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Charge-o-mat II same as a CTEK 3300?


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I just bought a CTEK Multi US 3300, which I think is the same unit as Porsche sells with their name on it. "Charge-o-mat II"

Of course the CTEK instruction booklet doesn't contain information about charging a Porsche through the connection in the passenger footwell...

I found a little information in the TSB's: at least 10 hours on trickle, but I was wondering if someone had the specific instructions that came with the Porsche branded unit?

Thanks!

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I bought a CTEK 7000 to maintain the battery on my Boxster, along with the cigarette lighter adapter with the correct plug. It's just like your 3300 except it does a few more things. I just plug it in to the cigarette lighter socket, which I think is fused properly for battery maintainers. The only thing I had to do was push the button for gel batteries, which is supposed to work better with the Optima battery I have. I also noticed once when the power went out at my house, I had to power cycle the charger to wake it up.

I'm not sure the Porsche instructions will say more than to plug the maintainer into the cigarette lighter and it's fully charged when the light turns green. That's about all my original Porsche Charge-O-Mat said

If you bought a new CTEK maintainer, you will need to buy the "comfort connect" cigarette lighter adapter, which costs around $10. It just snaps right on to the charger connector. If you don't have one, you can buy it through the renntech Amazon link. The Porsche charger comes with the cigarette lighter plug hard wired on.

I mounted mine on the garage wall right next to where my door opens to keep it off the ground and avoid running it over

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I bought a CTEK 7000 to maintain the battery on my Boxster, along with the cigarette lighter adapter with the correct plug. It's just like your 3300 except it does a few more things. I just plug it in to the cigarette lighter socket, which I think is fused properly for battery maintainers. The only thing I had to do was push the button for gel batteries, which is supposed to work better with the Optima battery I have. I also noticed once when the power went out at my house, I had to power cycle the charger to wake it up.

I'm not sure the Porsche instructions will say more than to plug the maintainer into the cigarette lighter and it's fully charged when the light turns green. That's about all my original Porsche Charge-O-Mat said

If you bought a new CTEK maintainer, you will need to buy the "comfort connect" cigarette lighter adapter, which costs around $10. It just snaps right on to the charger connector. If you don't have one, you can buy it through the renntech Amazon link. The Porsche charger comes with the cigarette lighter plug hard wired on.

I mounted mine on the garage wall right next to where my door opens to keep it off the ground and avoid running it over

Thanks for the reply Geoff, I tried to purchase the adapter through the Renntech Amazon site but they won't ship to Canada. Oh well, I found a CTEK authorized eBay seller (Woody's Custom Shop) and they have the adapter for $9.99+$2.00 shipping to Canada.

The other question I had about it's use on the Porsche was if it mattered if the alarm was set on or off?

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Thanks for the reply Geoff, I tried to purchase the adapter through the Renntech Amazon site but they won't ship to Canada. Oh well, I found a CTEK authorized eBay seller (Woody's Custom Shop) and they have the adapter for $9.99+$2.00 shipping to Canada.

The other question I had about it's use on the Porsche was if it mattered if the alarm was set on or off?

I was in a hurry (and pissed off) because my Amazon order came with the wrong lighter adapter and ordered another one off the CTEK web site. CTEK sent my order to Woody's for fulfillment - I ordered it on a Friday and it arrived the next day (Saturday) in the mail. Outstanding service :D

The lighter socket should be hot whether the alarm is set or not. You can test it by plugging something in, like a cell phone charger, then locking your car and checking if it's still on, or plugging in the battery maintainer and checking if it's still charging with the doors locked and alarm set. My car is in the garage, so I don't lock it

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I have had a CTEK 3600 unit since I bought the car. This is virtually identical to the Porsche unit save the label. I also have the cigarette lighter adapter and charge/ maintain the car using the passenger footwell socket (not fitted on newer cars). You can check to see if the socket is live by the yellow illumination on the device when connected to the socket outlet , but not plugged in to the mains. The boxster S has a 70Ah battery whereas the 2.7 uses a 60 Ah , there are some cases where a heavy duty 80Ah battery is fitted. Check your battery type and select the most appropriate charge rate accordingly. In most cases the 2nd level (normal car battery) is sufficient , though the * or marine battery option may be useful if the heavy duty item is fitted.

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Thanks for the replies, yes my 2006 has the footwell scoket and it is live at all times so the CTEK should work just fine.

Any time my car sits while it is not driven it too is in the garage, so I don't need to lock it, I was just curious about the alarm.

Waiting for the 'comfort connect adapter' to arrive...

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i use the ctek 3600 and leave it connected and the car locked with the alarm on - not had any issues with false alarms when the ctek switched from charging to maintaining modes.

As per the manual, plug it into the car first then the wall. And before leaving, uplug it from the wall then the car.

Yes, you can use it with the alarm set or not set.

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How do you route the wire around the door? Do you just open the window a crack and slide your wires through there?

Thanks

Generally out the bottom of the passenger door.

Mike Focke has some more info on batteries, and a lot of info on 986s. Not much info on 987s, though, plus I don't always agree with his assessment on things (such as aftermarket air filters, e.g.).

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