhere.

It’s so the computer see’s that the battery is
Being charged. So it knows the battery level is high / correct

I connected the Neg/Live to the battery lead under the engine bay fuse box cover and the Pos/Earth to the earth stud located at same end of fuse box on the wing valance, been working fine for 7/8 years.

Cheers
Col

Eh up both

Andy K

I’ve looked for anything like that to see it was same as my BMW could not find owt 🙁

I get the IBS in terms of what it does - just no clue on how what to connect to properly

Any pictures/ clues where in the engine bay these jump points are?

Col

I’m a bit lost now - any pictures of your set up would help me understand I think

I’m really not sure now as I’ve gone red / live to positive battery terminal and black / negative to negative terminal on the battery

I’m really lost if I’m red positive to earth and unsure of where the black negative would connect?

Sorry if I’m misunderstanding 👍

I hate electrical stuff - frustration at not / never understanding it better with spanner’s and bodywork

Cheers all and sorry for more questions

Not the best picture, but you will see a stud in the area marked, never actually noticed any jump lead points under the bonnet of a L320.





Cheers
Col

Eh up

Col - thanks for pictures, to be absolutely sure this is how I’m currently connected which I now understand to be incorrect and may impact the IBS





From your pictures I understand I should be wired up as below




I still don’t understand why it’s correct to put negative ( as I know it) to an earth on the car yet the battery charges safely 🤯

Honestly confusing or what to me - but provided it’s safer than what I’ve done will correct it.

Cheers for the assistances

On a brighter note my rear bumper is now base coat ready and the weathers good for tomorrow so the Santorini 2k is going on - least I understand paint ( watch that comment bite me in the a88 )

In your top picture the positive is fine there, it's the same lead just at the battery terminal as opposed to the fuse box one, the negative connection is the wrong side of the BMS module.

I am certainly not auto electrician and not going to pretend to be one, but was lead to believe rightly or wrongly by a electrician in the case of something like the ctek the earth needs to be the chassis side of the BMS module, so it knows what voltage is going into the battery etc. of course that could be a load of rubbish, but all I can say is in my case it has been connected like that for a lot of years and I have not once had a flat battery issue.

Whether it is of any interest, but I ran a longer connector lead up to the windscreen scuttle panel so I could connect or disconnect the ctek charger with the bonnet closed and car locked if needed, some plug it in via the tow socket, but in my case I don't even have to bend down to connect it which is a bonus.



Cheers
Col

Eh up Col

Mashes my brain

Appreciate how you did it and if it’s safer than my route I’m in

I like nuts n bolts - the simple things in life ( much like me )

Cheers

You definitely do not want to connect direct to the negative terminal with BMS. The BMS monitors the battery charge level. If you connect to the negative terminal direct it won’t see the battery charge increase and can potentially overcharge the battery (BMS thinks it’s at 70%, it’s actually at 95% and it goes full tilt trying to charge it). Same reason you don’t want to connect any accessories direct to the negative terminal, it can drain the battery and BMS thinks it’s charged.

The entire car body, chassis and power train are all connected to the negative terminal in one way or another. This is why fixing the ground to a ground point on the body will achieve the same job. 2011 RRS HSE Luxury 3.0 TDV6 Fuji White on Ebony/Ivory
Born and raised in So Cal. Moved to the UK in 2018 for a few years. Now in Poland and looking at moving back to the UK.

Ehup NoExpert

Cheers for that, I can see the logic just baffles me

I am going to change the configuration as per Cols advice and thanks for confirming the set up

I’ll get it done this week

Just sprayed the bumper today as it’s been cracking weather today

Sorry to reopen this but, I just wanted to check something.

Are you saying you can charge the battery with it still being connected to the vehicle ?

Sorry, I'm just a bit old school whereby I would remove the connectors before charging. But, I know processes can change.

Many thanks

Craig 2010 RRS 3.6 TDV8 HSE Galway Green

With a Ctek charger Yes, you leave it connected when the vehicle not being used and it keep the battery topped up.

Cheers
Col

Hi Col,

Ah right, many thanks, thats good to know. I've got a ctek charger.

Many thanks

Craig 2010 RRS 3.6 TDV8 HSE Galway Green

If you have 13pin or twin 7 towing electrics it can be done through there with a ctek adaptor  Visitor from fullfatrr.com
* GONE. 2012 RR Sport HSE SDV6 Orkney Grey. Now being piloted by RRSTDV8
* Current: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Full Fat. Amazing piece of kit.
* Current. 1974 Lightweight 2.25L petrol. Old skool
* GONE. Freelander GS TD4 Manual MY2013. Orkney Grey with privacy, cold and clearview packs, armrests (a must!) and a spoiler.
* GONE. Range Rover Classic '93 200Tdi Factory fit
* 1949 80" in family since 1975

As Rob says, charging through the towing electrics is another way - you just plug the CTek in to the towing point and off it goes doing its thing. No need to worry about where you are in relation to the BMS, etc., and no need to open the bonnet, etc.. That's the way I do it if I need to charge up (which isn't very often as mine gets used for decent length journeys most of the time).

On SWMBO old Skoda, I just clip straight to the battery terminals but hers is relatively basic being a 56-plate. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed