As the weather begins to show serious signs of getting warm again (YAY  ) I'm getting ready for the annual "jump start" after her long winter nap. 

I hate having to burn a AAA call for something like a jump start, and not always able to find those good samaritans willing to take the time to help a fella out with a car-to-car jump start.  So I saw one of these listed in magazine and was wondering if anyone on here has any experience (personal or otherwise) with this device:

http://www.emrkt.com/comtrad/autostart.html

Any input/feedback - good or bad - will be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

I don't have any experiences to base this on but personally I'd be a bit wary of anything claiming to provide enough juice to start a car through the cigarette lighter.  Maintaining a battery's charge maybe, but not starting a car. 

A friend has one of those battery pack units that has actual jumper cables and likes it.  It has enough heft to double as a boat anchor and needs to be recharged on a regular basis.  My luck with that type of deal is that it would be in the garage recharging while I'm cussing away in a parking lot miles from no-where!     

That device will provide only a small amount of current to start the car.  Remember the starter can draw up to 200 amps, and the lighter fuse is only 10 to 15 amps.  What's wrong with this picture?

Over a long period of time, the battery could be charged up through the lighter (if the lighter is powered all the time, and not shut off with the ignition).  But that would require a constant power supply,  the reserve energy in that unit will help to a point, but not enough to charge a dead battery.  You may make a slow crank a tiny bit faster.  But it will be minimal. It may help a low battery, but not a dead one.  I would not waste my money.

If you are using a jumper pack connected directly to the battery, that's a different story.  Those work well, and are a good investment.  If you connect it to a dead car, once started don't unhook it right away.   Allow it to cushion the effects of the dead battery on the alternator, until the battery comes up a bit.  A few minutes should do it.

Might I suggest two other methods. 

  First, take the battery out, take it to a parts store such as AutoZone or Murry's where they charge the battery for free in an hour or two, and reinstall it in the car.  

  Second, purchase a small battery charger and connect it to the battery for the day. You can buy a 10 amp charger for the price of one jump start.  Granted you need to let it charge for a day, or at least several hours, but it will get you going many times in the future.

Keep in mind, a jump start is hard on the alternator.  You are asking it to work very hard to try to charge up a dead battery as soon as the cables are disconnected.  While the alternator will do this, it is putting a strain on the unit.   It is far better to charge the battery first.

If the car is not located where you can plug it in, you could buy a set of jumper cables.  It's good insurance for the future in any of the cars.   Connect the cables and let the running car charge the battery for  5 to 15 minutes before trying to start the Vette.  It's not as hard on the alternator of the running car due to the power in the running car's battery.  That one is not dead, and helps stabilze the system and reduce the strain of just one dead battery.  It won't hurt the running car.

If you just hook up and jump, the running car does take a bit more of a strain.  The operating alternator tries to produce enough power to operate the starter.  That's a lot of load.  Granted the good battery helps a lot.

Can you just hook it up and jump it, sure, but why strain either vehicle charging system?

If you choose to purchase jumper cables, don't cheap out.  A cheap pair will cause you more grief than benefit.  You can have them hooked up for an hour and still not start the car.  A good set in the same situation will start the car right up.  You don't need the best, just a decent set.  All of us can see the difference between quality and crap.  You can tell which set to get.

Eric,

I don't know if your there is an A/C outlet near your car, but I really like the Battery Tender brand of trickle chargers.  It kept my battery fresh all winter.     http://www.batterytender.com/

I have also used a cig lighter to cig lighter charger, but it takes a while to build up enough juice to crank the car over.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005OWK2/qid =1113249945/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl60/102-7558339-50569 04?v=glance&s=home-garden&n=507846

Good luck,

Anthony

[QUOTE=Ten15]

Eric,

I don't know if your there is an A/C outlet near your car, but I really like the Battery Tender brand of trickle chargers.  It kept my battery fresh all winter.     http://www.batterytender.com/[/QUOTE]

I have a battery tender keeping the C5 at peak capacity & it works extremely well. The 74 is going to be eating another battery shortly as she's been in restoration without being fired up for 5 months.

I used a battery tender this winter and had no problem with the battery or starting up this spring.

After losing a $230 repro batt for my '74 , I got a Batt. Tender for my car. It keeps the batt charged, without boiling the 'lectrolyte, and sulfating the plates inside the bat. I now have two of them, and they are well worth the $40. I also carry a 'booster' box, like the one Norsky mentioned. Never leave home without it! It will start a diesel with no problems, so I never worry about starting any car I have with one. I also don't believe anything plugged into the lighter would actually start a car. Case in point: A few years back, Mama called and said the '85 Vette wouldn't start, and she was stranded. I took one of my boosters, got it started, and let her take my truck on home. I drove the '85 back to the shop, and determined the alt. was not putting out. I drove the '85 home (18 miles) that night with the booster pac hooked up to the lighter. It melted the ends of the lighter plugs, and all the smoke came out! The circuit is just not heavy enough to sustain that kind of amperage. my 2c

Eric:

I know I prefer to cuss like sailor when it comes to taking the battery out from behind the driver's seat, and reinstall it.  It takes forever to get the side post terminals to feed in correctly!  So, to eliminate the frustration of finding the battery dead when I really wanted to go for a drive I installed one of the battery disconnect switches (I know it would be better to track down the circuit that's draining the battery, but for now it works!)

Anyway, case in point...last night I decided it was time to hook up the battery to the charger in an effort to get PNJ (Pride N Joy) started.  I hooked up the charger, waited two minutes to get a reading like the instructions say, and wouldn't you know itthat battery sat all winter long with the disconnect turned off and was still 100% charged!

I let the engine turn over for a few seconds to try to get some oil flowing, but on the second crank, after tapping the accelerator she cranked right over and came to life with a growl!  Nothing can be more satisfying.

Also, wanted to mention, that I place carpet scraps under the vehicle at all times, big enough to include the tires.  This has eliminated any concern I had for flat spots on the tires over the winter because the tires are no longer sitting on cold concrete.  Unlike the first year I had her and thought I was going to have to replace the tires.  In my opinion this can be a great cost saver over radiant heat floors and the like.

It's good to be drivin' again, and wavin'