Recommend a decent portable car battery starter

[roadrash]

accy , the best advice is a new battery, a portable jump starter or booster pack is a temporary measure , the fact that you need one is because your battery is fecked

 

[dodgy]

That analogy is poor,to say the least.

Since you can't understand the analogy, go ahead and buy more gear that doesn't fix the problem.
Just ask yourself, WWTD?

 

[Sharky]

There's no denying that the AA etc are expensive. I've never called them out for flat batteries, but have for some more serious breakdowns.

It's a bit ironic that for all the advances in car technology, a flat battery defeats them. My early cars, (A35 and A40) had starting handles!

 

[Accy cyclist]

accy , the best advice is a new battery, a portable jump starter or booster pack is a temporary measure , the fact that you need one is because your battery is fecked

No matter how new or expensive a battery,i still do not trust them to fire my car up! Yes,i could buy ANOTHER new battery,but i'd still have that doubt. A little device like a battery jump starter carried in my car would give me peace of mind. £100 for a new battery or £50 for a portable jump starter.

 

[Nibor]

When my car wouldn't start recently and the RAC attended he advised it was a low battery and my battery was in good health it just needed a good charge. lots of short trips in lockdown had caused it to drain and not run enough to recharge sufficiently.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Hang on, it seems to me that your battery might not be duff. It could be that your alternator is failing (mine just has too). Or, if you're only doing short trips then you aren't charging it much whilst the engine is on, and of course its using a lot of power in the cold, plus even the best batteries don't operate at their full potential when they approach freezing. I would either buy a multi-meter (£12-£15) and check your alternator and battery, or take the car to somewhere trustworthy and ask them to check both for you. No point buying a jump starter if your alternator is not charging your battery properly.

 

[Accy cyclist]

When my car wouldn't start recently and the RAC attended he advised it was a low battery and my battery was in good health it just needed a good charge. lots of short trips in lockdown had caused it to drain and not run enough to recharge sufficiently.

Yes,i've been told that by quite a few. I tend to do short around town journeys,albeit it every day. The longest journeys i take are 14 miles to Clitheroe and back and 8 miles to Accy town centre and back. I would've liked to give my car a 'good run up' yesterday,but we aren't allowed to do so. I'm wondering what plod's response would be when asked where i was going and if it was a necessary journey and i replied "Yes,it is necessary as i'm charging my battery up officer"!🤔

 

[Accy cyclist]

It could be that your alternator is failing

Wouldn't a red warning light come on if my alternator wasn't charging the battery?🤔

 

[Electric_Andy]

Wouldn't a red warning light come on if my alternator wasn't charging the battery?🤔

Not sure in your car. Probably yes, but mine didn't (2003 Fiesta). I fitted a new battery, it got me about 50 miles and was then totally flat. The ECU kicked in and flashed lights on my dash, put it into limp mode and I just about made it home. But no prior warning of "alternator not charging". I would recomend it anyway, as checking alternator health should be part of maintenance. They don't just stop working, they can fail slowly until they don't work at all. If you're doing 10 miles every time you drive, that should be enough to keep your battery firly well topped up.

 

[Accy cyclist]

If you're doing 10 miles every time you drive, that should be enough to keep your battery firly well topped up.

I probably do about 4 miles every day and a couple of over 10 mile journeys a week. I recently ran my car for 20 minutes (put spare key in ignition,then locked the car with other key in case someone was tempted to drive off in it) to charge the battery,but someone told me you shouldn't run cars up without actually driving/moving them.🤔

 

[Electric_Andy]

I wouldn't do that; someone could just smash your window and drive off.

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your vehicle's charging system, but just to get it checked or check it yourself. If you know Alt and Battery are good, then yes the compact starting packs are good but you need to do a good number of miles each time to keep your battery topped up, otherwsie you'll have to keep using the starter pack. Especially in winter; i.e. if you've got heater, lights, wipers, radio on all at the same time, they will be drawing more from the alternator so your battery will be charging less. You need more driving time to charge your battery to a certain level than you would with no lights/accessories on.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I wouldn't do that; someone could just smash your window and drive off.

Heck,it's not that rough around here!

I try and drive without the heater or radio on in cold weather. It's daft that you can only use a heater in warm weather ,but that's how it is. Headlights being on doesn't help either i suppose.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Heck,it's not that rough around here!

If you're doing that on the roadway it's illegal as well as daft. And in the event that someone does steal your car as a result, you won't be laughing when your insurer tells you it's not paying out. Could you afford that loss and then the increased premiums that would follow?

 

[Accy cyclist]

If you're doing that on the roadway it's illegal as well as daft. And in the event that someone does steal your car as a result, you won't be laughing when your insurer tells you it's not paying out. Could you afford that loss and then the increased premiums that would follow?

Ok,let's do remote chance scenario. It's locked up when the engine's running,so someone would have to physically break in. It's in full view of curtain twitchers in their flats. It's in the sight of very good cameras,fitted outside the MOT place nearby. If someone's so desperate to break into a 14 year old bright yellow(so easy to spot by the plod,not forgetting the big F..k EU sticker in the rear screen👍)car,then so be it!

 

[Sharky]

Ok,let's do remote chance scenario. It's locked up when the engine's running,so someone would have to physically break in. It's in full view of curtain twitchers in their flats. It's in the sight of very good cameras,fitted outside the MOT place nearby. If someone's so desperate to break into a 14 year old bright yellow(so easy to spot by the plod,not forgetting the big F..k EU sticker in the rear screen👍)car,then so be it!

Might be a risk of a friendly neighbour, hearing a car running inside a locked garage and smelling fumes and breaking the doors down to make sure you were OK.