HaydnH Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I've been keeping the Z in the underground parking to avoid the snow so I thought I better let the car run a while to charge the battery... but the batteries already flat! So I called the AA and RAC to see if they could pop round and give it a jump and apparently they're too busy dealing with existing members emergencies to take anyone else on (well that's what the RAC said anyway - I couldn't eve get through to the AA), yet another example of the UK being crap in winter. It's sust as well I had to cancel my appointment with Abbey today because of the weather. Guess I might have pop to Halfords (in a big red taxi ) and pick up a jump pack, anyone used 1 of these?. Haydn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. My experiance of jump packs are that they are crap! Zed battery appears to be notorious for going flat and being a biatch to charge/keep charged unless its in daily use. Check Slimjims thread - I used the Halfords charger - it charges then goes into trickle mode. Best bet if your leaving the car for a period of time is to disconnect the battery. You require the following threads! for battery/charger advice viewtopic.php?f=9&t=44215 For jumping advice (and personally I'd use another car rather than a jump pack.........I don't think they have the juice for a car like the Zed). viewtopic.php?f=35&t=43784 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 Sadly there's no plug sockets in the underground parking so I can't use a trickle, I've got a friend coming around later to give it a jump so I should be sorted later today - guess I'll give Alex a shout for a new battery nearer spring and start disconnecting my battery until then. Might try the jump pack anyway - it says it's good for engine sizes up to 6L and I can always take it back if it's useless. BTW - does anyone know how long it takes a Z to charge a battery at idle (or just above it)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 They may want to pass that information onto the guys stood outside supermarkets in the freezing cold then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Sadly there's no plug sockets in the underground parking so I can't use a trickle, I've got a friend coming around later to give it a jump so I should be sorted later today - guess I'll give Alex a shout for a new battery nearer spring and start disconnecting my battery until then. Might try the jump pack anyway - it says it's good for engine sizes up to 6L and I can always take it back if it's useless. BTW - does anyone know how long it takes a Z to charge a battery at idle (or just above it)? Depends how dead it is I guess. My experiance .......and I've yet to determine if battery is dud. Jumped - lasted a day of driving and 2 days sitting Jumped - lasted 2 days of driving and 2 days sitting Battery off and full charge - lasted 3 days of driving and just over 1 day sitting I'm going to check the fluid levels over Xmas and make sure there is enough otherwise is won't charge..........maybe you could also invest in a volt meter to see what kind of charge its carrying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich5259 Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I have the PowerPack 100 from Halfords, even though it says it's for engines up to 2500cc it started the Zed 1st time last March, after 2 months locked in the garage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 That Ring one should do the trick. A friend of mine works there and has it, he uses it to jump all kinds of cars, bigger than the Zed too. Careful with lesser rated ones, they cant always provide the power, and more importantly, you may over stress it which could cause bits to fail or burn out We jumped a big landie with the Ring one and the cables got a bit warm to say the least, so I'd be worried trying to turn over a Zed with a lesser rated pack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted December 22, 2010 Author Share Posted December 22, 2010 Sadly there's no plug sockets in the underground parking so I can't use a trickle, I've got a friend coming around later to give it a jump so I should be sorted later today - guess I'll give Alex a shout for a new battery nearer spring and start disconnecting my battery until then. Might try the jump pack anyway - it says it's good for engine sizes up to 6L and I can always take it back if it's useless. BTW - does anyone know how long it takes a Z to charge a battery at idle (or just above it)? Depends how dead it is I guess. My experiance .......and I've yet to determine if battery is dud. Jumped - lasted a day of driving and 2 days sitting Jumped - lasted 2 days of driving and 2 days sitting Battery off and full charge - lasted 3 days of driving and just over 1 day sitting I'm going to check the fluid levels over Xmas and make sure there is enough otherwise is won't charge..........maybe you could also invest in a volt meter to see what kind of charge its carrying. Sorry Ricey - I meant if I jump the car, how long would I need to leave it idling in the underground car park to get a decent charge (enough for it to start tomorrow anyway)? The cars an '07 so the battery shouldn't be too bad. It looks like the roads around my place have melted a bit this morning so I may be able to take it for a little drive later anyway if things keep improving - it'll probably start snowing again now that I've said that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 Doh! sorry dude. Hmmmmmm - thats a bit of a toughie. Jump start guidelines say to keep your car attached to the donor car for 10 mins before driving off..........I think it would probably need a good run to be honest (a quick google recommends a good 30 min DRIVE).......how that translates into idling would suggest a fair bit longer??? Get your gas mask on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I've used a similar sized jump pack on my Zed before, a couple of times and it was good as gold. Well worth the investment IMHO. So I called the AA and RAC to see if they could pop round and give it a jump and apparently they're too busy dealing with existing members emergencies to take anyone else on (well that's what the RAC said anyway - I couldn't eve get through to the AA), yet another example of the UK being crap in winter. Not sure how it's the AA and RAC's fault that you weren't prepared for winter and let the battery go flat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 I've used a similar sized jump pack on my Zed before, a couple of times and it was good as gold. Well worth the investment IMHO. So I called the AA and RAC to see if they could pop round and give it a jump and apparently they're too busy dealing with existing members emergencies to take anyone else on (well that's what the RAC said anyway - I couldn't eve get through to the AA), yet another example of the UK being crap in winter. Not sure how it's the AA and RAC's fault that you weren't prepared for winter and let the battery go flat Ive got one of these similar sized packs. Its jumped my Rex, Zed, and a few other larger engined cars of friends. Got me outta a pickle more than once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 The AA, RAC and Green Flag all use jump packs like Halfords if you need one buy one, also just because it's a Zed why does it use batterys? The battery is the same for all cars, if you have a slightly suspect battery in this weather it will die I think your best best is get a new Branded battery like a VARTA you won't go wrong with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted December 22, 2010 Share Posted December 22, 2010 The AA, RAC and Green Flag all use jump packs like Halfords if you need one buy one, also just because it's a Zed why does it use batterys? The battery is the same for all cars, if you have a slightly suspect battery in this weather it will die I think your best best is get a new Branded battery like a VARTA you won't go wrong with them. Weeeeeel. Its not really the same for all cars is it? For example the Zed has a heeeeeyawge engine and a relativly small battery.......my old 2.3 litre merc had a battery the size of a mini and didn't miss a beat in winter. You've got to fire up a big ass engine and power the immobiliser when the engine is off. Alternator might not be the best in the world either. I'm sure our resident hound will be along soon to explain in better detail than me as I know feck all about electrics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 There wasn't enough juice to unlock the car from the remote so it was fairly dead - but it jumped almost immediately. An hour drive (well, it's SW London so an hour sitting in traffic ) has hopefully charged the battery a bit, I'll take it on a longer drive today to sort it out. Oh and I got a Ring jump pack on my travels just in case! I still wonder if my tracker has something to do with the sub par battery life of the Z due to being parked underground - you know how phones batteries die if you leave GPS on while inside? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neilp Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 i leave my zed in the garage for around a week to 2 weeks at a time and ive never had any issues with the battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 There wasn't enough juice to unlock the car from the remote so it was fairly dead - but it jumped almost immediately. An hour drive (well, it's SW London so an hour sitting in traffic ) has hopefully charged the battery a bit, I'll take it on a longer drive today to sort it out. Oh and I got a Ring jump pack on my travels just in case! I still wonder if my tracker has something to do with the sub par battery life of the Z due to being parked underground - you know how phones batteries die if you leave GPS on while inside? That could be a good shout. Is the car able to be remotely controlled via the tracker (ie they can remotely disable the car)? If so it will need to be available on the GSM network all the time and that will mean if it can get signal it will constantly be searching for one, which will use some juice, but it shouldnt drain the battery too quickly (just like leaving your phone on standby really). I think its more than likely the battery is shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted December 23, 2010 Author Share Posted December 23, 2010 I've done about 11 x 60 mile round trips since I got the car in July. I'm planning on using the car much more come spring though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ricey Posted December 23, 2010 Share Posted December 23, 2010 Worth checking the fluid in the battery too if its a wet cell........won't charge without it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.