Inexpensive Battery Jump Starter kits

Hello,

I'm a new 2008 Prius owner and I've been reading with interest regarding the various concerns of running out of gas, or returning from a vacation to find the 12 volt battery has died. I'm not too worried about the fuel situation (just had my first tank filled-after reading about questions of the guage accuracy, I filled up with 3 bars left-some 260 miles on the clock-as I wrote, I am a new owner) and only 6.1 gallons would go into the tank which resulted in all 10 bars lighting up. So to me, worse case is 10 gallon capacity or "only" 400 miles between fillup conservatively-that is plenty to me! I am in the habit of resetting my trip meter on all my vehicles with each fillup.

Anyway, the thought of going on a 2 week vacation, or perhaps a week end vacation with a courtesy light left on, and discovering my Prius' battery is dead, is a greater concern, especially as it takes 30 to 60 minutes for AAA to show and there is no guarantee the technician knows how to jump a Prius (I just got around to exposing the jump tab in the fuse box-why did they put the driver side locking tab on the cover so close to the mounting bracket that you cannot loosen it?).

Having wired a couple of houses with a security system, I was thinking of getting a sealed lead acid battery used in alarm systems and charging this periodically and placing this (carefully so the leads don't short out a burn the Prius up) in the very commodious trunk tray with a couple of cheapie jumper cables (as the Prius does not need the large current as a conventional car with a starter).

There is a more convienent system. This week Harbor Freight is selling their self contained Battery Jump Starter for $49 (regular price is $55). This gizmo has a sealed, no maintenance lead acid battery which is charged by 110 AC (or by the car's cigarette lighter port). It has two short (about a foot) battery cable clamps. There is a built in high intensity lamp and of course, an on-off switch.

There is more than enough room in the tray for this battery starter to lie flat. I noticed right out of the box, the charge was reading 100% and I would imagine it was made from the factory in China months ago. So perhaps one needs to charge it twice a year (you should be checking the spare tire more often than that).

Doing a search on eBay I noticed clones of this selling for around $25 (but $20 shipping).

Here is a webpage of the unit:

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Looks good. I just keep a 7 AH Gel bat in the left trunktray. Never has gone below 12V and I charge it from time to time thru the dash plug-in, cost: 15-20 Dollars. I have also test drove with this battery, works fine. Addition: I can see that the trunktray storage is a problem, so I moved it to a small cardboard box that just fits on the floor section in front of the center console. this position is convenient to the dash plug-in and also hides the secret compartment, in which I keep some cash (gas funds).

For $5 more you can get an air compressor to keep your tires properly inflated.

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

There have been a few threads in which this topic has been brought up. Several people have expressed opinions that would be of interest to you.

Here is one of the threads that started on a slightly different note but ended up, somewhere along the way, discussing a couple different jump starters and batteries: Jump You.

yup i picked up an inexpensive one that pumps the tires, jumps the car, powers a 12v device ect

it works pretty well, not too heavy, and sits well in the trunk

MARGANA

I just figured out yesterday that it would be very difficult to reach my spare battery pack I keep in the trunk under the floor. The reason is the trunk will not open with a dead battery.

However you can use the key in the fob to open the drivers door and then reach around to unlock the rear door. Then you can fold down the back seat to reach the battery pack if it is on top of the floor on the drivers side.

I have been storing my battery pack under the floor but I don't see how to access it if it is under the floor.

On the question of where do you store the jump starter (because of the difficulty of opening the hatch if the battery is dead), look at what Aces has done: Starter nicely stored behind back seat.

This is not the only example, but it is one that comes with a good series of photos.

I have posted this before, but here it is for the new guys.

"EMERGENCY BATTERY PICTURES"

Looks great -- And I've seen your pictures before!

Still, one question remains: If you need to "jump" your car because of a dead 12v battery, how do you get to that compartment? In other words, can you open the hatch without juice?

Not hard to do, Open left rear door, put seat back down, take toneau cover out of the way, lean in and reach back (requires a little stretch). You can open the triangular cover and get the battery and jumpers out. You don't have to open the hatch or the cover over the under-floor storage.

I have done it just to make sure.

Oh ya, there is a way to open the hatch, but it ain't easy. Check your manual.

If you would prefer your acrobatic way of reaching the back-up battery, then it must be quite difficult to open the hatch without power!

The way to open the hatch without power is probably even more acrobatic. It is covered on page 376 of your 2007 manual. You still have to enter the car through the rear door and put the seat back down, then get the luggage storage cover open when you are probably laying on top of it. Then remove a small cover over the latch mechanism and trip a little lever then push the hatch open.

By the time all of that is done, I would probably already have my jumper wires connected to the jump points under the hood. But, you could do it either way.

okie,

How often to you have to recharge the sealed battery and what do you use to recharge it? I really like the small size, out of the way storage and ease that you can get to it when you need it. I assume this is the same battery used in home alarm systems as it looks just like the one I had to replace a few weeks ago.

Another 12V Battery Alternative

Back when I joined this forum in Jan '08, there was a plethora -- that is to
say, all too many -- threads about the 12V battery going belly up. It sounded
like it was occurring everywhere; left, right and center. After mentioning the
possibility of having to get under the hood to restart the electronics with my
partner, it was made perfecly clear to me that this situation was not, and
never would be, acceptable.

After hunting around on the Internet I found this:

Amazon.com: Black & Decker BB7B Simple Start 12-Volt Battery Booster: Automotive

It can both charge the 12V battery and be recharged from the 12V battery
and DC converter through the under-dash power port. It fits in the lower
glove box. You don't have to deal with either the rear hatch, or an under-
hood hook up -- in the dark, cold, etc.

For the B&D unit to be used to start the Prius' electronics with a dead/near
dead 12V battery, the under-dash power port has to be hot all the time. This
simple mod from coastaletech does the trick:

Power Outlet Mod

With the help of the good folks here at PriusChat, I was able to put this
package together conceptually. Its in my car now and -- knock wood -- I
haven't had to use it yet. At the beginning of every month I plug it in, and
press two buttons to charge it up during commutes.

To get all the gory details on why I think this unit will do the trick when
needed, go here:

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-t...attery-glove-box-remedy.html?highlight=rokeby

Although you can get the gist of the story reading just posts #1 and #60,
there is much interesting tangential stuff, and some important kinks and
twists in the story, in the intervening postings.

I recharge it every couple of months with a charger salvaged from an old 12 volt jumper like so many of you are familiar with. It is a 12 volt, 12 amp hour sealed battery. Very common size. They are used in ups back-ups, electric bicycles and scooters, and no telling what else.

The ones in the jumper boxes that you buy at sam's, auto parts stores, etc. are typically 12 volt, 18 amp hour sealed batteries and as you know they are powerful enough to start a regular car. I have a couple of them myself, but didn't want to carry one of them around all the time in the Prius. Since all the jumper battery has to do for the Prius is boot up the computers, the 12 amp hour size should be more than sufficient. It rides in the little cubby just fine. I probably would have used an 18 amp hour one if it had fit in there, but it was just too big.

I also thought about using an 8 amp hour one, which is a little smaller. I had hoped it would fit in the "secret drawer" but it was too big to fit in.

I did use the 12 ah one to keep my avalon powered up while I cleaned it's battery terminals and it worked just fine. I didn't have to re-set anything.

I hope that I never have to use it to jump start the Prius, but it is there, just in case.

did you make jumper cable by yourself or you purchased somewhere?
if purchased, will you let me know where you purchased?

This is a two-year old thread, so don't be surprised if you don't get a reply.

Tom