CTEK Indicator Panel 1.5 M, Panel Mounted LED Indicator Showing Battery Charge Status Indicating When It's Time to Charge, for All 12V Lead-Acid Batteries, for Cars, Motorcycles & Other Vehicles

I'm pleased with this item and more than pleased with my CTEK charger/maintainer that I've owned for 10 years. I had already permanent attached pigtails to my other cars and lawn tractor, allowing me to rotate connection to the charging unit, as needed. But, one of my cars has the battery in a recessed location. Without some sort of extension cord, I'd have to either remove the spare tire every time I wanted to connect the CTEK, or open the hood and temporary connect to the front ports. While I didn't really NEED the monitor, a simple extension cable would also require separate pigtails to make the battery connection. This device does both and the monitor function is a bonus. It's nice that there is also a template that would allow you to formally mount the monitor & CTEK connection on a side wall or floor, but I've keep mine loose.

I bought the 56-380 to fit into an unused switch port to the left of the steering column on my 2008 Prius. My daily commute takes less than 3 minutes so the teeny 11v computer boot battery just wasn't recharging fully. A once-weekly charge from the CTEK Multi US 3300 12-Volt Smart Battery Charger I bought at the same time keeps the stupid $200 thing happy.The shape and size of the panel required a substantial amount of Dremelling on the backside of the dash panel to fit. Externally, they're very similar in size and it looks like it was made for the location, however. The power draw of the always-on indicator light appears to be negligible. After a 4-day weekend of not using the car, my multimeter didn't register any more change in the battery charge than it does for the same length of time without the panel.I'd like to mention that CTEK has great and knowledgeable customer service, as an aside. I emailed their [...] customer service address a couple of photos and a diagram of my car's dashboard wiring harness and where I intended to splice on the indicator panel's leads. Their reply assured me (paraphrasing) "while we can't support or recommend connecting the adapter anywhere but directly to the battery terminals, your plan should work just fine if the wires are sufficient gauge and protected by fuses." Responsible and helpful! The response DID take three days, but it was over a weekend, I didn't lose any sleep over it, and the gentleman that replied appeared to know what he was talking about. I figured that a short wait was better than an unhelpful canned response. ;>

A very nice accompanyment to the CTEK charging system. I purchased one for each of my vehicles and even got one for my cab enclosed tractor. A good feeling always knowing the current status of your battery. My single complaint is that the length of the wire is too short by about a foot at the least. My first went into a 3/4 ton diesel (2 battery) pickup truck. I had to cut the line to thread it through the panel (firewall) separating the engine compartment and the passenger compartment. With the fuse in line, it was impossible to thread it through that space so I cut the line, threaded it through the firewall and was able to customize the install (create/cut into panelling) to the dashboard and very neatly mount the indicator panel.I did have to add at least an additional foot of cable/wire for this to work. Had to do the same for my Toyota Landcruiser. The included 5 feet of cabling is not sufficient for larger vehicles but may be OK for more compact cars..As well, most firewalls are essentially sealed which doesn't allow for the passage of the cable with the built in fuse so be prepared to cut your line and possibly add more length as I had to.. Works great once installed!! Very clean and high quality componentry..Highly recommended!

I have a 1986 Toyota which has rectangular false panels that fit this Ctek indicator panel like it was made for it! I pretty much bought this product because another reviewer said it fit his car so I just assumed it would fit mine as well! I am one of those individuals that likes a nice clean factory-like installation, it really makes me happy! Of course, the convenience of plugging the charger on the drivers side through the window is great! It definitely beats popping my hood and hooking up the clips.Now for the minuses........Yes, the length of the wire is too darn short! 5 feet is not enough! I have a compact car and I had to add another foot and a half to route my wires properly. If your battery is near the firewall you may be in luck since it is a lot closer.The LED indicator lights are a good idea, but it's pretty sensitive to any type of battery voltage draw while your car is off. For example, I fully charged my battery overnight. My indicator light flashed green. I drove my car 7 miles to work with the lights on, parked my car turned off the lights and the indicator flashed RED for 5 seconds, then it flashed yellow! I sat there staring at the light waiting for the indicator to go back to green but no dice! Granted my battery is at least 5 years old so I would imagine this could be an issue....however the 'yellow indicator' is not an accurate real-time reading knowing I just recharged my battery for 24 hours the night before. I think this feature is going to drive me nuts! I can see it now.... I'll ignore the yellow blinking light 'thinking' my battery is okay and when it blinks red it'll be too late! I'll probably monitor the LED's more this week to see if things change.Aside from the aforementioned, a clean install and plug-in convenience is a great addition to your Ctek charger!

Installed this in my Sprinter build. Comfort port allowed me to permanently connect to the chassis battery and run wiring cleanly through to a spot on the console. Allowed me to charge the chassis battery and the Volta system while on shore power.Love the battery recondition function.