Car battery jump start power pack

[Steve VH]

Went shopping yesterday flat battery when I came back to the car, a taxi driver got it going again for me by connecting his portable car battery jump pack, with this in mind I'm looking to buy one, but they have a very large price range from £20 to £100+

Can anyone offer recommendations based on their personal experience, the car is a 1997 528i.

[Andrew]

I'd get the car checked to see why the battery went flat and cure the fault.  

Be better money spent in the long run even if it is to replace an aging battery than spending on a gadget you might not use.

[Ray112]

Exactly my thoughts what Andrew said, if battery is past it's best, replace battery, if it's not charging enough or getting discharged - get the problem fixed.

Plus bare in mind those jump packs need charging, and most of time when you suddenly need it, it's discharged and can't start your car anyway. All I have is jump leads in my car for emergency use, usually you can get another car nearby to help you out. But to be fair they are more used to jump start others rather than my car. 

 

[duncan-uk]

But does anyone have a recommendation as OP asked?

Lets assume it was a one off (lights left on or something) i know from experience working on these cars that they can drain a battery quite quickly simply being "awake".

FWIW I tried a TopDon VS2000 plus booster (2000ah), supposedly good for 30 starts - managed two before going to 50% below which it says dont use so sent it back.

Maybe mine was faulty but didnt get another.

NOCO as sold by halfords seem to have a good reputation

[DannyBoy]

I had this problem with my previous 530i - dead battery due to lack of use (should have kept it connected to the Cteck trickle charger but never did)

 

I got one of the Noco charger kits and it's been faultless since (saved me twice in my F30 330D until I went to BMW and got a new AGM battery fitted and they had to register it to the car as well); the E39s don't need that thankfully

 

The Noco I've got only cost me £90 a good few years back; this is the closest I can find and prices have gone up: https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOCO-GBX45-UltraSafe-Powerbank-4-0-Liter/dp/B0924V8SPC/ref=sr_1_26?crid=18XF5RLRDVD6N&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.fForPnBCmWRxqd0VWrih_ywotgD_sucN-fMsNWFulxT1hrycs52uFWm5XFu_W3LyFx9Lz3yCui-mpSw_akJHg7X5dD-0szZGkrdbz1SJB4inlt056-GR0gFrSaC8MOhQMy3nH5b5SxEbWTJddlU43xCACqqZU89LjiLKQ26TWQhPmpMKSjMZAzh5Aa2oQD5yf0m5PVfFOw46Y-lOaqnmvxOtVfqsf3nCmOfjDNvUxPLYXl5Tvm4hQtWatKY-R6p2b8WXdUcagYygAEXcPgOmCMjFf526OoOKVpdhRjtv1B8.86_LLY8cVubqeAKPAYcWFO5pLZDmPHdAQA1oRfh_H44&dib_tag=se&keywords=battery%2Bpack%2Bcar&qid=1713961750&sprefix=battery%2Bpack%2Bcar%2Caps%2C113&sr=8-26&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f&th=1

 

But for an E39 this should do just as good: https://www.amazon.co.uk/NOCO-GB40-UltraSafe-Lithium-Starter/dp/B015TKUPIC/ref=sr_1_6?crid=1K2IZ4MF2VZ2R&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.WyF2gaN3VUnuIrnJo4R9NsYokJ6Ta8K2iygHWpJxzePWty7f3rqpELU-tKuryoj1Wa0nvBfY-6rCjNCLDNVRH9iF4EjRHpoqfBFPXl0h-dqxgwLjky8YE2bsWtjEbqxIOPLD-b9cT6Wj1aFjIdLx6K-1vH42GYM8C6mFmLhfFyx6fAwrpDttF0bt45C6XynmwQGdOUKwtoeXeg10Q5Xq9et9COD9rRppMt0QTOnQOBuM5P2h5gAuW9zjGJB0MbjJbKWWIDCYlhfUMjHpQMZm-qU2579j1nrY_IemixKTv0c.taqdnbHX3pQDI8B-tlpZ0haO2HrGWByi0i96ORgJ8Mg&dib_tag=se&keywords=battery%2Bpack%2Bcar%2Bnoco&qid=1713961936&sprefix=battery%2Bpack%2Bcar%2Bnoco%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-6&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.d7e5a2de-8759-4da3-993c-d11b6e3d217f&th=1

 

I fitted a big Bosch battery (around £115 it was (blue top) to the E39 from Eurocarparts after the issues I had (turned out to be a heater resistor under the central dash that caused the issue)

 

Hope this helps

[skyjawa]

I got this one from Amazon for my Peugeot 205 as even on a trickle charger the battery can sometimes be dumb, connecting this on and straight into life every time.  Did a fair bit of research and NOCO or GOOLOO seem to be the ones best rated.  Pretty cheap really:

 

GOOLOO Jump Starter Power Pack Quick Charge in & out 2000A Peak Car Jump Starter 12V Car Battery Booster Jump Starter Emergency Portable Battery Jump Starters (up to 6.0L Gas and 4.0L Diesel) : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

Edited May 20 by skyjawa

[duncan-uk]

Does it say how many starts it’s good for (supposedly)?

[skyjawa]

On my 205 it will do 4 guaranteed without any further charging, but I actually think it would do 6 given the charge indicator. 

I guess that will vary though depending on the state of the battery it’s trying to boost.

Unused it also keeps its charge a long time, they say should only need a top up once a year if it’s not been used. So far it’s done everything it said, had it about a year now. Obviously it will probably tail off as the battery ages, but it’s been a great bit of kit so far. Also charges usb devices, has a useful torch etc….

Edited May 21 by skyjawa

[Sharkfan]

I have two of the Halfords larger capacity mini jump packs. They can start a 5.7 V12 with ease and hold their charge for months on end.

[DJ Syxx]

Topdon JS2000. It will literally start anything even when its pretty much dead.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/315380213940?epid=26050674857&itmmeta=01HZ07VDNVDKMJW8NV74CTJHWS&hash=item496e2028b4:g:OgQAAOSwcYtmS4Fl&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4OwWi2g3%2FJPlj3l0t9sA2k1Ga%2BP3GQalpEnBXmq%2B1yv8kJLKtXpLJ4jpDVPvCi%2FImUwGds7Q0YAfmb21kd2%2FKRFQ%2FPJmLD1WrzusF5yzkuYNJpqr%2BgMhdldF7o0Nr5SIm%2BQpInkGVqUF9OB8gfY3wUPnxif5wfE97UiyAuJZbENArFmLNIscZgs6vA36HaJlp2864DkvBTfOdYQ%2FyTfz6azwOkUlVDNPxP6cOgmpGBi0DvUFNLVXT8jG5Xo6sJ85hRzfpDh8N4T2sUhUeqCQPeXdIUsRWdsHbwTFe9xVMwCW|tkp%3ABFBMgNvth_hj

[Sir Anthony Regents Park]

Jump packs can fry ECU's.

 

If it's a battery you need, BMW dealers are very competitive and normally price match Halfords etc. 

[Sharkfan]

^^^They can as they sometimes have a higher voltage - I have always used the ‘connect the jump pack, leave a few minutes, turn the lights on, turn ignition on and start’ routine. Having the lights on mitigates a voltage spike to ecu’s.

[Dbcrd]

This is who I have been using for batteries, based on previous advice on this forum.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/

Yuasa or Bosch.  In the case of my two BMWs, the former.

[Stevecvo]

On 20/05/2024 at 16:01, skyjawa said:

I got this one from Amazon for my Peugeot 205 as even on a trickle charger the battery can sometimes be dumb, connecting this on and straight into life every time.  Did a fair bit of research and NOCO or GOOLOO seem to be the ones best rated.  Pretty cheap really:

 

GOOLOO Jump Starter Power Pack Quick Charge in & out 2000A Peak Car Jump Starter 12V Car Battery Booster Jump Starter Emergency Portable Battery Jump Starters (up to 6.0L Gas and 4.0L Diesel) : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive

I have had one very sililar to this for a couple of years and it works well. It lives in the boot of my 525d which I don't use very often these days as I have two other more modern diesel cars. After long periods of non use the E39  battery is down to the point that it won't turn the starter motor or there is even not enough power to operate the central locking I simply open the boot (with the key if necessary) and connect the charger to the battery terminals. The car will then start instantly. After 2 or 3 uses the charger still shows about 90% charge and with no use the drain is such that you only need to charge it perhaps once a year.