Hi Guys,

I have a little problem where overtime my immobiliser drains my battery if the car isn't driven for a length of time, say a week. Now most of the time if i'm not going to be driving it I will put the trickle charger on it to keep it topper up, but sometimes I forget or I think I'm going to be using the car but then don't.

So I've been thinking of buying on of those jumper packs so I can keep it in the boot.

There are so many to choose from and they all seem to have different features and range from $50 to $300. What should I be looking for? 600A? 900A? should I buy one with a air compressor built in? I'd like to be able to use it on other cars as well if need be.

Cheers
Ryan

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Go for the one with the biggest battery capacity you can afford - it will make it more useful for a wider range of cars, and the battery should last longer to boot.

As for an air-compressor built in as well? I'm always wary of devices that try and combine too many functions into one...

cheers

Jacob

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'72 Clubman Van - 1022cc, 295 head, 731 cam - Daily Driver
'69 Morris 1100 S - Dinged by a bus, in shed under repair
'64 Morris 1100 - Early 1100, long term project

I was given one of the cheaper ones and it has worked great for six years. Having a portable accessories (cigarette lighter) socket is great for camping etc too.

When it dies I will get one with a compressor, very handy on track days.

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Keep in mind that even the Jumper Pack needs to be charged, most of the time just for 'maintenance'. I would actually suggest getting one without the compressor as these really are crap (sorry awdmoke) they are simply too small to be of any real value. I did once try pump up a Mini tyre with one. It took nearly 3 hours.

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You get what you pay for.
I already have a crappy little compressor, but I paid about $15 for it in 1986. It still runs, but I'll be getting one a little higher up the price range next time

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Too many cars, and too little time.

Bloody little compressors...I was at lamington NP and listened to a guy filling up a air mattress with one of those things. It took nearly an hour.

RAAAR RAAAR RAAAR RAAAR RAAAR.......

So much serenity.

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SooperDooperMiniCooperExpertEngineering

All garage work involves equal measures of enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility.

I have a cheap one from Supercrap and it works great.
Because it has a cigarette lighter socket I can use it as an extra source of power in a blackout and run a radio or TV from it.

You can always get a small air compressor that plugs into a lighter socket and run it from the batter pack or the lighter in another car.

Autobarn recently had them on special. I bought a 900A one without compressor as the sales rep said that they are only useful for pool toys etc. Mine has a cigarette lighter and a lamp as well as a test function. Worked well when I needed it.

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'68 Morris Mini 1310 A+ (Now Sold!)

Keep in mind that the jump starter packs need to be kept charged too, you can just leave them plugged in, but you cant chuck it in the boot and expect it to work.

The battery inside them is just a little lead acid one which can be replaced cheaply from jaycar, no need to buy a new one.

My wife bought me one of these for xmas. can't vouch for out working well but as a cheap and very compact alternative it may well be the best option for something to keep in the car

http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/ezy-sta ... y-charger/

Well, that's one way of doing it...

I doubt the immobiliser takes that much current - I'd be looking at the diodes on your alternator. I don't know what kind of immobiliser I have, but after a few weeks it still starts up fine.

If left for several days, it used to drain, but that was due to the old alternator. Since I upgraded it, no problems.

How long do they stay charged for generally?



I had the alternator reco'd a year or two ago. I will have it tested again and I will have the batt tested too.

Cheers

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Don't forget your radio head unit draws a bit too, keeping its memory. May not seem much but it all adds up- I just use the trickle charger overnight every week or two if I'm not driving it.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

ryan i had my car sitting for a month and it still started relatively easy. i bought a jumper pack 18 months ago and the battery crap itself about 12 months ago, instructions said to charge every 2-3 months which i did because it was in the "off the road stage".
what sized battery do you have? is it possible to upgrade that?

I bought a 900amp item. Going against the advice of others it has a compressor built in, but it worked out cheaper. It also has 12v cigarette output.

Out of interest, i decided to inflate a mini tyre using the compressor. It took 54seconds.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au