Battery Jump Starter?

joe2cool

Hi are these 'battery jump starters' any good? No need for jump leads so they say?

They....

• Revives low battery in minutes
• Plugs into 12V cigarette lighter socket
• No need for jump leads
• Recharges itself while you drive
• Suitable for petrol and diesel cars

TrickyWicky

Only on really old cars.

Most that have immobilisers won't work or even connect the lighter socket to allow you to supply power to the flat battery. Even if it does connect it, the immobiliser will usually recognise a low voltage and refuse to disengage.

It'll be fine for a 1980s ford fiesta, capri, mini etc but forget it for anything modern.

joe2cool

OK Thx for that no one else mentioned that..............appreciated, because they are not so cheap

Yolina

I have a battery jump starter power pack thingy, which does work well, but it's one that clamps to the battery terminals... Just saves the hassle of having to wait for a neighbour to let me connect to their battery if mine is flat.
It's also got a 12v, 3-pin socket and tyre compressor so multi-use really. Not particularly small or light though

forgotmyname

Proper jump pack with its own self contained battery. I have a clarke 910 with built in compressor. It does what its meant to.

Cigarette lighter ones dont bother... 15Amps is usually the limit on the fuse.

It will take hours to charge. Start with it connected and you will just blow the fuses.

Get a new battery if yours is duff and get some jump leads. Get some proper ones.

I have seen some seemingly heavy duty ones. Yet the core in the middle was as thick as the cord on your phone charger.

Useless. It wouldnt carry enough power to start a modern diesel with a dead battery.

Buy a new battery for the car... Not like my sister. Spent £60 on a jump pack from Halfords when she could have driven 4 miles down the road to the car shop and bought a new battery for £2.50 less.

TrickyWicky

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Only on really old cars.

Most that have immobilisers won't work or even connect the lighter socket to allow you to supply power to the flat battery. Even if it does connect it, the immobiliser will usually recognise a low voltage and refuse to disengage.

It'll be fine for a 1980s ford fiesta, capri, mini etc but forget it for anything modern.

Just to clarify I understood you correctly.. this is what I think you meant:


As I first said, you can't use them on most cars with an immobiliser and they won't carry enough juice anyway. For a fiesta sure they'd probably be ok used for charging for an hour but not for jump starting directly.

Yolina wrote: »

I have a battery jump starter power pack thingy, which does work well, but it's one that clamps to the battery terminals... Just saves the hassle of having to wait for a neighbour to let me connect to their battery if mine is flat.
It's also got a 12v, 3-pin socket and tyre compressor so multi-use really. Not particularly small or light though

One of these type things:


Very good but you need to buy a proper quality one not a cheap thing you could get from a cheap DIY store or market stall. The proper beefy ones will start most medium size cars (might struggle with a land rover though).

As forgotmyname says, you can't beat a solid pair of jump leads either. Again, the same advice applies, no "Heavy duty" from the market stall because they're as effective as a chocolate teapot. Proper reliable jump leads cost money. I had a cheap set once that were described as heavy duty and the wires weren't very thick. They burned out jump starting my 2.5 I then bought a proper set from Halfords (£35 and wires thick enough for a mains cooker) and have since used them to jump start other peoples 6L range rovers with no issues (even though they're only rated to 5L).

joe2cool

Thx guys.........................................

Strider590

If you've got battery issues, just get a new battery online (£25-£70 delivered).....

There seems to be whole industry based around trying to squeeze a few extra months from old knackered batteries........ It's utterly ridiculous!

You end up paying for this damn stuff, then a few months later your battery dies proper, so your forced (because you need your car asap) to buy a battery at premium prices from somewhere like Halfrauds. Meaning you've probably spent in the region of £150-£200 for the sake of buying a new battery online BEFORE it became a problem.

TrickyWicky

Strider590 wrote: »

If you've got battery issues, just get a new battery online (£25-£70 delivered).....

I did that once.. turned up a few days later covered in condensation only it wasn't condensation it was battery acid. It had no only eaten through the leather on the sofa arm (where I put the battery when getting it out of he box) it also wouldn't hold its charge longer than 4 days and that was without even using the car (should hold for at least 6 weeks).

I did the opposite of what you suggested and went and bought a battery from KwikFit instead. That wasn't brilliant either and under warranty they refused to replace it.

Had I gone to Halfords and bought their £99 battery I'd of had no hassle with it and I've taken stuff back to them in the past and they usually replace it with minimal fuss. You get what you pay for.

redux

TrickyWicky wrote: »

One of these type things:

The RAC man a few years ago had something like this, probably a bit bigger, which strikes me as a brilliant idea, but I can't see the point for an ordinary person.

As the others say, sturdy jump leads for helping oneself or friends on a one-off basis (like forgetting and leaving the headlights on while parked), yes, but if the problem endures it's time for a new battery

fuzzybear01

The RAC will fit a new battery for £79.99 if you're with them. Had an email from them and two days later my battery died (had problems for a while)