My reduced driving over the many previous months has convinced me to buy a trickle charger. I have a couple Black and Decker chargers but I would like to get one of the Ctek units. My C7 has the outlet in the trunk (vert) but the factory charger got misplaced by the previous owner.
Is there a preferred model I should buy? Ctek has a bunch of models over a large price range. My preference is to buy the one that is the most similar to what GM provided with the 2019 C7 or 2020 C8.

 

You can't go wrong with the model 7002. It has some excellent features. It can charge either lead or AGM batteries. It also has the capability to power your vehicle fully powered in the event you need to remove the battery. If you go with this then unit you need to purchase the cigarette plugin accessory which is sold separately and is needed for your Corvette. The unit also has standard clamps that you could easily swap on the fly if you ever need to charge another vehicle battery under the hood. It also can also desulphanate a lead-acid battery that is going bad. It has more features than does the GM Corvette Ctek maintainer. You can get some deals if you search Amazon. It is considered a smart maintainer. All you need to do is plug it in and walk away. It will never overcharge your battery.

 

I don't think you'll go wrong with any of CTEK's 12V offerings. The one that came with the C7 appears to be a one-off from their normal product offerings, in that it's a 4-Step 12V charger. The only 4-Step they normally offer is designed for 6V applications. The closest in their normal product lineup is probably the US 0.8, which is a 6-Step 12V charger. Keep in mind you'll need the Cig Plug accessory to connect it via the trunk outlet.

If you want an actual C7 charger (that comes with a Cig Plug connector permanently attached) and you're not in a hurry, check out the C7 Parts for Sale/Wanted forum where they come up for sale from time-to-time.

 

The prior owner of my 2015 also misplaced the charger. I bought an OEM one on eBay for around $100.00.

 

I've had a bad experience with them. I had my C5 and a Harley on them during storage when a storm passed through and the power was briefly interrupted. These chargers are suppose to protect the electronics in your car. Both chargers were fried and the ecbm unit on the C5 was fried. There have been other similar threads on this. I now use a Sears trickle charger that shows the % of charge and can plug in the trunk.

 

There is 0 chance your Sears trickle charger will survive a lightning strike on your home when it is in use.

 

The factory chargers come up for sale often in the C7 Parts for Sale/Wanted section. Just check there and see what is available. Or make a wanted to buy post there stating you are looking for one.

 

I purchased the CTEK MXS 5.0 for my C6 several months ago, it was $100 from the CTEK website. They seem to have good prices online.

 

I think I narrowed the search to the Ctek mks 5.0 or the Ctek 7002. $80 vs. $120. Anyone care to comment? Is there something about the 7002 that is needed compared to the 5.0?
Yes, I am probably overthinking this but I seem to have spare time since I do not have many places to go lately.

 

The 5.0 is a great maintainer and offers great value. The only difference I can see between the two is the 5.0 can charge at a maximum rate of 4.3 amp and the 7002 can charge as high as 7 amp. Also the 7002 has a supply mode that allow you to provide full power to your vehicle while the battery is removed. This will save you from losing all you vehicle settings which many on the forum have said can cause a whole lot of problems. How often do you need to take the battery out of the vehicle? Just when replacing the battery and that is not done very often. So, the 5.0 is the maintainer to get unless you want to pay the extra $$ for the supply mode feature and the 7002 can charge batteries faster than the 5.0. Both these unit are more capable than the Corvette maintainer which has a 4 step charging process where these two both have an 8 step charging process. These 2 chargers can desulfate and restore a badly supfated battery (lead-acid only). The Corvette maintainer does not have this feature. Both the 5.0 and the 7002 can charge a AGM battery such as the Optima. The 5.0 is a better value than the Corvette Ctek maintainer. Both the 5.0 and the 7002 will come with standard clamps but you will need to purchase the cigarette power outlet connector. I think this is about 10 more dollars.

 

Thanks for the detailed explanation. My plan has been to get a 2024, so I hope the battery lasts. I plan to use this charger for my C7 as well as the BMW. The 5.0 is looking good.
This whole trickle charging applied to my two vehicles due to low usage. It has now spread to my neighbors. One with two Mercedes and one with two BMWs. All 4 vehicles, relatively new, have very discharged batteries. Everyone is trickle charging. I mention this so others will check to see if this new normal of low usage is causing problems.

 

$22.00 or less with Coupon From Harbor Freight

I installed the harness on the right of this picture
semi permanently on my C6 and then you plug
in the center harness as needed...............

 

With all the electronics that are in modern automobiles I would not be surprised that batteries are running low in those vehicles. I have been using my Ctek 7002 about 1.5 years and the Corvette Ctek about 7 months. I always keep my 7002 (which replaced my Corvette Ctek) plugged in because there is a high parasitic draw on the C7 when the vehicle is turned off. GM must be spying on us. After about a week or 2 of using this unit in this manner you will notice while driving that your alternator is not working as hard as before using this maintainer. Most of the time I will see the alternator charging on the DIC at a 12.6 V rate. This is because the battery is always topped off from the using maintainer. YMMV

 

Yes, I have already noticed the voltage changing from 14.7 Vdc down to 12.8Vdc just after a few miles after using the charger.

 

You're golden then. Keep using that maintainer and you will prolong the life of the battery if that is important to you.

 

My plan is to upgrade my little Black and Decker trickle charger to a better quality unit. It is also around an amp or so capability. I think I plan to do more trickle charging than in the past.

 

Keep in mind a trickle charger and a smart charger are not the same. The smart charger is controlled by a microprocessor and does not apply a constant voltage to charge a battery. The trickle charger will apply a constant voltage all the time. This can eventually damage the battery if this is not unplugged after charging. A smart charger on the other hand can remain connected all the time and shut itself off when peak battery amp-hour rating is achieved. It can also turn itself back on when the battery drains down as all batteries will eventually do..

 

FWIW, I remain happy with my MULTI US 7002, which I've used on multiple vehicles for many years. It's one of the most versatile units they offer - fully-automatic 8-step charging curve; desulphation function; low ripple; and dedicated AGM, Supply & Recondition modes, make it suitable for just about any 12V lead-acid battery. Designed for safety, it's protected from reverse-polarity connections and is short-circuit proof. It comes standard with alligator clips so, as I mentioned previously, you'll need the Cig Plug accessory (~$15) to connect it via the trunk outlet. I installed Comfort Connect Indicator Eyelets (~$15/ea) on my GT500 and Tacoma, providing a visual indicator of battery status and making connection quick & easy. I found the "stock" alligator clips work best with my wife's BMW, which has the battery in the trunk, but doesn't offer a convenient connection like our C7s.

You've used the term "trickle charger" several times. Wanted to make sure you realize one of the reasons these units cost more than traditional "trickle chargers" (that will eventually over-charge batteries) is that they're more "intelligent" battery maintainers. Maintainers charge batteries to a certain level, after which they permit discharge to a preset lower level. When the lower level is reached, they charge back to the higher level and repeat the cycle, float-charging batteries rather than over-charging them. This is what makes them suitable for use with cars in long-term storage.

 

Thought about it some more and ordered the Multi US 7002 and the plug adapter. Seems like it may do the job quicker and has a few more features. Thanks to all that took the time to explain the pros and cons of the multiple selections offered by Ctek.

 

After getting familiar with this device and using it for a while you will realize you made a great choice. Good luck. CTEK is the most popular brand for battery charging products in Europe. Every major high-end performance auto manufacturer in Europe recommends and uses this brand.