I decided to take the plunge and get one of these jump start packs a few weeks back, so I went to Machine Mart and bought the biggest capacity version, the Clarke Jump Start 4000, capable of cranking up to a 6 litre petrol engine or a 4 litre diesel. Splendid.

Low and behold, my dad has a flat battery on his TD6, so I offer to pop over and start it up for him.(Feeling smug)

I follow the instructions, hook it all up, nice and easy and give it a few minutes connected before trying to crank.


Nothing.

Wait some more.....nothing.

To say I was deeply disappointed is an understatement.

Now, I tried jump starting the car using jump leads from mine, connected up (got sparks so I know its working) and left my car running for about 10 mins to help his battery, then crank it.

Nothing.

The question here then is this:

Are those jump start packs totally CR@P or is his car just so dead that nothing would crank it unless a new battery is connected up?

The end result is that he has called out LRA at great cost and they will have to make it work. He's had 3 new batteries in 12 months which is clearly not right, but I found out that he doesnt bother locking the car, even at night and I know the ECU's need to be shut down properly to stop the draw on the battery. Couple that with short journeys and I'm not sure its getting enough charging time.

Opinions? Advice? Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Last edited by RRUK on 10th Nov 2011 12:11pm. Edited 1 time in total

Are those jump start packs totally CR@P or is his car just so dead that nothing would crank it unless a new battery is connected up?

In my opinion yes when used on a RR.
They have very small batteries in them and will only start a car if you you can guarantee nothing else on the car is connected and running before the engine starts.
With a RR if you have any door open the current draw is significant before you even turn the key.
Leaving the jumpstart for a few minutes could well have depleted the in-built battery suficiant to make it useless.
I used to use a jumpstart to start a Disco without any bother even in winter but it wouldn't touch my RR.
If you want a proper jump pack you need to spend £4-500 as the pro's use.
A big spare battery is more use.

Not long back I made my battery go flat, I was cleaning it all day and had doors open etc - schoolboy error.

So I called out the AA (very nice man). His jump start pack was a much lower spec than the one I bought after this incident. He said the problem with his, was that its plugged into the van to charge it up but it never gets properly charged like when its plugged into the mains, as its being used during the day and his journeys are short, so you would hope at least, that this Clarke one might work.

I will wait for one more time of using it to see if it works, if not, I'll take it back. Sods law states I wont need it again Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Depends on the Jump start packs …

I have this one although never used on the FF , i use it for the Motorhome that i have and that has a large battery in it and it fire's it up with no problem …. maybe your dad's is goosed

Click image to enlarge

I am with ick on this. I have one of the Ring 40ah packs and I have jumped the TD6 no problem.
The pack needs to be charged monthly and I suspect a partly discharged pack would struggle to start a large engine.
The pack is 40ah but I believe it has 2 x 20an batteries in it.

All in all an excellent birthday present from the better half  

Click image to enlarge

Yesterday morning, at 6 AM, I had to travel by train, and park my car early in the morning in the car park station, but forgot to switch off my lights on my 4.4 V8. At 11 PM when I went back, I only had enough power to open the front door. Fortunately, at this station, they have a jump start. I connected the wires, and try starting the car. It started immediately.

Then, for me, it works

As a small note to add the beginning of this post I hardly ever lock my car and it has never had a flat batterie . 2008 MY Supercharged
Rimini Red / Jet
four zone climate
remote park heater
and no ugly kid windows.
magnus satis quod turpis satis

The Clarke Jump Start 4000 has the following spec:

Starting Boost 700 Amps

Peak Amps 1500

Max Petrol engine starting size 6000cc

Max Diesel engine starting size 4000cc

I am not an electrician, is this not enough to crank a TD6 or TDV8 more importantly? Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

Does it not also depend on the amount of discharge in the vehicle's battery?

When my alternator failed the voltage in the battery dropped to 3 volts. The man from landrover assist used 2 booster packs. The first was 'sucked dry' by the RR without even blinking, the second one was used in combination with the jump leads from his discovery. After 20 minutes it had sufficiently charged the car enough to start up...

Slight discharge of the battery (enough to prevent cranking) and these packs will work fine. Substantial discharge of the battery and they are useless (IMHO)

AAARRRGGGHHHH

No Wonder!


The flippin starter motor was goosed as it turns out! Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

On a side note - Shouldn't you connect live to the battery but earth to the bodywork (rather than the battery) Essentially using the battery pack instead of the battery rather than dragging the amps through a dead battery.? Ash
------------------------------------------------------
2016 SDV8 AB

You would still be connecting to the dead battery and so draining your pack - if you really want to just use the pack, then disconnect the live lead from the battery and connect it to the pack (i.e. pack replaces dead battery) - then as long as it's a HUGE pack which can provide the necessary starting current for the FFRR then you are laughing.

The best thing to do is buy a new battery and keep it trickle charged at home for just such a day!

Would cost about the same as this jumper pack too.  Discovery 4 HSE
1998 110 TUM HS FFR Hard Top XD WOLF
1982 Series 3 Hard Top

*Gone:L462 D5 HSE LUX, L663 Defender 110 HSE, Discovery 3 HSE, 2014MY Range Rover Sport 5.0 Supercharged AB Dynamic; L405 Exec Vogue SE 4.4, 5.0 Supercharged Autobiography, Defender TDCi XS CSW, Defender TD5 HT, Vogue SE TDV8, Vogue TD6, RRSport SC 4.2V8, Classic 3.9 Vogue Auto, Land Rover Series 3 SWB

^^^^^ Thats the best answer.

I have 4 vehicles that all use the same size battery as the FFRR and always have a new spare on the trickle charger