Cold weather starting
Discussion
Noticed a growing number of threads on problems with starting cerberas.
Having owned mine for 2 years I guess most of them are down to battery flattening (although some are starter motor related) so I thought I'd post my experiences.
If I left the car for 2 weeks in low temps there was not enough juice left to start the car. This is partly due to the alarm draining the battery and partly due to the fact the cerb has a big engine requiring lots of current to turn it over.
The solution I found (apart from the obvious battery conditioner) was a spare battery. Those little jump starter packs (with gel batteries) are a good idea but not 'man' enough for a cerbera. Find the hardest battery you can (lots of amps, mine has 740 cold cranking amps for 30 secs at -20C according to the label) weight is usually a good guide. You also need thick jump leads (obvious).
I needed to use this a few times and it worked a treat, although if you plan to take it with you in the boot (could be handy if you are going somewhere remote and it is very cold) make sure it is wedged firmly in place. I took mine with me a few times and never had any problems just be careful.
This might all seem really obvious but I hope it helps someone, there is nothing worse than not being able to start the car and then not having enough juice to close the windows afterwards. There's never anyone around when you need a jump start either.
Rob.
Having owned mine for 2 years I guess most of them are down to battery flattening (although some are starter motor related) so I thought I'd post my experiences.
If I left the car for 2 weeks in low temps there was not enough juice left to start the car. This is partly due to the alarm draining the battery and partly due to the fact the cerb has a big engine requiring lots of current to turn it over.
The solution I found (apart from the obvious battery conditioner) was a spare battery. Those little jump starter packs (with gel batteries) are a good idea but not 'man' enough for a cerbera. Find the hardest battery you can (lots of amps, mine has 740 cold cranking amps for 30 secs at -20C according to the label) weight is usually a good guide. You also need thick jump leads (obvious).
I needed to use this a few times and it worked a treat, although if you plan to take it with you in the boot (could be handy if you are going somewhere remote and it is very cold) make sure it is wedged firmly in place. I took mine with me a few times and never had any problems just be careful.
This might all seem really obvious but I hope it helps someone, there is nothing worse than not being able to start the car and then not having enough juice to close the windows afterwards. There's never anyone around when you need a jump start either.
Rob.
Interesting idea. How many starts would you get out of it before it needed a re charge?
You could mount it on a sack barrow for easy access (my shed is a bit of a treck from the car).
D.
what about..
www.halfords.com/opd_product_details.asp?id=17428&type=0&cat=28
You could mount it on a sack barrow for easy access (my shed is a bit of a treck from the car).
D.
what about..
www.halfords.com/opd_product_details.asp?id=17428&type=0&cat=28
Some Halfords chargers are no good to trickle charge a cerb with the battery still in the car, if its more than 7 amps. It can f*&k the electrics. Its ok if the battery is out of the car, but being a cerb, its best to leave it where it is. I use a Leven trickle charger, which keeps it topped up.
dannylt said:
Park on a hill? 
Impossible not to when visiting my folks in Wales
Other things I found out:
If you suspect the battery is low first thing to open is the boot. This uses almost no power from the battery. Next open the drivers door using part 2 of 'the method', again using no battery power. Then try to start the car.
You will have maximum chance using this method. The other useful side effect is that if you fail you can shut the door (being careful of the window seals) and the window will still be up. This is important as if you fail to start the car chances are you wont have enough power to wind the window back up when you close the door. I have been here and if your garage is quite a way from your house (or the car is on the street), it is very annoying.
Also be kind to the door seals, if they are icy pour warm water on them before opening the door.
Don't get caught out like I did.
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