Portable jump starters

[alabbasi]

Thanks, I'll look for an equivalent in the US.

[AW10]

I would hazard a guess that with these glovebox-size lithium battery packs you need to start the car pretty quickly after connecting it otherwise the lithium battery will attempt to charge the car's lead acid battery and in 5 or 10 minutes you'll simply have two part charged batteries, neither of which is strong enough to charge the car?

[finlo]

AW10 said:

I would hazard a guess that with these glovebox-size lithium battery packs you need to start the car pretty quickly after connecting it otherwise the lithium battery will attempt to charge the car's lead acid battery and in 5 or 10 minutes you'll simply have two part charged batteries, neither of which is strong enough to charge the car?

The instructions for mine say to disconnect as soon as the vehicle starts.
Incidentally mine started a 2.5L diesel motorhome yesterday that has stood unused for the last 9 months.

[DuraAce]

AW10 said:

I would hazard a guess that with these glovebox-size lithium battery packs you need to start the car pretty quickly after connecting it otherwise the lithium battery will attempt to charge the car's lead acid battery and in 5 or 10 minutes you'll simply have two part charged batteries, neither of which is strong enough to charge the car?

Doesn't need to be removed instantly but surely you'd just remove it once the flat car has started - same as you would with any other boost/jump device?

I'm sold on them after using then so could of times to start totally flat cars. I always have one in the boot now for emergency use.

[GreenV8S]

DuraAce said:

I always have one in the boot now for emergency use.

I thought most Lithium based batteries don't like being left fully charged. Do you have any sort of maintenance routine for your emergency battery?

[finlo]

GreenV8S said:

I thought most Lithium based batteries don't like being left fully charged. Do you have any sort of maintenance routine for your emergency battery?

It wouldn't be much use in an emergency if you couldn't leave it charged up!

[DuraAce]

GreenV8S said:

DuraAce said:

I always have one in the boot now for emergency use.

I thought most Lithium based batteries don't like being left fully charged. Do you have any sort of maintenance routine for your emergency battery?

Not something I was aware of, instructions don't mention anything special being required.
I took one of out one car the other week, its been in there unused for ten months ish, to check the charge. It was still full.
I have another I keep in a toolbox for track days etc, it's been invaluable.

[Mr-B]

sunbeam alpine said:

Mr-B said:

atmotofoto1 said:

this is very interesting:

but I've heard that they can toast ECU's? is this a myth?

I'll let you know next week

I have a friend who runs an Alfa/Fiat garage. He has a car hire place next door which has quite a few Fiat 500's. They obviuosly don't have enough work as they regularly have cars with flat batteries.

So far he's replaced 4 dashboard units on the Fiats as a result of jump-starting. Now they disconnect the battery to recharge it instead of using a jump-starter.

My dbpower arrived last week and used it today to start the car. The car battery wasn't totally flat but it has been struggling to turn the engine over and it takes quite a few seconds to start the car unlike the <1 second it should normally take (3 litre diesel). The booster made it start just like normal as though I had a brand new fully charged battery in the car, pretty impressive. A quick check of all the visible electrics like lights, heated seats, fan, radio, air con etc all seem to be working but haven't driven anywhere yet to see if there is any underlying stuff that's "fried". On that point if these boosters were causing such problems I would have thought they wouldn't be selling them as legal claims against the manufacturer would have got them withdrawn from sale???

[AW10]

Would be curious to know what booster that Fiat/Alfa garage was using. I would steer well clear of any mains powered starting assist. Or maybe just the finest Italian electrics doing what they do so well!

[Mr-B]

AW10 said:

Would be curious to know what booster that Fiat/Alfa garage was using. I would steer well clear of any mains powered starting assist. Or maybe just the finest Italian electrics doing what they do so well!

Ha ha, yes could be temperamental Italian handiwork, or maybe user error?? Took the car out today and all seemed well so (famous last words) don't think there is any underlying electrical problems caused by using these things.

[FiF]

One of our work vans regularly flattens the battery as it goes out to site, is left all day with back and side door open so the interior lights are on. When I suggested turning the lights off, seems the bright sparks who fitted the van out didn't put switches on them but wired them to permanent live via a door switch.

Any road up this van is started using a jump starter glove box lithium pack at least 4 days a week. To be fair the vehicle battery isn't usually bang flat but turns the engine over noticeably more slowly. We use a Roypow 18000maH 800amp jobbie, even bought one for my own vehicle.

Handy for other uses too, charging phones and torch batteries if you are out in the wilds and forests for days on end. Can charge it up from mains, 12v power lighter socket, or USB, actually you can connect 2*USB feeds for faster charging.

[MXRod]

AdeTuono said:

I bought one of these. Really didn't think it'd be any good, but it starts my 7.0l LS7 and a 60 year old diesel tractor without breaking into a sweat. Fantastic bit of kit, and must surely run off black magic and voodoo.






https://www.amazon.co.uk/Audew-Portable-Jumpstarte...

Having read through the thread , Mine arrived today , or should I say the one for my daughter . her car sits unused for up to a week at a time . its not possible to connect a maintainer charger , so hopefully this will get her out of trouble .
As an aside I need to do a check on the current draw when the car is sleeping , to find out why the battery struggles after a week of inactivity ,
Done all the usual things , making sure auto lights are switched off , indicator lever is central ( leave it left or right and corresponding side lights come on as parking lights ) radio is off etc

[227bhp]

I bought one of these and it works ok apart from one thing. It needs some current (from the car battery) to actually trigger it, so if you've got a battery which is 100% flat they don't work.

[POORCARDEALER]

Had the snap on packs for years.....the batteries inside thm need repalcing now and again...i replace them with more powerful versions that cost around £70. (ebay, just get the biggest output one that fit in the casing)

Nothing to stop you buying a cheapie pack and putting a higher output battery in it

[Brother D]

So after flattening my cayenne I got this.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01D42TYFC?psc=1&am...

Made the alarm go off, but didn't crank hardly at all. So sent it back. And got this

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B06XY35D93?psc=1&am...

Wasn't able to crank despite both saying they'd do a 5L engine and had to call a towing company to come jump it.

Swapped the cayenne for a f-pace with just a 3L engine and managed to leave the lights on while I went away for a month.

Tried the last one, and it couldn't crank the 3L. How are people able to start 7L diesels with similar packs??

[GreenV8S]

Brother D said:

How are people able to start 7L diesels with similar packs??

No idea, but it seems to me the booster would be connected in parallel with a flat battery which would be sucking a lot of current out of it.before you even start cranking. If you get stuck, it might be worth disconnecting the flat battery and starting the engine with just the booster, then connect some jump leads to the flat battery once it is running. I'm skeptical about those little boosters though and surprised by the reports that they work well.

If you're in the habit of flattening batteries, an automatic battery isolator might be a better investment.

[Hi]

Brother D said:

Tried the last one, and it couldn't crank the 3L. How are people able to start 7L diesels with similar packs??

On mine there is a button on the battery connector, on the bit that plugs into the jump pack. If you don't press the button then not much happens but if you press and hold the button for about 3 seconds you will hear a click (like a relay click) and then the car fires up no problem.
If you still have one then check to see if it has a similar system.

[MXRod]

MXRod said:

Having read through the thread , Mine arrived today , or should I say the one for my daughter . her car sits unused for up to a week at a time . its not possible to connect a maintainer charger , so hopefully this will get her out of trouble .
As an aside I need to do a check on the current draw when the car is sleeping , to find out why the battery struggles after a week of inactivity ,
Done all the usual things , making sure auto lights are switched off , indicator lever is central ( leave it left or right and corresponding side lights come on as parking lights ) radio is off etc

I can confirm , much to my astonishment , this unit actually works .
My daughter has used on her 3 pot Ibiza , and then , whilst she was away as a cub leader , one of the other leaders allowed his Mundano battery to go flat , he scoffed when she got this jump pack out , but had to swallow it when his car was started from this tiny unit .

[227bhp]

GreenV8S said:

Brother D said:

How are people able to start 7L diesels with similar packs??

No idea, but it seems to me the booster would be connected in parallel with a flat battery which would be sucking a lot of current out of it.before you even start cranking. If you get stuck, it might be worth disconnecting the flat battery and starting the engine with just the booster, then connect some jump leads to the flat battery once it is running. I'm skeptical about those little boosters though and surprised by the reports that they work well.

If you're in the habit of flattening batteries, an automatic battery isolator might be a better investment.

Or a brain transplant.
Or read my post above and be a bit more specific about what exactly is happening.

[anonymous-user]

Brother D said:

Tried the last one, and it couldn't crank the 3L. How are people able to start 7L diesels with similar packs??

i bought one, never worked when i needed it.