CTEK40-206 MXS 5.0 Fully Automatic 4.3 amp Battery Charger and Maintainer 12V

Prime Day sale made the value exceptional. Charger is excellent quality, decent instructions, works perfectly. I was previously charging Sprinter van battery with my motorcycle trickle charger, which was okay, but not ideal. This charger made a big difference in charging time and end result was a higher final voltage. Can plug in and forget as it works great as a maintenance charger. I had to add-on the silicon bumper/protector and extension cable for the battery clips - so final cost is higher if you need those options. Only complaint is proprietary plugs which means I can't use the cables from my existing charger. CTek makes a charger with Mercedes-Benz branding - this is the same charger but without the lithium battery capability and M-B branding, so almost half the price (on sale). Highly recommended.

This battery charger/maintainer works excellently with almost no effort to recharge a weak battery or maintain a battery in cars that aren't driven regularly. This is especially important in colder weather as the charge can drop enough to be unable to start the vehicle. This almost happened to my 2011 BMW 535i Xdrive 95Ah battery after not moving it for 2 weeks mid winter. I got several low charge warnings but thought they would go away once I drove a bit, but trips were far and few between.The charger power cord is hard wired, and the output leads have a fast clip connector at the far end to plug in either the alligator clip ends or 1/4" eyelets for a more permanent connection to make frequent charging easier.Both the power cord and the output leads are 6' long for a total of 12' plus another 18 inches for either the alligator clip or eyelet connectors, so there's plenty of length to position the charger where you want. The clips are spark free and have polarity protection so you don't have to worry about those when making your connection.Plugging the device in starts it in standard vehicle battery mode. Other modes include motorcycle for smaller vehicles, AGM for those batteries, and a reconditioning mode to restore full capacity to batteries that have lost some charge capability.From almost dead, it took about 28 hours to go through all 7 phases of charge. Patience is the way to go here, don't check often, especially if you have to open a door or hood to do so.I found it best to leave it under the hood with it slightly ajar and check every 4 hours or so. Resist the urge to unplug it because you think it's not progressing. It is. Even in cold weather it will get your battery back in great condition with little more than the press of one button. Highly recommended.

My car sits unused most of the time. I take it out on average once a month, if that, for short trips of less than 2 miles to grocery store, bakery, gas station. If my car is driven 10 miles per month, that's a lot. Two months ago, my 2012 vehicle had only just hit the 12,000 mile mark (most of that from two multi-state trips) and for the second time in 3 years, my battery was completely dead and needed replacing. This was a huge inconvenience since I was once again stranded with no way to start my car. When purchasing the new battery, a mechanic at the auto parts store suggested a trickle charger. How great! I never knew that I could plug a car that isn't a hybrid into a wall socket for recharging!!! I was immediately determined to purchase a charger and set about my thorough research. This Ctek MXS 5.0 charger was by far the best reviewed charger I could find anywhere and additionally, it is the only one I could find that has a setting specifically for AGM batteries. Despite what the compatability tool says on Amazon, it is actually a perfect match for my 2012 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited. Before purchasing, I read everything I could find about it and I was amazed at how simple it is to use. It's basically plug and play after hitting just one button for an initial setting. After that, it handles everything on its own, even recovering after a power outage with no intervention by the owner. It also has a 'Recondition' mode. It is recommended to, in a separate process, run your battery through 'Recondition' mode about once a year to add to the life span of the battery. I purchased it and brought the included eyelets to my mechanic and he installed them on my two month old battery. Upon connection, the charger started working immediately. Because my battery is basically new, it moved through each of the phases quickly, as evidenced by the lights on its front, and in minutes it got to the phase where it floats a charge to keep the battery always topped off. It can be left connected to the car battery and electrical outlet indefinitely, so I no longer have to worry about my car sitting idle or running out in the dead of Winter to start it. I looked at all Ctek accessories that can be purchased separately, and decided the only thing I needed was the bracket for mounting the charger to my garage wall. I wanted the charger sitting safely off the floor and did not want it sitting on the car itself. I purchased the simpler, least expensive of the two brackets available ($10.00) and it was the perfect solution. The charger has 6ft cords on each end. One that goes to the electrical outlet and one that connects to the 'comfort connect' port of the included clamps or eyelets. Because my electrical outlet is farther than 6 feet from the charger, I purchased a 20-foot 16AWG extention cord, which is just long enough, and no longer, to allow the charger to be plugged in. The rule is to get the shortest extension cord possible, and the manual clearly spells out the acceptable minimum AWG for various lengths of extention cord to be used. Again, the device is so simple to use, that the instruction manual is very short and concise, with little to read. The cord of the eyelets themselves is very short, I believe only 8 inches. They offer a longer one for purchase separately but that only gives you an additional 4 inches of length. My mechanic did extend the length of the eyelets several inches by splicing them to a longer piece of cord. The manufacturer says this is allowed in order to run the 'comfort connect' port of the eyelets through the grill of your car. With this added length, the eyelet cord now reaches from my battery out through the grill of my car, where its 'comfort connect' end is discreetly secured with an undetectable zip tie. This means that I never have to open the hood of the car anytime I want to connect or disconnect the charger. The eyelets remain on the battery at all times and the hood can always remain closed. I can simply connect and disconnect the charger from the outside of the car at this port at the front of the grill. I'm including this info because, when I first started researching, it was not at all clear how the physical set up works. This Ctek charger really is a quality device. Nothing about it feels cheap or flimsy or plastic-y. It's remarkably simple to use, and at under $90, I think it's a total steal for the valuable service it provides. I only wish I had known about it years sooner. In every respect, it's a total no brainer.UPDATE: 2 years later, it's going strong and is still one of the best purchases I've ever made!

A trickle battery charger is a must have for vehicle battery maintenance! Our old unit finally gave out, and we purchased this CTEK Trickle Battery Charger as a replacement. It did not disappoint!- Very easy to use with its slick and simple plug and play setup.- Handy storage bag and helpful product manual.- Durable and solid construction.- Efficient operation. Vivid and easy to see display panel.This unit is a terrific value, too. I highly recommend this product.