[Jadar]

Anyone have any suggestions for a good trickle charger for our cars? Something that is quality and will last.

Thanks

[ronanz]

THIS is the one I use...

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[Jadar]

Originally Posted by ronanz

THIS is the one I use...

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Awesome thanks Ron, you're the man. I was looking at that one and this ctek one that actually makes BMW branded ones https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...rbattcharce-20.

That NOCO you use is it pretty slow or? How long have you had it?

I'm having an issue with the battery dropping to 11.4-11.5v. In turn what I've discovered that the bm3 and flashing has a minimal flash protocol. It won't flash your car if the car doesn't meet certain criteria.

[ronanz]

I've had it for 3 yrs now...works Perfect! I hard wired it to car so I just plug it in...

I put her to sleep end of Oct, Charger has been "Green" ever since...

.

[Jadar]

Originally Posted by ronanz

I've had it for 3 yrs now...works Perfect! I hard wired it to car so I just plug it in...

I put her to sleep end of Oct, Charger has been "Green" ever since...

.

Nice. Yeah I'm reading up on it now and the main thing is always use charger on under hood posts and make sue the charger is made for AGM batteries that have start/stop technology.

Thanks again Ron. It'll be a slow charge but it's ok my battery isn't dead just low. I'll look into amazon prime asap.

[Jadar]

Originally Posted by ronanz

I've had it for 3 yrs now...works Perfect! I hard wired it to car so I just plug it in...

I put her to sleep end of Oct, Charger has been "Green" ever since...

.

I see it has AGM so that's good. Do you set it on a particular setting like 12v? Or does it do everything itself?

[ronanz]

Originally Posted by Dejan_

I see it has AGM so that's good. Do you set it on a particular setting like 12v? Or does it do everything itself?

Yes, I have it set to 12v "Cold/AGM" setting, since car and charger sit in a cold garage. Once set, charger does the rest...

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[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by Dejan_

That NOCO you use is it pretty slow or? How long have you had it?

I use the CTEK 4.3, which charges at 4.3A vs the one posted earlier which charges at 7.2.

For charging times you can do the math. The battery in my 335i is 100AH IIRC, so charging from 0 to 100AH at 4A would take 25 hours.

IME BMW seems to have programmed the N55 to maintain the battery at about 75%. That is, every time I hook up my charger even after long drives when you'd expect the battery to be 100% the highest I've ever seen is 75%. So topping up to a full 100% might be a waste of time if you're on the clock for whatever reason.

[John Casey]

Originally Posted by ronanz

I've had it for 3 yrs now...works Perfect!

Good to hear.

I bought the one ronanz mentioned, based on another thread. The quality appears to be good.

[cncmastr]

I too use the ctek one.

[Jadar]

Originally Posted by cncmastr

I too use the ctek one.

I picked it up. It's actually $10 cheaper and it appears BMW uses it but it's just a BMW logo and the exact same ctek 4.3 rebranded. So good enough for BMW good enough for me.

BMW 4.3 Battery Charger https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1JUUVS..._t66IybT7ZHJNB

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by Dejan_

I picked it up. It's actually $10 cheaper and it appears BMW uses it but it's just a BMW logo and the exact same ctek 4.3 rebranded. So good enough for BMW good enough for me.

BMW 4.3 Battery Charger https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L1JUUVS..._t66IybT7ZHJNB

Porsche also rebrands the CTEK so you're in good company

I think BMW used to rebrand Battery Tender, not sure when they changed.

[Jadar]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

Porsche also rebrands the CTEK so you're in good company

I think BMW used to rebrand Battery Tender, not sure when they changed.

Awesome good deal then I feel it was a good choice either one I picked. The NOCO was a bit nicer a fancier but it's cool I'll use this one all the same.

[joz]

I've used both extensively for various charging applications and prefer the ctek, but both are good. I'd probably with what the cheaper option is given how close they are

[tlippold]

Hard to beat BatteryTender. I use it on my Porsche Boxster in the winter.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende.../dp/B000NCOKQK

Walmart also stocks it.

[Jadar]

Originally Posted by tlippold

Hard to beat BatteryTender. I use it on my Porsche Boxster in the winter.

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tende.../dp/B000NCOKQK

Walmart also stocks it.

Wow that price can't be beat.

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by Dejan_

Wow that price can't be beat.

It's 1.25A though. It'll take almost 4x longer to charge than your 4.3A CTEK.

[Gearhog]

Originally Posted by chiefneil

It's 1.25A though. It'll take almost 4x longer to charge than your 4.3A CTEK.

True but many people use it just as a maintainer and for that it works very well.

[chiefneil]

Originally Posted by Gearhog

True but many people use it just as a maintainer and for that it works very well.

Absolutely, it's perfect that application.

In my case my wife tends to drive local, short trips in our X5. So every once in a while I'll hook up the battery charger when I start getting concerned. I've seen it go from 10% to 75% overnight. The faster charge speed is nice for peace of mind and convenience in those particular use cases.