Broken charger now fixed? | FerrariChat

Broken charger now fixed?

Discussion in 'California/Portofino/Roma' started by Alcav5, Oct 25, 2015.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. Alcav5

    Alcav5 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2012
    3,972
    Scarsdale, NY
    Full Name:
    Al
    #1 Alcav5, Oct 25, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Well I posted in the other "trickle charger" thread my dilemma and with breaking my charger and the results...

    So as a follow up , maybe something learned or not I decided to create this thread.

    Story is: I forgot to unplug the charger, it broke off , the wires pulled out of the magnetic connector.

    Not thinking clearly I reattached the wires and though all would be fine, as the nothing else looked broken.

    I went just before to put the car away and connect the charger and I get a red light , not the usual amber lights. I brought the charger back inside & took it apart to see if I did not make a good connection. Yikes,,,, I realized on the inside of the connector are polarity symbols... Dahh I must have reversed polarity. I did not look clearly and I acted hastily when I put the pieces back together... Thankfully the wires are clearly marked which one is positive. So I reattached the wires correctly. Then I plugged the unit inside my home and put a multi-meter on the 12v ends to see if it worked. No readings... Oh boy, maybe I did ruin the charger. I preset the reset button on the charger a few times , still no readings.

    Then I thought maybe the charger was not going to give me a reading bc it needed to be connected to the car's circuitry... I also worried that I may have damaged the car's circuitry.

    So before I reconnected the charger I started the car, it started fine & normal.
    I shut the car off and connected the charger and OK, I get no red light and the ambers that I am used to seeing are on.

    I am thinking all is ok now,,, however I still am wondering if I did do hidden damage and the only reason I am seeing the ambers is bc it is a result of a back feed from the car's battery... I hope I am over worrying and there was enough protection circuitry to save me a repair bill.

    I won't use car until next weekend, I hope it starts...


    Al
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  2. 4th_gear

    4th_gear F1 Rookie

    Jan 18, 2013
    4,425
    Full Name:
    Michael
    #2 4th_gear, Oct 25, 2015
    Last edited: Oct 25, 2015
    OK, I see you posted a new thread on your charger problem. Good to see you have sorted the polarity issue.

    As for testing the charger with a multimeter, I don't think that will work. From what I understand, these (CTEK) battery tenders are computer-controlled. They detect the charge from the battery that they are hooked up to and will analyze the state of charge before they apply a charging voltage. So you must hook them up to a valid battery before they will allow current to flow.

    The way to check the battery tender is to hook up the multimeter to your battery terminals instead and read the charge from the battery before you hook up the battery tender. Then have someone connect the battery tender while you watch the multimeter. You should see a rise in voltage after the battery tender is connected. The actual voltages you see will vary depend on the ambient temperature and the state of charge. If the voltage drops or does not rise then you may have a damaged battery tender.

    BTW, it's better to continue a thread rather than to create a new thread, if you post a new message on the same topic. ;)
     
  3. MacGeek

    MacGeek Formula Junior

    Oct 4, 2007
    368
    Torino, Italy
    #3 MacGeek, Oct 26, 2015
    CTEK chargers have reverse polarity protection. No real damage done.
     
  4. Alcav5

    Alcav5 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2012
    3,972
    Scarsdale, NY
    Full Name:
    Al
    #4 Alcav5, Oct 26, 2015
    Thanks for the reply , and advice...
    :)
     
  5. synchro

    synchro F1 Veteran

    Feb 14, 2005
    9,294
    CHNDLR
    Full Name:
    Scott
    #5 synchro, Nov 5, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Magnetic connector?
    Sounds like you need new pins, connector and back shell - I have several of them because this happened to me also, see pic
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
  6. Alcav5

    Alcav5 F1 Rookie
    Rossa Subscribed

    Jul 28, 2012
    3,972
    Scarsdale, NY
    Full Name:
    Al
    #6 Alcav5, Nov 5, 2015
    That looks like an old style connector, like I had in my 2010 Cali, plugged (snaps) inside a truck connector.

    My magnetic connector is flat & round.

    I fortunately think I did not ruin the charger and it is working so far for the 2 weeks since I posted...

    Thx
     
  7. Shoffman

    Shoffman Karting

    Mar 26, 2015
    109
    #7 Shoffman, Aug 22, 2016
    I also broke my magnetic charger same way and got a new one from ferrari but new charger isnt working. When I plug it in and connect the charger to the car, the power button turns green and then starts to blink after about 30 seconds. Ctek said this means that the charger is not recognizing the hookup to the battery. Did I blow a fuse or something or do I need to reset one of the settings. Anyone have any ideas how to fix the problem?
     

Share This Page