Bugger flat battery!

[davido140]

As I STILL havent got around to buying a set of those anserdon/andersen leads does anybody know if one of those Black and Decker "simple start" boosters would work with or fry a Tuscans electric bits?

Im also guessing they are useless if the battery is completely flat?

I could still open the doors and boot earlier today but no chance of getting the engine to turn over.

Would it be bad form for me to ask for the "top secret procedure" for getting into the car with a flat battery? PM of course!

Cheers

DP

[miniman]

I have one of these:



http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/...

It will happily start my Chim from absolutely flat as a pancake battery with no problems at all. Not sure how "heavy duty" the B&D one is but from memory you plug it into the lighter socket which I doubt would be up to the job of carrying the current to crank the engine from flat.

ETA - looks like the B&D one charges the battery via the lighter socket rather than being a proper boost pack. Suspect (though I stand to be corrected) that it's geared up for 1.2 Clios rather than big capacity stuff.

Edited by miniman on Monday 10th December 17:39

[davido140]

miniman said:

Not sure how "heavy duty" the B&D one is but from memory you plug it into the lighter socket which I doubt would be up to the job of carrying the current to crank the engine from flat.

yup, its a lighter socket booster charger thingie, so you leave it attached for a "few" minutes to build up enough charge in the battery to get the engine running.

No way could the wiring in any fag lighter carry the current to crank the engine from flat! would result in a TVR inferno very quickly if you tried!

[davido140]

probably should have mentioned its a 2000 tuscan...

[glow worm]

Get the receptionist to give you bum start...Oh sorry that should be BUMP....

Edited by glow worm on Monday 10th December 18:48

[D14 AYS]

glow worm said:

Get the receptionist to give you bum start...Oh sorry that should be BUMP....

Edited by glow worm on Monday 10th December 18:48

[so called]

Hi Davido 140,

I bought one of those B&D starters last week.
I havnt tried it yet but had a read of the details.
You connect it and leave it for ten minutes to discharge into your car battery.
It doesnt say if you are supposed to leave it connected when you try to start your car but I dont think that would be a good idea.
It says its for cars up to 2ltr ?!?!? so I dont know if its going to help me.

I have also bought a jumper unit that looks identical to Minimans except its black and I bought it in Germany.
In the information for that one it says that it is designed to automatically discharge if left for a long period unused.
I hope that it holds its charge for at least 3 weeks because thats how long I leave my car in airport carparks.

Miniman can you tell me how long yours holds its charge ?

I am also going to get one of those solar panel chargers that you plug in the cigy socket.
Drops some hints to Santa on that one.

[miniman]

so called said:

Miniman can you tell me how long yours holds its charge ?

Ages, at least 2 or 3 months to be honest. I used it at the weekend and it hasn't been charged for a couple of months, the gauge still shows fully charged. I tend to give it a quick charge up every once in a while, otherwise it just sits in the garage until needed.

[so called]

Thats good news. It will be in my boot ready.
I will let everyone know about the B&D thing but I cant help feeling like I am going to cause damage.
Maybe I could change the connector to an Anderson ?!?

Oh and by the way, the B&D thing also says wont start a car with a completely flat battery.

Edited by so called on Tuesday 11th December 17:34

[davido140]

thanks for the advice guys, I think I will give the easy start thing a miss.

Any idea where to buy the anderson "plugs" that I could butcher on to the end of a standard set of leads?

[miniman]

so called said:

Thats good news. It will be in my boot ready.

So long as there's a way into the boot when the battery is completely flat!

[so called]

miniman said:

so called said:

Thats good news. It will be in my boot ready.

So long as there's a way into the boot when the battery is completely flat!

Thats my gamble. So far I have had enough juice in the battery to open the boot but it hasnt realy got cold yet here in Germany.
My back-up is to connect one of those solar chargers each time I leave it.

Edited by so called on Wednesday 12th December 15:08

[miniman]

so called said:

My back-up is to connect one of those solar chargers each time I leave it.

I've got one of those too. It's totally useless! Battery still went flat even in the summer.

[orangeone]

The B&D quick start does not work on my MK1 Tuscan. Brought it 2 weeks ago
It just hasnt got the balls to do the job from flat. It is recommended
in the booklet that you get with it is ideal for low state batteries no
FLAT ones. Also noted a very small reference to use up uo 2 Ltr.
A con if you ask me. Should have put my reding glasses on before
purchase !! Anyway hope this saves someone else £50.00

Cheers Gary

[V8 GRF]

This is the beastie you need, but not cheap, Snap-On

[Pie]

If the battery doesn't last it may be a short, or the battery may appear to be not working properly due to poor earthing. I had a Chimaera which had an eroded bodyframe / engine earth which inhibited starting

[TVRleigh_BBWR]

you don't need an expensive one the cheaper ones will work also. they are still rated at 400-900amps plus you get a tire inflator. I've even used one of these on a 6.2 litre truck.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-JUMP-START-BATTERY-BOOST...

[T66ORA]

davido140 said:

thanks for the advice guys, I think I will give the easy start thing a miss.

Any idea where to buy the anderson "plugs" that I could butcher on to the end of a standard set of leads?

YHM

[T66ORA]

TVRleigh_BBWR said:

you don't need an expensive one the cheaper ones will work also. they are still rated at 400-900amps plus you get a tire inflator. I've even used one of these on a 6.2 litre truck.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CAR-JUMP-START-BATTERY-BOOST...

Agreed, i bought a cheap one from Makro and that started my very flat Tuscan.

[tamore]

when putting an anderson connector on a set of leads, do you need to braize/ solder, or will crimping do?