Flat battery, remote location, what would you do?

jumar

jumar

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Imagine this..you decide to park-up off grid for a weekend in the wilds.... you've enjoyed a great weekend although the sun didn't shine as much as you wanted.
It's time to leave, make your preparations and start the engine...NOTHING...not enough to crank the engine over....your weekend venture has backfired on you. No mobile coverage or habitation within easy reach.
What would you do, what do you carry to ease the situation, get you out of trouble...can you self help....
I haven't experienced this, and am not currently in this situation...but perhaps one day I or you could be...
 
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Paulypaul said:
Just a warning...a fitter told me once that under no circumstances should I try to jump start or booster charge a starter battery without opening a circuit (turn side lights on or interior lights, you get the drift) because if you don't you may risk the voltage spike frying the ecu?

Ask me how I know? A fella down my yard tried to do me a favour as he knew my truck batteries were flat, and attached a booster pack to my lorry before I got down there.......£6500 for an ecu that cost me just because there wasn't an open circuit to absorb the voltage surge.

It also left me with the dilema of wondering if I could ask him for 6.5k for the ecu and ptm that had been fried because he tried to help? I didn't, but lesson learned and nothing I possess gets jump started without the interior lights or side lights on at the very least.
Click to expand...
Ironically the booster instructions say to turn off all heaters, lights etc before using it. The Noco 40 is said to generate 1000 amps !
 
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Sorry to mention it, but I am terrified that trying to start the van with a flattish battery, is a 50/50 chance of blowing The Passenger Airbag ECU, and we all know what that involves.
I haven't heard of any other vehicle blowing it airbag ECU with a flat starter battery only Fiat!, How they get away with this reoccurring problem causing much stress and expense to all outside of the 2 year warranty is beyond me.
LES
 
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Flightlevel55 said:
Ironically the booster instructions say to turn off all heaters, lights etc before using it. The Noco 40 is said to generate 1000 amps !
Click to expand...
I must admit, I turn off heater blowers and headlights etc as They draw high amps or volts but i tend to turn on interior lights or side lights. If that circuit is going to blow it will be a fuse not an ecu? I can't answer the airbag thing but an alternative sacrificial circuit sounds a good idea?

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If you have a PVC the van body courtesy lights are a perfect sacrificial circuit. It’s quite fitting as the only other purpose they have is to stay on when you store the van and drain the battery.
 
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I have NOCO that's kept fully charged just in case I have a flat vehicle battery so the info regarding the sacrificial circuit is really helpful, so thanks to Paulypaul.

I have a question though for the those who know far more about these things than I do and that is, if I have a flat battery (or someone else does) is it best to connect the NOCO to the Ducato remote jumpstart terminals or directly to the vehicle battery, or does it not matter?

Thanks in advance.
 
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I've got one of these in the van all the time. Used it half a dozen times to help other people.

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Having experienced a dead battery in a very remote location abroad I managed to start it with one of the examples above. You then stand back and ask yourself why did the starter battery fail. The old days of when batteries deteriorated over time giving you a clue for a replacement have gone, they just die on you now. I had one fail after filling up in a garage on the forecourt. These days I carry a fully charged 100Ah battery in the garage along with heavy duty Halfords jump leads and a battery charger. The battery serves two purposes, insurance if the starter or one of the leisure battery fails plus in exceptional circumstances I can connect my 2Kw pure sine wave inverter. Finally going back to the jump leads. I bought a set on line from our friends who have just relaxed their covid regulations with a specification which could of jump started a Boeing 747. I think 1000 amp was proudly emblazoned on the packaging. First time used the fully charged battery couldn´t start the engine. Basically the jump leads looked wonderful with really thick wires or so I thought. Upon investigation when the starter motor kicked in the volt drop between fully charged battery to the MH battery was down to six volts with the cable warming up just nicely. Cutting open the jumper cables the insulation of the leads was really thick with a miniscule bit of copper wire running through. Welding cables saved the day. Buy cheap pay dear. I also carry 10 litres of diesel. MHíng abroad or in UK one must have some sort of back up plan. The weight of a spare battery is negligible in the scheme of things but boy does it give one peace of mind. The smart Noco starters are great of course however your engine may not start after the next stop indicating a duff battery or charging system. Having a spare battery you can change it out which will determine whether you have a charging problem or a truly duff battery which gives you breathing space to find a EHU to try and charge your original battery and find a reasonably priced replacement if required to keep in the garage.
 
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Sasbo said:
I have NOCO that's kept fully charged just in case I have a flat vehicle battery so the info regarding the sacrificial circuit is really helpful, so thanks to Paulypaul.

I have a question though for the those who know far more about these things than I do and that is, if I have a flat battery (or someone else does) is it best to connect the NOCO to the Ducato remote jumpstart terminals or directly to the vehicle battery, or does it not matter?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Best is to connect to the dedicated points under the bonnet if at all possible

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Phill D said:
Best is to connect to the dedicated points under the bonnet if at all possible
Click to expand...
I haven't had to jump start our van yet but I wouldn't know where the dedicated points under the bonnet are?
 
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On my X290 Fiat Ducato the positive is on the right close to the headlight. There is a black fitting which has a small lug on the side - open it - tricky sometimes and the metal tongue is then easy to connect crocodile click to.
The negative is in the centre close to the windscreen with what looks like a nut not connected to anything. The Fiat handbook does show it somewhere!
 
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davidroxburgh said:
On my X290 Fiat Ducato the positive is on the right close to the headlight. There is a black fitting which has a small lug on the side - open it - tricky sometimes and the metal tongue is then easy to connect crocodile click to.
The negative is in the centre close to the windscreen with what looks like a nut not connected to anything. The Fiat handbook does show it somewhere!
Click to expand...
Mmm, I wonder where Pilote have put them as its got the hella headlamps and there's nowt near them. I'll have a look when I get home.
 
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Have a look - it would be odd if they moved what is I think integral to the engine? Confession I am no technician!

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Lenny HB said:
Connect leisure battery to starter battery and leave it to charge for a couple of hours. I've done it a couple of times to other people's vans to get them out of trouble.
If that fails use the leisure battery to start the engine.
Click to expand...

Been there, done that.

You only need one cable to do it, (assuming they are both Neg. Earth). Connect the Pos+ leads
to the Pos+ Leisure battery terminal and the Vehicle Pos+ terminal

You could use jumper leads, (put the neg ends in a bag to prevent in any way 'shorting'.)
 
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Paulypaul said:
Just a warning...a fitter told me once that under no circumstances should I try to jump start or booster charge a starter battery without opening a circuit (turn side lights on or interior lights, you get the drift) because if you don't you may risk the voltage spike frying the ecu?

Ask me how I know? A fella down my yard tried to do me a favour as he knew my truck batteries were flat, and attached a booster pack to my lorry before I got down there.......£6500 for an ecu that cost me just because there wasn't an open circuit to absorb the voltage surge.

It also left me with the dilema of wondering if I could ask him for 6.5k for the ecu and ptm that had been fried because he tried to help? I didn't, but lesson learned and nothing I possess gets jump started without the interior lights or side lights on at the very least.
Click to expand...
Did he mention where the 'spike' came from.......?
 
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ianp said:
Did he mention where the 'spike' came from.......?
Click to expand...
No, other than the ecu and pump are so sensitive to surges/spikes that when jump starting an open circuit will draw and spike/surge towards it.

To be honest, after that experience, for the sake of leaving a door open so the interior lights are on while jump starting, it's a no brainer for me. I've had to jump start my T5, my partners Swift and my truck again since and I've not had any issues.

That's what I do now anyway.
 
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Emmit said:
Been there, done that.

You only need one cable to do it, (assuming they are both Neg. Earth). Connect the Pos+ leads
to the Pos+ Leisure battery terminal and the Vehicle Pos+ terminal

You could use jumper leads, (put the neg ends in a bag to prevent in any way 'shorting'.)
Click to expand...
That is assuming that the -ve lead to the chassis from your Leisure Battery will take the starter motor current.
 
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Revolvor said:
That is assuming that the -ve lead to the chassis from your Leisure Battery will take the starter motor current.
Click to expand...
I would point out that I didn't suggest starting the vehicle.
I was replying to Lenny HB when he said connect it for a couple of hours.

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Neil n Pat said:
.The old days of when batteries deteriorated over time giving you a clue for a replacement have gone, they just die on you now. I had one fail after filling up in a garage on the forecourt.
Click to expand...
We have had similar twice - once on a car and one on the motorhome.

The motorhome has a spare (fully charged when we set off) battery we carry "just in case" for Martin's CPAP machine so we would use that but we try not to be too far off the beaten track these days.
 
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Honda generator in the back pull that out plug it in the EHU and run for a few minutes
 
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Sasbo said:
I have NOCO that's kept fully charged just in case I have a flat vehicle battery so the info regarding the sacrificial circuit is really helpful, so thanks to Paulypaul.

I have a question though for the those who know far more about these things than I do and that is, if I have a flat battery (or someone else does) is it best to connect the NOCO to the Ducato remote jumpstart terminals or directly to the vehicle battery, or does it not matter?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I use the jump start terminals on my boxer, well not quite true as the leads are too short to reach both so I use the +ve jump start terminal and the nearest bolt that serves as an ground / earth. Worked just fine at the weekend.

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2GB Racing said:
Honda generator in the back pull that out plug it in the EHU and run for a few minutes
Click to expand...
My internal charger only supplies 1A to the starter battery so would need more than a few minutes. This is why I carry a battery charger as well. Only gives max of 8.5A but still a lot better.
 
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Always park facing out preferably on a slight slop and know how to bump start it :eek:
 
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chesterfield hooligan said:
I have to second NOCO I have a Noco40 and a Noco70 the 70 is in the campervan all the time and I have started at least 20 motorhomes and campervans in France Spain and Portugal whilst travelling with no problem the Noco 40 I carry when collecting salvage vehicles cars and vans of allsorts I've even started a JCB 3c with the 40 with salvage they deliberately flattern the batteries by turning the lights on to stop electric fires in the salvage yard and the Noco hasn't yet failed me yet lol I also use ot as a power supply for my tyre pump.
Click to expand...
Given the substantial price difference between the 40 and 70, I'm wondering if the 40 would be suitable for my 2.5l van. In theory it is, as it says rated for up to 3l diesels, but given your personal experience with both, which would you recommend?
I've only twice been stranded by my van in 8 years, and both times the cause was the vehicle battery. One needed replacing, the other time the battery recovered and has been fine since.
 
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I've never needed to use the RoyPow gismo I got in 2018 on any of my vehicles, but several other people - esp a Spanish family this year in Galicia - have been grateful.
Every 6 months I get it out, turn on the inbuilt torch and leave it for a couple of days till it's 50% discharged, recharge and store it in Hattie Hymer.
And, I even know where to connect it if I need to! If it's someone else's vehicle I let them connect it just in case .....
 
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