I have the CTEK Charge O Mat with the cig. lighter adapter and it apparently does not work plugging into the cig. lighter. Is there a proven way of using the existing plug on tbe CTEK to attach to the battery using the (+) terminal in the engine compartment?
What I noticed that if I turn the key to ON, then then I get the upper row lights to work. If I turn the key to off, the the lights - Full Battery (green) and Half full Battery (orange) are flickering.
MC40

 

The MINI owners manual for my ‘05 says to only use the port in the engine compartment when charging, and refers to the jump start page for the connections. On the jump starting page it shows the ground on top of the transmission mount so I connected my CTEK cable there and to the + port. I’ll probably extend the wires so I can access the plug without opening the hood every time.

 

Just a heads-up that this is the 3rd gen (F series) area, you will have much better luck posting this in the first gen area.

 

I was under the impression the cigarette lighter socket only goes live with the car on, which would explain why the device only lights up with the key on. These types of devices are designed for those older cars where the lighter socket is wired directly to the battery.

 

Is there a way to use or convert this CTEK to the pigtail wires even though it came with the cig. lighter adapter.

 

The adapter is permanently attached to the charger? What model number is your charger?

Both of my CTEK’s have a plug on the charging end for various adapters depending on the connection to the battery, but maybe that’s a recent feature.

 

It just says Charge-o-Mat battery charger for 12V. Lead Acid Batteries.
I am pretty much resigned to the fact that I cannot use it to connect to batteries unless I cut the cig. lighter cable to allow me to attach the battery cable.

 

That, or a lighter socket to charging plug adapter might work if you don’t want to cut the wires. Is it a Porsche labeled CTEK? They’re the only ones I’ve seen labeled Charge O Mat and come with a permanently attached lighter plug. I guess they’re still designing the wiring in their cars to allow charging through the lighter when the socket doesn’t have power without the key.

 

Yes, it says Porsche.
Not sure what you mean "lighter socket"?

 

This is the CTEK with the cig. lighter adapter hardwired. Next to it is the cable for connecting to the battery.

 

I just saw CTEK actually sells an adapter like I was talking about to connect to the pigtail in your pic, but it’s made to add a power socket for cell phones, gps’s, etc.

It doesn’t actually say you can charge the car battery through it though. To be safe, I would check with CTEK to see if this would work safely with the Porsche Charge O Mat and a CTEK connector to charge a battery:
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This might also work, be cheaper, and would eliminate one connection. Again, I would check to make sure it can be safely used for your purpose.

 

I think I would still need to modify my cig. lighter socket by cutting it off. Am I misunderstanding?

 

The NoCo would be like cutting off the 2 pin connector from your CTEK battery pigtail and adding a lighter socket to it. The charge o mat plug should physicsally fit into the NoCo socket, but there are different sizes of cigarette lighter plugs so it’s not guaranteed. Not sure about the Porsche charge o mat plug, but the factory trickle charger for my ‘90 Porsche had a small plastic sleeve for the lighter plug to make it fit tighter. I don’t think there’s an actual standard for the plugs and some plug and socket combos can be touchy and lose connection easily.

Charging a battery isnt something I wouldn’t do without a secure connection and safe setup with compatibie parts, especially if left unattended.

If it was my setup, I would go with the NoCo because it’s about half the price, eliminates one connection/adapter, and seems better built with thicker wire. I would make sure the CTEK plug fits in securely and makes a good electrical connection. I would also use the smaller rated fuse between the CTEK and NoCo if different, and finally check to make sure everything is safe and working correctly.

If you are unsure about any of this and don’t have the electronics knowledge to determine if it will be safe, check with the manufacturers to see if either adapter will work safely for your purposes.

 

This will work.