Jump Starter For Lexus Rx400H?

[siherd]

I've had a 2006 Lexus rx400h for a year and its the best car I've had. However, I've had to get a jump start a couple of times recently so am thinking of investing in a portable jump starter to leave in the car boot.

The engine is 3.3l, which seems to be a larger capacity than anything specified in Halfords or eBay (I've found chargers which specify up to 3 litres).

Has anybody had experience of using portable jump starters with a rx400h? I don't want to buy a charger for up to 3 litre cars if it won't work for me.

Any thoughts appreciated

[rxsurfer]

Hi, not sure why you would want to carry or purchase a jump start as it sounds like you need a new Battery or find out why the car is losing charge.

I have never used a jump start & would not want to on a regular basis.

hope this helps.

Paul

[vadre]

I've had a 2006 Lexus rx400h for a year and its the best car I've had. However, I've had to get a jump start a couple of times recently so am thinking of investing in a portable jump starter to leave in the car boot.

The engine is 3.3l, which seems to be a larger capacity than anything specified in Halfords or EBay (I've found chargers which specify up to 3 litres).

Has anybody had experience of using portable jump starters with a rx400h? I don't want to buy a charger for up to 3 litre cars if it won't work for me.

Any thoughts appreciated

It doesn,t take much to flatten the relativly small Battery in this car, there have been a number of posts on this subject.

It is not this Battery however which actually starts the engine, it only energises the system, ie 'System Ready'. The main hybrid Battery then comes into play providing the power to start the engine via the Power Split Device and Planetary Gearbox.

It is most unlikely that your hybrid Battery could be flat, so all that is required to get things running is to provide a boost to the auxilliary Battery located in the engine bay. Any of the Jump Starter devices on the market should manage this.

I would however get your auxilliary Battery checked out to ensure that it does not require replacement. Any decent garage should do this for free.

[MartyCee]

It is possible that you have a Battery that is on it's way out. So before you do anything else I'd get that checked out.

It is a known issue with the RX400h that the Battery is rather undersized, resulting in a flat Battery if the vehicle is left standing for around 10 days to a fortnight.

This is because the Battery is only to initialise the car's systems & to provide a supply for the alarm etc when the car isn't running.

The main power all comes off the Hybrid cell, or via the enigine driven systems when that is low.

So, assuming the Battery is OK & you have longish standing periods, such as at an airport, the up side is that you don't need a starter from a 3 litre motor.

I Have to leave mine at an airport for trips overseas & having had to use the Lexus callout service twice took to having a jump starter in the boot ready for my return.

I have a Hilka unit which works well, although I sure many other would do just a good a job.

Be aware of the following points though.

Tha Battery is under a cover that needs a small screwdriver to press the centre to release the clips. These can snap if you not careful refitting them, so either learn before you leave home or at least carry a couple of spares - they can get lost as well.

I would not recommend simply leaving the cover off under any circumstances, or trying without the clips.

The leads of a starter box are short, to ensure full current transfer. So you should find one with the longest leads possible. You'll always need to find somewhere under the bonnet to safely rest the unit while you start the car.

Once the car is running, all the starter will do is activate everything & allow the beep to show the car is "ready" - but wait until the engine is actually running before you disconnect & return the cover back over the Battery - a good tip is to turn the heater up high while you pack everything away. This encourages the engine to keep running & charge the Battery, because it's being told that you need heat & that only comes from a hot engine.

If the engine switches off while you are packing you kit away don't panic. It will restart off the Hybrid battry once the first initialisation has been carried out. The display will (should) still show "ready" to confirm this. If it doesn't you have a bigger problem than a Battery.

Once moving 15 minutes or so of constant engine power will recharge the Battery - unless the lights etc are on, in which case you might need 25 -30 minutes to be sure.

[dave1]

Having looked at several of these items I noticed that the ends of the "jump leads" from unit do not appear to be totally encased at the unit end. Since these are charged lead/acid batteries the unit needs to be packed in such a way that there is no possibility of the positive lead coming into contact with any metal whilst in "boot" of car.

[Laura_Lexus]

Hi,

I purchased a Clarke Heavy Duty Jump Start 4000 from "Machine Mart", as my RX300 Battery drains after not using the car for a week in very cold weather. It is heavy duty and specified to start petrol engines up to 6 Litres, the Battery capacity is 37 amp/hour and peak power is 1500 amps. It also has a safety on/off switch to allow connections to the Battery before turning the unit on, hence no chance of sparks. This is not cheap at £106-00 but well worth the investment. You can download the instruction manual from the Machine Mart site, so no surprises if/when you purchase. It is fairly heavy as the unit does contain a large capacity Battery unlike the cheaper brands.

The unit is great insurance for cold starts or restarting after a prolonged period of inactivity.

Good Luck.

[JBPRX400h]

Hi

The 12 volt Battery does not have to provide any engine cranking power. It just provides power to boot up the electronics and anything else that requires 12 volts before the main system is in "ready" state, when all the electric power comes from the hybrid Battery via the inverter. Therefore, you don't actually need a power pack that can cope with a 3.3 litre engine.

If the 12 volt Battery is disconnected or if its voltage drops below a certain level your fuel consumption may well suffer until you perform the ISC Learning procedure.

This has been covered many times on the USA forum and here is a link that will give you the details of how to do it yourself. It is really easy if you follow the directions and it realy does make a difference.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=58930&st=0&p=379201&hl=learning&fromsearch=1entry379201

You may also find that you have to reset other things like the moonroof and side windows if your Battery has gone completely flat/been disconnected. How to do this is covered in the owner's manual.

Hope this helps

JBP