Can anyone recommend a decent car battery jumper?

[MrTencherson]

Ok so not related to fishing apart from the car car I use for fishing is old and decrepit. It is a 3lt diesel and even with a new battery is hard to start in the cold.

If I jump it off the Mrs car and it starts and runs fine, and generally ok for the rest of the day until its cold again.

So to save having to jump it off the Mrs car, I want to buy a battery jumper (not interested in fixing the car, just trying to eek out a few more months from it to get through lock down)

Can anyone recommend me a sub £200 jumper that'll be suitable for a 3lt diesel thats tough to start?

Current candidates are clarke jsm 4000, noco gb70, msc overland +

I had an old jumper years ago and it was rubbish and lasted 5 minutes before ending up in the bin hence why I'm after recommendations.

TIA

Al

 

[davylad]

I got one a while back when I was having bother with starting Mr Ten, it's in the boot and I can't remember the name. I can certainly recommend it, I'll let you know tomorrow.

 

[breadflake]

If it is hard to start with a new battery even fully charged battery I would, check and clean all your earth connections and the lead from alternator to starter
old corroded wires or connections reduce/cut power to whatever they are feeding.

 

[Dave]

I'd also be inclined to bin the glow plugs and fit new ones

 

[MrTencherson]

If it is hard to start with a new battery even fully charged battery I would, check and clean all your earth connections and the lead from alternator to starter
old corroded wires or connections reduce/cut power to whatever they are feeding.

Thanks breadflake, the car will start after being cranked for 10 seconds or so on a fresh battery (if I leave the trickle charge on). However if I leave the car for a week or so, (not on charge) it doesn't crank fast enough to start the car.

There are lots of things wrong with the car and its destined for the scrap yard. The jumper is just a band aid so I can get it started after its been sat a while.

Don't really want to spend money on the car directly. I saw one of these jumper packs as a useful thing to have for all ours cars + motorbike but as I say, a lot of them for sale are really not fit for purpose so seeking recommendations

Cheers

Al

 

[bluemack]

I had the same issue with my old Discovery( 22 years old) but it,s gone now ( the car that is) .
I bought a Ring RCB 320 and it started it up straight away every time
it,s the type you plug into the mains supply,so only any good if you have access
to a socket,in your case as it,s ok for the rest of the day this should,nt be a problem.
Good luck matey.

 

[MrTencherson]

Yeah I know at least 3 of the 6 glow plugs aren't working, but its due to wiring / relays not the actual plugs. it needs an oil service, all filters, a new intake manifold gasket and probably a new turbo plus many hours of tlc...

Once its started however, it runs and drives fine. When I was using the car daily for my 120 mile daily commute it was fine, just doesn't like being sat idle for days at a time.

Its been a really good car and I've certainly got my moneys worth out of it but I think there comes a time where its not economically viable to keep a car on the road.

In truth its probably a 500 quid car that needs about 2k to fix all known issues, then some of the unknown things will probably pop up.

If it weren't for covid I'd pop out and buy a new (used) car but its tricky at the moment. Like the idea of cazoo (amazon for used cars) but the hassle of returning it if I don't like it is putting me off.

Apologies for waffling

Al

 

[drw]

As breadflake says clean the main cables and earths from battery to starter motor if the battery is good test and replace the starter motor

 

[steve 56]

Noco gb 70

 

[carphauler]

If you leave it for a week and it's hard to start then it's got a battery on the way out or a parasitic drain, cheapest option would be a new battery and a battery isolation switch if it has a drain and you can't be bothered to fix it.
These can be removed and your old battery put back in when you scrap it. Should cost less than £100 and not take long to fit.

 

[sly]

Have you thought of fitting a battery optimiser to it?

 

[davylad]

The one I have is a Suaoki U17, I've only used it twice, and both times it was for other cars not mine. What can I say, except it started them both instantly. It's probably been updated now as I've had it a year or so. One thing NOT to do, is to jump start your car from someone elses. That wrote a mate of mines car off, by destroying the on board computer, it would have cost as much as the car was worth to repair. I shudder when I think of it, as my mate used to pop round in his new car to jump start me from his. We were lucky maybe and got away with it, but it can happen. Sods law, I've never had any starting issues since my battery was replaced free of charge due to a fault, but it's there if ever I'm stuck fishing somewhere in the wilderness. I think it cost me around £80, but all I can say it's worked as it should both times I've used it. The guy from Leeds, who's car wouldn't start at Paull after he'd ended a fishing session, was glad I had it in the boot. His face lit up, and made my day when his car started and he set off home.

 

[MrTencherson]

Thanks guys, will look into the recommendations.

The reason for the poor starting is that its a 16 year old car with 300 000 miles on the clock. The majority of the glow plugs don't work (due to electrical gremlins) and I don't want to spend the money to fix it cause it'll be going to the scrap yard soon. Its a 3 litre diesel so takes a bit of effort to crank over anyways so need the jumper to assist the over worked battery.

I have it on a trickle charger but if I'm away from home overnight a booster pack would be my insurance policy to get home and last resort I have RAC cover.

My car is a shed that needs replacing but its difficult with the current situation as I like to test drive a car before buying. So I want to put off this purchase till the summer when the MOT runs out.

Cheers

Al

 

[pauln]

I use a battery I got from my daughters old car ( was new battery 1 month before it was scrapped )
Even my neighbours have borrowed for a few days before they got new batteries.

 

[Don’tTellEmYourName]

I use a CTEC charger. It came with a plug attachment with two O ring terminals. I extended those cables and mounted the plug in the grill. Quick and easy to plug in the trickle charger without opening bonnet. Charger on wall other side of garage doors. The 15 year old battery is doing fine

 

[MrTencherson]

Yes, I have a similar setup, but it does mean I have to park close to my garage and above all to remember to disconnect the charger before driving off

 

[gingert76]

i recently got one of these for my Skoda Kodiaq and works brilliantly with a fully flat battery, just follow the instructions which are attached, turn ignition on (but do not start), give it 3-5 mins and then start the engine. have started the car twice now on one charge and still loads left in it.

fits in a side pocket in the boot lovely as well and have a 12v port which may be useful as well.

Amazon product

 

[Don’tTellEmYourName]

Yes, I have a similar setup, but it does mean I have to park close to my garage and above all to remember to disconnect the charger before driving off

File the ab off the plug / socket. Just pops out when you drive off, how do I know that

 

[muskrat]

This one is quite nice....

 

[carphauler]