Thread: Lithium Jump Starters

When I first tried one of these out I was VERY Sceptical But I had No dramas at all starting a Hilux 4 cyl diesel. For their size these things pack quite a punch

I bought a cheap one as a power pack for the phone etc. Was very pleasantly surprised when it jump started a Barina that could barely wind itself over!

Ain't modern electromagical stuff bloody marvelous!

My mate with a 2.7L D4 had a completely flat battery and the RACV guy needed to use two of these packs to get it started.

We are off to the snow for a week but the combined draw of the Traxide dual battery system and a Haltek performance chip is around 250ma until the Traxide timer reduces the draw from the smart switch.

I am not sure how long the battery will hold enough charge to crank especially as it will be parked in the open and I will not be able to charge it. Hence I was thinking of buying a battery Jump Starter pack as Insurance or use the Ctek MXS 15 in Supply mode if the battery does not crank the motor, as I should be able to plug in the Ctek to start the car. The alternative is a jump start pack, but it looks like I would need a pretty big one given the cold cranking amps required.

I usually charge the battery around every 3 or so days in the colder months as we do mostly short trips. We live in (cold) Goulburn!

A jump start pack could be useful outback but lugging one around all the time, plus the cost (over $300 from Super Cheap) are an issue.

About 2 years ago one of those lithium jump start packs could not crank over the 3.0L D4 despite being fully charged. I now carry a Black and Decker 350cca (Nominal) jump starter in the camper when we are out bush.

I believe these lithium jump starters are better now

My old man got on a while ago. Had to use it last year to start my Suburban which had a flat battery - it fired up the big block 454 perfectly.

Most of them (like all the ones I've looked at) work by putting a very fast surface charge on the battery. Works great for a good battery gone flat, but not so much for a genuinely dead starting battery (like dropped one or more cells/high internal resistance).

I do the same thing with a ryobi one+ 18V battery. Put it in series with a 55w headlamp bulb and onto the dead battery. The headlamp bulb provides enough resistance to stop the ryboi tripping out on overcurrent and quickly puts a surface charge on the car battery. I always have at least one ryobi battery in the car.

ive found these jump starters dont last more than a year or 2