RAC Portable Engine Starter

sonicthebadger*

Hey folks,
just bought one of these engine starter jobs for when you've a flat battery. RAC-HP083 Portable Power Station/Engine Starter. Bought it in Argos.

Anyway, says to charge it for 38 hours before first use but had it plugged in for 2 hours and seems to be fully charged! Is this possibly the case? Would the manufacturer have shipped it fully charged? I know flattening a lead acid battery completely can kill it so maybe they do ship it with full charge.

If anyone else bought one I'd love to hear how you're getting on with it.

Guy:Incognito

It's always recommended to charge batteries for a long period the first couple of times. Thats why with phones your told to charge them overnight initially. I always give things a good charge to begin with and have never had battery problems.

crosstownk

It may appear to be fully charged, but it could possibly discharge rapidly when you need it. Follow the instructions and go for the 38 hour charge. But it's probably like the instructions issued when you buy a new phone - "charge it overnight for the first charge". I've never followed this advice and never had any bother with any phone. Mind you, a phone battery and an automotive defibrulator battery are not really similar!

Trx

Yeah .. I have one of these as well and it charged up in 2 hours.. It still holds the charge well..

Very handy unit...

sonicthebadger*

Ah good! Nice to know. I'll try and start the yoke this evening so. Thanks for that.

sonicthebadger*

Or not. Didn't need to start it last night after. Gave the so called "Engine Starter" the full 38 hour charge it needed. This afternoon attached it as per the instructions and voilà! Nothing. Pile of ****e. What a waste of €76!! I'm going to try and get my money back. I'll never buy anything with the RAC label again. Lesson learned.

Gregor Samsa

Just idle speculation, but maybe the problem is something other than a flat battery?

Wossack

Are those things safe? Not too sure about the workings of em, but are the wires to the cigarette lighter (that it jump starts you through, right?) up to the task?

crosstownk

Wossack wrote: »

Are those things safe? Not too sure about the workings of em, but are the wires to the cigarette lighter (that it jump starts you through, right?) up to the task?

I'm not familiar with the booster pack mentioned by the OP, but I get the impression that it plugs into a 220VAC outlet to charge an internal battery.

And you're right - the wires to a cigar lighter are likely to melt down if the current required by a starter (and possibly glow plugs) is passed through them.

Beano

crosstownk wrote: »

I'm not familiar with the booster pack mentioned by the OP, but I get the impression that it plugs into a 220VAC outlet to charge an internal battery.

And you're right - the wires to a cigar lighter are likely to melt down if the current required by a starter (and possibly glow plugs) is passed through them.

You're half right. It charges an internal battery from the mains but it jumps the car battery using two cables like a jump lead.

crosstownk

Beano wrote: »

You're half right. It charges an internal battery from the mains but it jumps the car battery using two cables like a jump lead.

Believe me, I know exactly how a standard booster pack works - I've used them on a daily basis. But jumping via a cigar lighter is just asking for the fire brigade

74merc

Read the small print in the manual. These units can damage later model cars with sensitive electronics.

sonicthebadger*

phutyle wrote: »

Just idle speculation, but maybe the problem is something other than a flat battery?

Good question but no, had the multimeter out. Just the battery. Needs to be whipped out and charged fully I think. Started with a jump from a friend's car.

Not a new car so think the electronics are safe enough. Have heard that before about jump starting newer cars. 92 Toyota should be ok though!

tyney

sonicthebadger* wrote: »

Good question but no, had the multimeter out. Just the battery. Needs to be whipped out and charged fully I think. Started with a jump from a friend's car.

Not a new car so think the electronics are safe enough. Have heard that before about jump starting newer cars. 92 Toyota should be ok though!

those booster packs sometimes have a feature that stops you attaching the positive cable to the negative terminal. They will not jump a completely flat battery, because it needs a tiny voltage remaining in the battery to activate the "connected correctly" circuit in the booster pack.

sonicthebadger*

There was a wee light on the front that came on to indicate a correct connection. I was on while I had it attached to my battery. My battery showed 10.3V before connecting. Looking on the web suggests that this voltage means 0% useful charge. You could be right I think, just giving the booster pack too much to do.

druid01

Hi
I have the RAC booster pack and when you use it you also have to turn the swith on the side to the on postion before it will work.
The other other question I have and hope someone can help with is does the RED charging light go out when the unit is fully charged?
Also can anyone tell me what the output voltage on the mains charger is as when I got mine the mains charger was missing and I need to replace it and dont want to get the wrong one if anyone can point me to the right item that would be great.
Thanks in advance.

Irishboy29

AC/DC ADAPTOR
Model kb3b-120-0500D
output is 12v---500mA
input is 230vac 50hz 75 mA

lutra

Hi All
I bought one of these RAC engine starters the other day and have it charging up at the moment. It was completely without charge when I unpacked it. When I plugged it into the charger the red light went on and the needle on the dial deflected completely to the left. However, after 12 hours charging I checked the state of charge and the needle did not budge. All the same, the working light comes on. Any views about failure of dial to indicate state of charge?