Man of Honour
I grabbed one of the cheap £30ish ones from Amazon about a year ago, jumps my 1.4 petrol car and my 1.1 bike no problem. Both have since had new batteries so it just lives in my bag as a just in case before anyone cries about it.
Jump start packs for the car
- Thread starter Werewolf
- Start date
Soldato
Get one, they are brilliant. Do check that battery and your charging voltage though, because i find it hard to believe even with short runs that the battery isnt being charged enough.
Yeah I grabbed a FLOUOREN 500A 18,000mAh one off Amazon on the tail end of the Black Friday sales a couple of years back for £30 - normally £60-70. It has been pretty decent in my experience but no longer on sale - there looks like other generic brands that are also using the same design but I can't be sure.
Oh i forget there's always a mains plug socket where the OP can plug his battery charger into whilst broken down in a hospital car park!
The battery has been fully charged now and I'm going to take some measurements (it was about 13v a couple of hours after I turned off the charger, and 12.7 when I checked it after it had been in the car for a couple of hours so ~4-5 after it came off charge), one of the reasons for a standalone unit rather than just jump leads (also ordered) is because some of my runs require getting out at 5am when there is no one up/around so a way to potentially get the car going without knocking on the neighbours door is useful.
I don't actually expect to need it, possibly for years for myself, but I'm looking at it as a bit of insurance and a way to potentially avoid waiting for either someone who is willing to give me a jump, or the recovery truck if it does happen again
I didn't realise the dashcam had been running the whole time as well as the radio, but looking at the footage from that it was reading 12.1 from about 15 minutes after arrival to about 30 minutes before the radio etc turned off (the last reading from the dashcam at that point was 7.9v).
As I say I'm going to watch the battery levels for the next while in case the battery or alternator are faulty.
I didn't expect to start an argument asking about it:d
I don't actually expect to need it, possibly for years for myself, but I'm looking at it as a bit of insurance and a way to potentially avoid waiting for either someone who is willing to give me a jump, or the recovery truck if it does happen again
I didn't realise the dashcam had been running the whole time as well as the radio, but looking at the footage from that it was reading 12.1 from about 15 minutes after arrival to about 30 minutes before the radio etc turned off (the last reading from the dashcam at that point was 7.9v).
As I say I'm going to watch the battery levels for the next while in case the battery or alternator are faulty.
I didn't expect to start an argument asking about it:d
Soldato
Really useful to have one regardless of a specific situation. You never know when you might be somewhere and accidentally leave your light on or don't have access to another car. Just make sure to charge it up every few months if you don't use it.
I bought a Tenker 600A 14000mAh one. Been great when I had to use it.
I bought a Tenker 600A 14000mAh one. Been great when I had to use it.
I have this one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B06XRWH8HN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Needed to use it once, and it worked perfectly. Not needed it since though.
Needed to use it once, and it worked perfectly. Not needed it since though.
Soldato
How old is the car battery out of interest?
but you've tested it ?
would be good to have something to easily monitor it, to anticipate up coming failure £1.30
New 0.28" DC 3.5-30V Super Mini Digital LED Car Voltmeter Voltage Volt Panel Meter Battery Monitor 12V 24V red green blue yellow,
plug it into cigarette lighter and turn on the lights .. it would show the truth ?
Caporegime
Buy a second battery, keep it in the boot.
Underboss
I'm going to check the battery, the reason I suspect it's simply the radio running it low as a one off is because for the last 6 months or so my longest runs out in the car have been about 30 minutes, with most being 5-10 minutes at infrequent intervals so not really giving it a chance to recharge
This is the first time I've had to jump start this car, and there is a good chance I won't need it again for ages myself but it's something I can see being handy to have as a precaution (especially given the way my sister maintains her car).
I'd been sat with the radio on whilst reading for about 2.5 hours as i'd lost track of time, and was expecting my friend to only be about 30 minutes (his estimation), if I'd realised he was going to be that long I would have gone somewhere but was a bit reluctant as I've pulled my back so getting in/out of the car is rather painful and I thought I might as well just read (It's fine when I'm sat in the car or driving, but bending/twisting to get in and out is slow going and very painful, that and i was really enjoying the book but haven't had much of a chance to read it).
*I probably need to sort out a trickle charger as well
How long have you had the battery for ?
i do 10-15 minute runs to work (please dont say get a bike, there is a reason for using a car) and i dont have a problem, the only problems i started to have was a wired in dashcam for parking mode, i then put a battery pack in specific for the dashcam, and the problem went away again
I have an Energiser branded version, Amazon list them at about £120 currently, a well known auction site has them for £35ish, I got it from costco for about £45 last year and it’s apparently good for up to a 3ltr petrol or 2ltr diesel. So far it’s got me out of trouble a few times, from friends bikes with dead batteries to my dash cam draining the battery 3 weeks into the summer holidays when I don’t tend to drive as much. I would suggest an intelligent power adapter for your dashcam, eg one that will stop pulling power once the battery dips low enough may be a good idea as well, or a camera that is connected to a switches 12v if you don’t mind loosing recording while parked.
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It's about 5 years old which I know is getting on a bit for batteries, but the previous one lasted ~13 years under similar conditions.
The dashcam is wired to the lighter socket, so off when the key is out of the ignition.
I'm the last person to query why someone will use a car for short runs, as I do exactly the same and I suspect for similar reasons.
On a related note i've been monitoring the battery for the last week.
Friday the 9th 12.66v (about 4 hours after coming off charge)
Saturday the 10th 12.6v. About 26 hours after coming off charge, and 10 hours after a 50 minute run.
Sunday the 11th. 12.55v, about 50 hours after coming off charge, and after another 2x 50 minute runs (the last one about 10 hours earlier).
Wednesday the 14th 12.47v. (although that was about 30 second after I opened the car to get the bonnet open, so the courtesy lights had just turned off a few second earlier but it had started to rain so I wanted to get inside).
This evening (17th) 12.55v
So it seems to be holding a fairly good charge in the 12.5v range.
Underboss
Batteries should last like 10 years
Is it a calicum battery with a 5 year Warranty?
Is it a calicum battery with a 5 year Warranty?
Associate
every now and then you should give the car an Italian tune up. Important is you have dpf
Not sure if it's been mentioned since I was last here, but you can get small A4 page sized solar panels you can wire to your fuse box so they are always connected to the battery. They won't charge much, but as it will be some little trickle all day every day it will keep the battery topped up fine. Just leave it on the dash board when you park, or fix it there permanently.
I have seen people who hide tiny little connectors up in the well where the window wipers sit that they can connect to a trickle charger in the garage or kitchen.
I have seen people who hide tiny little connectors up in the well where the window wipers sit that they can connect to a trickle charger in the garage or kitchen.
Caporegime
5 years is usually around the expectations for a car batteries life, 13 years I’d argue is exceptional tbh!
My old e38 was still on its original battery when I bought it, 17 years at the time but low mileage and limited use, the previous owner had it on a trickle charger as well.
Pretty much as soon as I started using it as a daily driver the battery soon started to show signs of failure despite keeping voltage much as yours.
I bought a new battery and it made a huge difference, the car turned over and started immediately rather than the previous few turns before it fired, numerous what I thought electrical gremlins vanished.
In short, it was WAY past it’s best despite still battling along, as I suspect yours is.
Forget chargers etc, just get a new one and be done!
Imo there’s a few things that you should always carry in your car:
I’ve not visited Motors in a while, but honestly not much has changed; a lot of people disregarding OPs request and ‘setting him straight’
I agree that the battery going flat in the described situation is a possible warning sign, but with a powerful audio system and a dash cam I’ve flattened a battery myself, so it’s by no means definitive proof.
I’ll be very interested to see if there’s any more recommendations for a jump kit; I’d like to pick up a decent one myself.
Hope you sort it @Werewolf
- Jump Leads
- Blanket
- Ski Jacket
- Bottle of water
- Oil, Coolant & Concentrate Screen Wash
- Tyre inflation kit (even with a spare)
- First Aid Kit
I’ve not visited Motors in a while, but honestly not much has changed; a lot of people disregarding OPs request and ‘setting him straight’
I agree that the battery going flat in the described situation is a possible warning sign, but with a powerful audio system and a dash cam I’ve flattened a battery myself, so it’s by no means definitive proof.
I’ll be very interested to see if there’s any more recommendations for a jump kit; I’d like to pick up a decent one myself.
Hope you sort it @Werewolf