heh, had to change the battery in one of those last month, it was smoking when used. Pretty sure that's a bad sign.
jump starting packs
- Thread starter Camalot
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heh, had to change the battery in one of those last month, it was smoking when used. Pretty sure that's a bad sign.
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I remember when i left my interior light on for 2 days without realizing and my car was properly flat.. I asked my neighbour for a jump and instead he gave me this small pack thing that fitted into the cigarette lighter... within 15 minutes i could hear a beeping coming from it, turned the key and it started 
Only a little fordka.. But my neighbor has quite a large merc so I'm sure it could handle bigger cars aswell...
Only a little fordka.. But my neighbor has quite a large merc so I'm sure it could handle bigger cars aswell...
A decent jump pack would do the job just fine, but a decent one isn't cheap.
If you struggled to start one car from another, it sounds like the leads you were using were crap (too small) or you had a crap connection.
If you struggled to start one car from another, it sounds like the leads you were using were crap (too small) or you had a crap connection.
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Stopped earlier this week for a rest the services, fell asleep with the radio and heater on, two hours later, car wouldn't start.
Tried it loads of times stupidly as first time it had happened to me, so wouldn't bump start.
Found a nice AA van man in the car park who just used his jump start pack, worked instantly!
Great thing, don't think it's worth carrying one around, tbh the extra weight, you may as well just get breakdown cover...
Tried it loads of times stupidly as first time it had happened to me, so wouldn't bump start.
Found a nice AA van man in the car park who just used his jump start pack, worked instantly!
Great thing, don't think it's worth carrying one around, tbh the extra weight, you may as well just get breakdown cover...
Agreed,
I have a Starter Pack from Lidl or Aldi and it has worked every time for me, on a 3L Supra. Cost about 40 Euros.
If it didn't start from your car I'd say leads were indeed crap or connections were bad, sometimes takes a bit of messing to get a good connection.
Also if it was completely dead, you need to rev the running car for a bit to get a small bit into the dead battery, sometimes even 3 or 4 mins will do.
Extra weight? They only way a few kgs!
You'd rather not carry one around and have to sit and wait for a recovery service to help you? I'd say you were pretty lucky to find an AA van in the car park, how many times will that happen?
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yeah mines always in the boot, there not that heavy
no point in getting one if your not going to carry it in the car
and 9 out of 10 times its when your out you will need it
Not always the case. The M5 is a real pain to jump - I left the lights on in an airport car park and came back after my 2 week holiday to find the car completed dead, wouldn't even unlock without having to use the key. Called the office who said they get this all the time and said they would send one of their pickups which has a jump pack to get me going. His jump pack was unable and he wouldn't take my word for the fact it was a large engine that took a lot of turning over ("What is it, 2 leetah, mate" kind of comments) before being rude and telling me my car was broke and clearing off.
I called the AA who turned up and the guy was unable to jump me off the AA van alone... but by using the AA van AND a jump pack at the same time was able to get me going.
The only cars that seem able to get me started from a jump are other large engined cars.
Not sure if it's engine size related to be honest.
Mine has a smallish engine and it took a car and a jump pack to start it when the battery was completely flat like yours.
If the battery even has a tiny bit of charge (enough to unlock the doors or show dash lights) then it seems to start fine from a pack or leads. If it's fully drained it takes a hell of a lot to overcome the flat battery sapping the life out of everything.
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Honestly cannot see the point in carrying a jump pack around with you, just how bad does your battery need to get before you'll just... replace it?
Surely you only need one of these things if you've got a second hand car lot!
For everyone else a decent battery and perhaps a charger in the garage is more than sufficient?
Surely you only need one of these things if you've got a second hand car lot!
For everyone else a decent battery and perhaps a charger in the garage is more than sufficient?
I have to say that I've never had a problem with a jump pack spinning up a "large" engine. My old diddy one had no problems spinning up a 3L V8 oN a relatively regular basis , and the one at work is used for nothing but starting 6L+ cars and has no bother (although it is slightly more heavy duty than what most have).
But as has been said, they really need to be kept on charge and do tend to die after a while. Stop making excuses and get a get battery put on the thing!
But as has been said, they really need to be kept on charge and do tend to die after a while. Stop making excuses and get a get battery put on the thing!
I assume then Joshy that the need for a battery with a larger CCA (say 850 in my case) and the fact that a lot of these jump packs are rated for 250/400 CCA is just a complete load of nonsense?
The cheaper ones have text in the descriptions such as "ideal for anyone needing to jumpstart vehicles (up to 2.5L petrol or 2.0L Diesel)". Obviously working in a garage which is used to seeing larger vehicles the unit you have will be a bit more substantial but on that basis to dismiss the engine size and amount of power it therefore taken to turn the engine over out of hand seems silly.
The cheaper ones have text in the descriptions such as "ideal for anyone needing to jumpstart vehicles (up to 2.5L petrol or 2.0L Diesel)". Obviously working in a garage which is used to seeing larger vehicles the unit you have will be a bit more substantial but on that basis to dismiss the engine size and amount of power it therefore taken to turn the engine over out of hand seems silly.
Of course I'm not saying that.
I am not saying that it is not an issue, I'm merely saying that it is one that I've not yet encountered. Like I mentioned, I had no issues running up a 3L V8 with one of those lower rated potables (providing it was a full charge).
I'd be willing to bet you'd have seen the same results with two sets of leads (if there was somewhere to connect them). The alternator alone on his diesel van is likely to be pumping out a load more amps than your car will ever need to turn over, its just getting that kind of power over a crappy crocodile clip.
Joshy, I can only imagine that the M5 runs some pretty high compression etc. and is going to be generally harder to turn over than your average "lazy" V8.
In a nutshell....
1. Your battery keeps going a little flat (and is able to be revived by a jump pack) - just stop messing about and get a new battery
or
2. Your battery is so flat the jump pack might not get enough juice into it anyway - call your breakdown service and don't forget to turn your lights off next time
In either scenario I can't see the need for an average person to carry a jump pack around.
1. Your battery keeps going a little flat (and is able to be revived by a jump pack) - just stop messing about and get a new battery
or
2. Your battery is so flat the jump pack might not get enough juice into it anyway - call your breakdown service and don't forget to turn your lights off next time
In either scenario I can't see the need for an average person to carry a jump pack around.
I must admit I don't actually carry mine around, it's sat in the garage. Has come in handy on more than one occasion though, not just for jumping. However my earlier point was that the weight of the thing shouldn't stop you from carrying it in the boot, they're hardly huge!
They're certainly not something you should rely on!
They're certainly not something you should rely on!
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Sounds to me like almost none of you have ever used a jumpstart pack, despite seeming to know everything about them 
For all of you that seem to think you can't jump start cars off them the key is in the name. It's a JUMP START pack.
I've got a car with a battery that goes flat in winter because the charging system is inadequate. For those odd mornings when the days are short and the battery is too low to start the car I've got a Clarke Jump Start 4000 which is able to spin the 4 litre V8 over no problems. It weighs about 15kg and works much better than the jump leads I melted, plus I don't need another car to use it.
But for the o/p, there's no reason why a modern car with an alternator charging system should flatten a battery. Sounds like the battery needs replacing or the alternator checking.
For all of you that seem to think you can't jump start cars off them the key is in the name. It's a JUMP START pack.
I've got a car with a battery that goes flat in winter because the charging system is inadequate. For those odd mornings when the days are short and the battery is too low to start the car I've got a Clarke Jump Start 4000 which is able to spin the 4 litre V8 over no problems. It weighs about 15kg and works much better than the jump leads I melted, plus I don't need another car to use it.
But for the o/p, there's no reason why a modern car with an alternator charging system should flatten a battery. Sounds like the battery needs replacing or the alternator checking.