Starting a 12v vehicle with 2 x booster packs? (1 Viewer)

[EuroTrotters]

could it blow 2 x headlamp bulbs and 2 x tail light bulbs when doing so?.

That’s with a BIG mains booster pack direct on the battery and a smaller handheld pack on the separate charger points under the bonnet at the same time?.

 

[Speve]

Why do you need two booster packs?

 

[tonka]

Starting procedure on modern vehicle usually state dont connect direct to the battery, see handbook.
You may be lucky if blown bulbs as have heard tales of blown ECU's

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[chaser]

Presumably the lights wouldn't have been switched on while jump starting so no chance of blowing bulbs and as long as neither of the chargers were hooked up the wrong way round couldn't have done any harm anyway, though as @Speve says why?

 

[tonyidle]

Doesn't matter how many batteries you parallel if they are all 11 - 15 volts. If the boosters use a much higher voltage then it is possible to damage vehicle electrics and bulbs might be the least of your worries. Just check the booster voltage - I suspect they will be OK.

 

[DBK]

If it's a modern vehicle it probably has a CANBUS system so the lights could be turned on electronically. What you think is the switch for the lights just sends signals to a box of tricks*.

In which case I guess a spike in the voltage might cause weird behaviour.

* Technical term alert.

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[joka250]

@DBM is absolutely correct. As previously stated you should always connect to nominated jump start points, to do different is liable to cause very expensive. If a booster pack won't start the vehicle it's either inadequate or faulty or there's a vehicle problem.

 

[gus-lopez]

On any modern vehicle you really need to read the handbook re; how to jump start. A citroen I was asked to jump had a specific 'do not jump' warning & advised connecting together with the jump leads & running vehicle for15 minutes before even attempting a jump due to possibility of electronic damage when battery dead as a doornail.

 

[EuroTrotters]

The Vehicle was at a "Specialist" Marques Garage.

All the lamps were okay when I dropped it with them (I get a message in the info window if a bulb is out). The vehicle had been with them and sat on the car park since last week. This morning, it would not start. They had rang me when I was on my way to collect but I was driving. When I arrived they said they had ordered a battery and they were awaiting delivery.

1, Garage text me the night before to say battery was flat, they added they were charging overnight.
2, Garage said they had tried to start it this morning and it was still flat.
3, They had tried a hand held booster pack but it was just clicking.
4, When I arrived, I told them about the new battery. I pointed out that the battery, a YUSA, was brand new 5-6 weeks ago.
5, I asked, as it was in the middle of the car park, had they left a lead running to it overnight.
6, Garage people changed statement to "well we put a bit of charge in it - we don't leave them charging overnight"
7, They brought the handheld out and the mains unit on an extension lead
8, When they started to connect the mains booster/charger pack to the battery under the cab floor, I questioned it and asked why were they not connecting it to the points under the bonnet, they said we are putting the handheld booster on those. I thought this was a bit odd.
9, Without waiting, they tried to start it, but it failed (I heard a bit of a fizz when they did this)10, They waited about 3 mins, tried it agin and it fired up.
10, Later that day, just before dusk. I put my sidelights on, the bulb failure came up on the dash, I checked the rear sidelights and it was out (front ok).
11, later, I put the headlamps on and realised they were not working, both headlamp bulbs out (on the cat and fiddle pass).

I had to drive back to Halfords and changed all the bulbs.

Might sound petty but I am Really fed up with the garage as I have had another major issue with them.

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[hilldweller]

I had to drive back to Halfords and changed all the bulbs.

And everything is is now OK ?

I think you need to buy a lottery ticket, the gods are smiling on you.

 

[pappajohn]

Might sound petty but I am Really fed up with the garage as I have had another major issue with them.

Begs the question.....so why do you keep going back to them ?

 

[DavidG58]

Nuisance and very annoying, but I agree with above, decent result compared to what might have happened and be grateful they are not Bi Xenon

move on to a new service option, I presume the 'specialist' wasn't a main manufacturer dealer

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[EuroTrotters]

Begs the question.....so why do you keep going back to them ?

Not by choice.

I will detail this on a Separate post.

I took it in for power loss, £1375 later for a new DPF and oil Service it was no different. Then the glow plugs failed and I took it back for them to look into the power loss again and they had replaced the glow plug module. Still has loss of power mind as they said they cannot find the fault.

 

[joka250]

@TeeMyob It does not sound petty at all, to me what they did was potentially catastrophic. I wish I could suggest a good plan of action to resolve your vehicle issues.

 

[mfw]

Doesn't matter how many batteries you parallel if they are all 11 - 15 volts. If the boosters use a much higher voltage then it is possible to damage vehicle electrics and bulbs might be the least of your worries. Just check the booster voltage - I suspect they will be OK.

Just curious here if booster uses higher voltage cant understand why you would use higher voltage than a 12v charge system so battery charger is 240v to supply 12v to battery should not be a problem.

Or does a booster not have a battery pack and just force power in i have a 12v booster power pack it has 12v battery and so keeps constant 12v or 13.8v where it is fully charged

Also if you add a booster pack to a battery the voltage stays the same it is amp hr that alters so i think a independant 12v battery pack should not cause a problem exactly the same as changing battery for new one

Ok im no electrician and im just asking questions cant understand why bulbs would blow

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[tonyidle]

I would expect a booster battery pack to use a 12v battery.

Mains connected "Fast chargers", sometimes called Boosters, will output perhaps 18v - 20v to produce a high current fast charge. There is the potential for a Li-Ion start booster to work in the same way (I don't know whether they do or not).

Every thing you suggest is correct except that a mains charger does have to use a higher voltage than 12 to charge the battery. A good battery charger (or EHU charger as built in to the van) will charge in stages and to do so its output voltage will vary between 13.8v and approximately 14.5v. A portable "boost" or "fast" charger will output a voltage up to 20 to drive a higher charge current into the battery thus charging it more quickly. The battery voltage should still not rise above a safe level but such a charger must only be used for a very limited time.

Like you I can't understand how your bulbs could be damaged by the actions of the dealer. My first check would the starter battery voltage with the vehicle running (using a multimeter across the underbonnet jump start terminals) just to make sure alternator regulation hasn't failed.

 

[Lofty1]

A common cause of ecu failure is when jump starting a vehicle , it may sound daft but you should turn on all lights and the heater blower before turning the key this protects the ecu from surging voltage and if the bulbs were blown then they were doing there job of protecting the ecu, A better idea is to have a jump pack that has surge protection (but these are expensive)

 

[mfw]

Ok thanks i understand what you are saying i think

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