Ctek Smartpass and D250SE Connector Plates

[bakepl]

Question for those who have received their vehicles with the Ctek Smartpass installed. To connect the Smartpass to the D250SE, 'connector plates' are used and these normally come in the box with the Smartpass device. Do these 'connector plates' come supplied with the vehicle on delivery?

 

[CountyV8]

Question for those who have received their vehicles with the Ctek Smartpass installed. To connect the Smartpass to the D250SE, 'connector plates' are used and these normally come in the box with the Smartpass device. Do these 'connector plates' come supplied with the vehicle on delivery?
View attachment 7810919

The "bus bars" you refer to are only for the electrical connection the 250 unit needs to be mounted separately either to a plate that will take the 120 and the 250 together or fixed rigidly on its own. Not just placed on a table cloth in the picture.

 

[bakepl]

The "bus bars" you refer to are only for the electrical connection the 250 unit needs to be mounted separately either to a plate that will take the 120 and the 250 together or fixed rigidly on its own. Not just placed on a table cloth in the picture.

Correct, just wanting to know if the connector plates come with the vehicle or I have to source them separately from Ctek (if they are sold separately that is)

 

[Logsplitter]

Correct, just wanting to know if the connector plates come with the vehicle or I have to source them separately from Ctek (if they are sold separately that is)

When buying the smart pass then the bus bars are supplied with it ready for connection to the Ctek D250 se so I don’t know whether Ineos will leave the box containing them if ordering the twin battery set up

 

[DCPU]

The CTEK Smartpass box was in mine when I looked at it. However, I never checked it's contents...

 

[bakepl]

The CTEK Smartpass box was in mine when I looked at it. However, I never checked it's contents...

Hoping that's the case and the connector bars are in the box.. thanks for responding. cheers

 

[DCPU]

Hoping that's the case and the connector bars are in the box.. thanks for responding. cheers

Checked today and the connectors bars are not in the box; maybe they come with the D250?

 

[bakepl]

Checked today and the connectors bars are not in the box; maybe they come with the D250?

with the smartpass....

 

[DCPU]

So I contacted CTEK about the missing connector bars; I also mentioned it to Ineos at the same time.

Who do you think responded first? The company I'd just dropped over £60k with; or the company who I'd bought nothing from directly?

I'll just leave this here:

Maybe Ineos can raise a ticket number with itself and find out where they are all ending up if there's none in the boxes when they get to owners?

It's not my first interaction with CTEK Customer Services, on each occasion the response has been excellent. Thank you CTEK.

 

[bakepl]

So I contacted CTEK about the missing connector bars; I also mentioned it to Ineos at the same time.

Who do you think responded first? The company I'd just dropped over £60k with; or the company who I'd bought nothing from directly?

I'll just leave this here:
View attachment 7813300
View attachment 7813301

Maybe Ineos can raise a ticket number with itself and find out where they are all ending up if there's none in the boxes when they get to owners?

It's not my first interaction with CTEK Customer Services, on each occasion the response has been excellent. Thank you CTEK.

Cheers, guess we'll never know if Ctek supply these in the box for their Ineos contract or not..... but good on Ctek, have a few of their products and rate them. Suspect they'll be receiving a few calls..

 

[bakepl]

So I contacted CTEK about the missing connector bars; I also mentioned it to Ineos at the same time.

Who do you think responded first? The company I'd just dropped over £60k with; or the company who I'd bought nothing from directly?

I'll just leave this here:
View attachment 7813300
View attachment 7813301

Maybe Ineos can raise a ticket number with itself and find out where they are all ending up if there's none in the boxes when they get to owners?

It's not my first interaction with CTEK Customer Services, on each occasion the response has been excellent. Thank you CTEK.

Yes, how good is CTEK customer service, snappy email and were more than happy to send out connectors.

 

[DCPU]

Oh, you got the limited edition contrasting colour chassis versions.

 

[das mo]

Gents.

Lost on this one. What are these needed for and you confirm they are "missing"?

Sorry if this is the wrong thread to ask this, but the overall second battery setup is still very confusing to me with very little info provided:

• I ordered the second battery to run my fridge and load some devices whilst having the camp put up.
• Now the software on board seems to provide me with zero access to basic info such as load status and power consumption on both batteries.
• Therefore nothing to work with in order get better in calculating / predicting how many days I can stay off grid.
• Also have not understood if and how I could use the prewired connectors to connect a solar power cell to actually feed in

Not sure they will adapt the software to provide some more insight on what is happening?!
Does CTEK allow to connect a device / App to get the info out the system?

As the 12V socket in the trunk is not very well positioned for my fridge, I also wonder how to run the wire directly under the back seat and connect it somewhere...

Probably need to find the time to study that CTEK User Manual as long as this is the device running it all and there is nothing put upon top by Ineos making it not the guideline to follow.

Thanks!

 

[DCPU]

Gents.

Lost on this one. What are these needed for and you confirm they are "missing"?

They're only needed if you want to connect the D250SE charger.

Sorry if this is the wrong thread to ask this, but the overall second battery setup is still very confusing to me with very little info provided:

• I ordered the second battery to run my fridge and load some devices whilst having the camp put up.
• Now the software on board seems to provide me with zero access to basic info such as load status and power consumption on both batteries.
• Therefore nothing to work with in order get better in calculating / predicting how many days I can stay off grid.

You'll need your own device, a few have been mentioned already.

• Also have not understood if and how I could use the prewired connectors to connect a solar power cell to actually feed in

That's the D250SE ~ or another make if you're not tied to CTEK.

As the 12V socket in the trunk is not very well positioned for my fridge, I also wonder how to run the wire directly under the back seat and connect it somewhere...

There's an output for items directly off the Smartpass.

 

[globalgregors]

Also have not understood if and how I could use the prewired connectors to connect a solar power cell to actually feed in

A solar cell requires a regulator (Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) or Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Controller), a bridge essentially, that converts the higher voltage DC from the cell to the lower voltage DC needed to charge batteries. The CTEK D250SE is a battery charger that can achieve the required voltage conversion.

It is possible also to buy a standalone solar regulator and in some cases you will find solar panels and blankets which come with a regulator bundled. In this case the low voltage output can be connected directly to the battery or elsewhere in the electrical system (under bonnet terminals? Yet to see an actual wiring diagram).

I might be oversimplifying, but as I understand it a MPPT controller is essentially a ‘smart’/variable charger while a PWM is a switch that must be selected to match a panel of specific voltage.

I’m still working through the merits of the D250SE versus reusing my existing solar regulator.

This blog post below might help. It’s not precisely the same model but I found it helpful…

CTEK D250SA And SMARTPASS120 - REVIEW | All Around Oz

The CTEK D250SA and Smartpass120 battery management system is the perfect solution for anyone who has big away from home power requirements.

allaroundoz.com.au

 

[das mo]

A solar cell requires a regulator (Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) or Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) Controller), a bridge essentially, that converts the higher voltage DC from the cell to the lower voltage DC needed to charge batteries. The CTEK D250SE is a battery charger that can achieve the required voltage conversion.

It is possible also to buy a standalone solar regulator and in some cases you will find solar panels and blankets which come with a regulator bundled. In this case the low voltage output can be connected directly to the battery or elsewhere in the electrical system (under bonnet terminals? Yet to see an actual wiring diagram).

I might be oversimplifying, but as I understand it a MPPT controller is essentially a ‘smart’/variable charger while a PWM is a switch that must be selected to match a panel of specific voltage.

I’m still working through the merits of the D250SE versus reusing my existing solar regulator.

This blog post below might help. It’s not precisely the same model but I found it helpful…

CTEK D250SA And SMARTPASS120 - REVIEW | All Around Oz

The CTEK D250SA and Smartpass120 battery management system is the perfect solution for anyone who has big away from home power requirements.

allaroundoz.com.au

Thanks. Looking forward to your further learnings.

 

[Orcmurd]

For how long roughly could the second battery power something like a cold box? I know it depends on external temperature, power rating etc but say 25 degrees external temp, cold box sitting in the shade, how many days roughly?

 

[globalgregors]

For how long roughly could the second battery power something like a cold box? I know it depends on external temperature, power rating etc but say 25 degrees external temp, cold box sitting in the shade, how many days roughly?

That’s super hard to say on that much information, and I’m not 100% sure what you mean by ‘cold box’.

Expect say 24-60 hours of runtime for a mid-size 12V fridge with no solar input. Longer end if it was pre-cooled, fully loaded, kept shut and it’s protected from the sun. Less, possibly much less, if any of those are false. They take a lot of energy to cool down but once they are at temperature and kept sealed they are pretty efficient.

 

[Orcmurd]

That’s super hard to say on that much information, and I’m not 100% sure what you mean by ‘cold box’.

Expect say 24-60 hours of runtime for a mid-size 12V fridge with no solar input. Longer end if it was pre-cooled, fully loaded, kept shut and it’s protected from the sun. Less, possibly much less, if any of those are false. They take a lot of energy to cool down but once they are at temperature and kept sealed they are pretty efficient.

Perfect. I had no idea if it could run say a small fridge for 1 day or 5 days. Now I understand the interest in solar and the CTEK 250 or similar.

 

[das mo]

To predict / calculate run time, we need to have solid understanding on the battery power mgmt.
I understood that the system allows you to pull energy from both batteries till the main battery reaches a threshold it keeps to make sure all vital functions have enough power, whilst I assume you can fully discharge the second one?
My little fridge pulls around 3amps / 30watts... will do the math...