CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge review | Versatile lead-acid system

Date reviewed: January 2025 | Tested by: John Milbank | Price: Around £125 | www.ctek.com

The CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge on review here is a versatile lead-acid battery charger and maintainer, which also has a built-in tester for the battery and the charging system. Not to be confused with the cheaper CTEK MXS 5.0 that does not have the test feature, I’ve been using it for 18 months on the Zontes ZT350-T and an old Honda CRV…

Pros & Cons

Features

The CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge packs a lot of features into its compact case, making it a potentially valuable tool for motorcycle or car use:

• Motorcycle mode charges at 0.8A, for batteries from 1.2 to 14Ah capacity

• Car mode charges at 5.0A, for faster charging of batteries from 14 to 110Ah (maintenance charging only for 110 to 160Ah batteries)

• Recondition mode for 1.2 to 160Ah batteries can attempt to rescue a deep-discharged pack as long as there’s 2.0 V or more remaining (doesn’t benefit typical AGM motorcycle packs)

• Test modes check battery voltage, starting power and alternator

• IP65 rated: dust proof and resistant to water jets (that means don’t submerge it, but it should be fine if it gets caught out in the rain).

• Reverse polarity, short circuit protected and spark-free

• Cold weather mode for charging at low temperatures and for AGM packs

• Claimed back current drain (draw on the battery if charger not powered) <1Ah/month

• Claimed current ripple <4%. Ripple is caused by poorly-filtered AC input ‘leaking’ into the DC output and can damage batteries. It’s reduced by using larger or more suitable components. <30% is generally considered acceptable in circuits.

• Includes proper, easy to understand printed instruction manual.

Connections

The leading motorcycle battery charger brands all use different connectors – Optimate has SAE, Oxford has Tamiya-style and CTEK has its own, which is easy to use and locks securely in place.

A fly-lead is supplied that can be attached to your bike’s battery to allow easier access, but I’m surprised to find it doesn’t include a fuse. There’s a silicone cover on the fly-lead, though it can be knocked open a little easily, exposing it to the elements, so be careful where you put it.

There’s also a set of quality crocodile clips (46cm from tips to connector) supplied, for use on car or bike batteries.

The mains cable going into the MXS 5.0 Test & Charge is 140cm long, with the output cable measuring 108cm to its connector. The unit itself is 17cm long, so it’ll reach up to 265cm.

Versatility

For motorcyclists, the 0.8A output means that a fully-discharged 9Ah CBR600 battery would take a theoretical 11.25 hours to fully charge (9 Amp-hours / 0.8 Amps). There’s a bit more to it than that, but it’s a useful guide.

Most dedicated motorcycle chargers have a relatively low output current like this so there’s no chance of causing damage to the battery, and to save on unnecessarily hefty components. That’s fine, and the CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge is an excellent device for motorbikes, but it also has the benefit of a car mode, which outputs 5A. This would charge my flat 45Ah car battery in a theoretical nine hours. You could do it in bike mode, but it’d take 36 hours at 0.8A, and there’d be no higher current option to potentially ‘rescue’ the battery.

Some chargers will automatically change their output current depending on the size of the battery they’re attached to, but the CTEX does need to be switched using the mode button on the front. If you left the charger in car mode and connected it to the bike battery it would still work, but the current could be higher than is recommended for the longest life of a lead-acid pack.

Having both charge modes means this is a far more useful charger for most motorcyclists – who tend to also have a car – than a more basic bike-only device, but it’s the testing function that really adds to this device over other CTEK options like the CT5 Powersport reviewed here

My old Honda CRV car has been struggling to start in winter, so I connected the MXS 5.0 Test & Charge to check it. There’s no need to plug it into the mains for testing a battery, though the battery does need to be fully charged, then have been allowed to rest for at least an hour for all the tests to be accurate. Once the supplied quality crocodile clips are connected to the battery, LEDs 4, 5 and 6 illuminate (the ones with red, yellow and green surrounds).

Now select the test mode using the Mode button: selecting ‘Battery’ will show the resting voltage of the battery, ‘Start Power’ will show the voltage achieved during cranking, and ‘Alternator’ will show the charging voltage when the engine’s running. Here’s what the LEDs mean:

Using it on my car showed that the cranking power of the battery was only ‘fair’, but that it was charging okay. As it only tends to do short journeys, it’s no surprise that it’s struggling in the winter, but I’m glad to find I don’t need to shell out for a new alternator. As I write this, the CTEK is running in ‘Recondition’ mode, which can help a battery that’s struggling after a deep-discharge by applying a higher (15.8V) charging output at 1.5A for 30 minutes or four hours, depending on the state of the battery.

One thing I would point out is that if you’re switching between test and charging modes you could accidentally leave it in test, thinking it’s on charge as the ‘Battery’ LED doubles up as the ‘Car’ LED. The charging lights wouldn’t start in the correct position, but if you’re in a rush you could miss it like I once did!

Connecting the Test & Charge to the VFR800, it initially wouldn’t do a starting power test as the battery dropped too low during cranking, which caused the test to fail. CTEK explains in the instructions that the battery should be fully charged, and this shouldn’t limit its usefulness ‘in the field’ if you take it with you when looking to buy a used bike as you can still test the charging circuit, which is the most key thing. When the battery was charged, the start power test ran fine. It is worth mentioning that the Optimate Test TS-120 did manage to maintain a low power start test.

Of course, a basic multimeter can be used to check a battery and charging circuit if you know what you’re looking for, but devices like the Test & Charge are not only easier to use for many people, they ‘hold’ the result, which is particularly helpful when you’re starting a car with the testing device out of sight in the engine bay.

The CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge is only suitable for 12V batteries, so if you have a very old bike with a 6V system, this won’t be suitable. It also can’t be used with lithium packs.

Performance

CTEK chargers are very good quality, and I’ve not had any problems with the performance of any I’ve tested. The MXS 5.0 Test & Charge can safely be left connected to your bike indefinitely as – unlike cheap trickle chargers – it runs through a sequence of programmes to keep the battery at an optimum charge state, and to constantly monitor it:

I’ve been unable to test the ability of the Test & Charge to rescue a potentially knackered battery as the one I had was fixed by the CTEK CT5 charger. However, the charging program is the same on this device so we can expect the same results; CTEK has a very good charging and recovery system.

CTEK accessories

Some useful accessories I’ve also tested with this CTEK charger are the indicator fly-lead, the extension cable and the bumper.

The fly-lead, called the ‘Comfort Indicator Eyelet M6’ costs around £12 and has M6 6.4mm ring connectors on the end to suit motorcycle batteries (an M8 version is also available). Unlike the supplied fly-lead, this one has a fuse fitted and is rated for up to 10A, which is more than enough. There are three LEDs on the connector that flash briefly to indicate the battery’s health: Green means it’s above 12.65V, Orange between 12.4 and 12.65V, and red means less than 12.4V. If it’s off, you’re really in trouble! These voltages do mean that it’s not suitable for lithium packs, which have a higher ‘depleted’ voltage.

A silicone cover protects the terminals from the elements, but as with the one supplied, it can be knocked open, so don’t place the cable where your leg could brush against it.

In my testing, the indicator leads draws about 1.27mA, peaking at 3mA when the LED flashes briefly. Even if we calculate based on a 1.5mA average draw, it’d take 28 days to pull 1A from your battery.

Of course, if you always have your bike connected to the charger then an indicator lead is unnecessary, but they can be really helpful for people who have multiple bikes and one charger to swap between them.

The ‘Comfort Connect’ extension lead costs £15 and is 2.5m long, which has proven particularly handy for me to reach across to the bike when it’s away from the charger. Rated up to 10A, it might also be useful for getting a feed out of a window.

The CTEK CTX Protect bumper might seem a luxury, but I had it on the CT5 Powersport reviewed here, and besides adding some protection to the device if it’s dragged around on the floor or dropped, it helps it stay in place when rested on the bike’s tank. On a decice that might be carried around to test other vehicles, it’s potentially even more useful. The cheapest I could find it is £12.90 at Halfords, though remember that BikeSocial members save at Halfords, along with hundreds of other deals.

Four alternatives to the CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge

There are loads of motorcycle chargers available, and plenty of cheaper options too, but make sure you buy a quality maintenance charger (not a trickle charger) that’s suitable for smaller motorcycle batteries. Experience has shown that investing in a decent device can see it last a very long time…

• CTEK CS One, £169 | This is the company’s flagship charger, and it’s priced to match. Unfortunately you have to buy the fly lead separately, but it’s heavy on features and has up to an 8A maximum output. We just wish it had a proper display, instead of an app to change settings. Read the full review of the CTEK CS One here.

• Optimate PRO-1 Duo, £169.99 | Easy to use but bristling with features including an extremely valuable 13.6V supply mode. It’ll automatically select the ideal current between 0.4 and 10A, and is suitable for lithium or lead-acid motorcycle and car packs. Full review of the Optimate PRO-1 Duo coming soon.

• Oxford Oximiser, £99.99 | The Oxford Oximiser 3X charges at up to 3.6A and retails at £99.99, though we’ve seen it for almost half that at times. Read the full review of the Oxford Oximiser 3X here.

• Optimate Test TS-120 battery tester, £42.99 | The CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge is the only charger I’ve tested that includes a test system, so another option is the Optimate TS120. This is just a tester, but if you want to pair it with an affordable, versatile motorcycle battery charger, consider the £52.90 Optimate 1 Duo. Read the full review of the Optimate Test TS-120 here.

These are just four of many alternatives – you can find all the motorcycle battery chargers we’ve tested here and be sure to regularly check for the discounts available through Bikesocial membership.

CTEK MSX 5.0 Test & Charge review: Verdict

Thanks to its choice of current outputs, the CTEK MXS 5.0 Test & Charge is a versatile maintenance charger for both motorcycles and cars, but it’s the testing system built in that really makes this device stand out. Thanks to not needing to be powered to run a test, it can help in diagnosing electrical system faults even in the middle of nowhere, so there’s the potential to save buying a bike or car with a fault (or knock some money off).

Sure, testing can be done with a multimeter, but that can be more awkward when you’re on your own, and having it built in is a handy addition.

Overall this is a great charger that can look after your bike’s lead-acid battery long term, along with the versatility to be a valuable tool for all your vehicles.

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