[Leoshashi]

New Product launch alert: Jump starter by MGA

Part Number: 990J0M999X0-070
Price: Rs. 5,050

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUwn4k4jtBg

[Aditya]

Maruti launches a compact jump starter for cars - Post moved to a new thread.

[SS-Traveller]

A 14.8Wh battery pack is expected to jump start ALL models? Including diesels? Assuming the starter draws 350A for 10 seconds, I'm not sure the math adds up.

[saikarthik]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

A 14.8Wh battery pack is expected to jump start ALL models? Including diesels? Assuming the starter draws 350A for 10 seconds, I'm not sure the math adds up.

As you said, this isn't a mobile charging power bank to quote specification in Wh. I think they should have mentioned other important specifications like the maximum CCA (cold cranking ampere) rating, how many times we can jump start on a single charge and C rating of the device.

But, the concept of portable jump starters is not new and we can get a good one from branded suppliers like Bosch, Stanley etc... if we do not trust MS with this.

[irdevanand]

Useful gadgets these are. Good to see them coming to mainstream use for common man. With them acting as good backup for smart phones the usage can actually go high.. who knows. But what is the price from Maruti? Couldn't get that info in this article or did i not see correctly? Edit - saw the price in the news article page now. (Maruti has added a new compact jump starter for cars to its list of genuine accessories. The product is priced at Rs. 5,050.). Not a bad price.

I have jump start cables in my car and was looking at this 70mai jump starter the other day. If it was under 3k would have bought it. But the cost is 7k. The comments in amazon were pretty good. Many have confirmed it did the job.

https://www.amazon.in/70mai-Starter-...dp/B07XLZ1CFT/

Regards
Dev

[anjan_c2007]

Originally Posted by Leoshashi

New Product launch alert: Jump starter by MGA

Attachment 2103789

A good move by the automaker. It's rare that auto makers in India on their own venture in this arena and that's a first from Maruti. This has also been a less known territory in India for spare manufacturers. But with the entry of MSIL, maybe some other auto makers to jump into the fray.

The difference is that if an automaker of repute ventures out here, it gets instant acceptability, due to it's brand equity and even commoners (non-teambhpians included) realise the importance of this product as a saviour. A saviour from hassles that if ignored, can create agony not only for the owner/driver but for the co-passengers, who can be his or her family members too .

The specifications include :-
Cost on Amazon :- 7,499.00
Sold by eHUB™ | NEXDIGITRON® and Fulfilled by Amazon.
Real 11,100 mAh Power Bank. Start current 250A | Peak Current 600A Jump start a 100% dead battery in seconds
Jump Start a Vehicle up to 40 times on a Single Charge. Designed for 12V vehicles with up to 4.0L gas and 2.0L diesel engines Cars, SUV, motorcycles, trucks and more
Extreme Weather Adaptability. Easy to Carry​. Helpful LED Light. Wide Capability
Over Charge/Discharge protection, Reverse Connect Protection, Pure Copper Clip
Temperature, Over Current, Over Voltage, Short Circuit, Reverse Charging Protection

[sunsivj]

Thanks for sharing this info and I am assuming since we are moving a lot towards automatic, this will be helpful to start in situations when battery issues are seen. I did struggle once when I faced an issue while on a trip and had no option to push and start like the manual ones.

[frewper]

Its a good product. Will always be useful for the ones that need it often.

But here is the catch.Will I buy one? Naa.
Let me explain.

No matter how important of a problem it solves, I will never be in a situation where I need to use it. Not saying that I have never run into a situation where I needed help, but they are usually very rare and help is always available.

A long time ago, I got off work quite late and when I walked over to the car which was parked on the street I noticed a flat. After sweating it out for a long time, I finally changed the tyre and got the spare set up and came back home. I swore I will never change a tyre again and ordered the electric air pump, so that I can fill up and drive to the puncture fellow if it ever happened again. Have I been in a situation similar, nope. And that was 6 years ago. The pump is waiting to be used in an emergency.
If you ask me now, changing to the spare is not bad at all. Good workout. Why does one need to lug a pump around all the time.

With this, the first thing that I have to do is to make sure that it is always charged. Which I know I will never do. I might do it a couple of times at first but then I will forget about it and when time comes when I need to use it; it will be useless. Also I guess this will be useful for 5 years tops before the battery deteriorates and will have to buy a new one.

If I am really worried about getting a jump start, I will prefer keeping jumper cables in my boot rather than carry this around. I am pretty sure if I ask someone to lend some battery current, help is always given.

In my 10 years of car ownership, the number of times I have been in a situation where I needed a jump start is: once. Battery conked off. Right after dinner, outside a restaurant. All I did was ask two guys around to give me a push and got going. Changed the battery in the morning.

Now I am not saying that this situation is not scary enough for someone who is travelling with family and gets stuck somewhere on the highway because of a dead battery. Its just that for situations like these, I buy RSA component whenever I am buying insurance. It covers you for a lot of things such as a dead battery, flat tyre, broken wheel, out of fuel, stuck in slush(refer TATA harrier rescued by Insurance RSA, thread).
So I think its better to be covered for a range of problems than just one.

So is this is a useful product, absolutely. But the problem doesnt arise enough, to justify buying one.

[Arjun Bharadwaj]

If the price can come down to around 2 or 3K eventually, this will have better acceptance.

Heck it can jump start the dead car as well as dead mobile phones(as a power bank).

Referring to RSA, I would any day try to depend on myself to come out of possible problems than wait for RSA. Its possible there could be bad network or the RSA could be many hours away. It's risky due to multiple reasons to sit and wait for support during such situations!

[condor]

like @sunsivj says, this can be more useful for automatics. I have been stuck in our A-Star AT in jam traffic, when the battery went dead. I went home to get a jumper cable to start the car.

Rather than this 7k priced item, their jumper cables may be more cost-effective.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by condor

like @sunsivj says, this can be more useful for automatics. I have been stuck in our A-Star AT in jam traffic, when the battery went dead. I went home to get a jumper cable to start the car.

Rather than this 7k priced item, their jumper cables may be more cost-effective.

Jumpstarter cable won't be useful if you cannot find a car owner who can let you jumpstart or a battery. Or have to call a friend to get his car to jump start. So it would be easier to jump start with Batmobile exide service or local shop around.

Ofcourse price of Jumpstarter should have been 3-4k like in US.

[condor]

Originally Posted by shamanth

Jumpstarter cable won't be useful if you cannot find a car owner who can let you jumpstart or a battery..

I have been in the situation and got out of it too. Today pretty much everywhere you would find a car. This jump-starter pack will need to be kept charged, and not using it often would also lead to drop in storage capacity. A car in the vicinity may be more useful than finding out this unit didnt have enough juice at the required moment.

[shamanth]

Originally Posted by condor

I have been in the situation and got out of it too. Today pretty much everywhere you would find a car. This jump-starter pack will need to be kept charged, and not using it often would also lead to drop in storage capacity. A car in the vicinity may be more useful than finding out this unit didnt have enough juice at the required moment.

Depends on person to person, I would be more comfortable Jumpstarting on my own without wasting time rather than searching for help givers. These days Jumpstarter can be used as battery pack for mobile, so you can use it regularly as mobile charger/jump starter.

I have been using the Jumpstarter from long time, you can see this thread https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/modif...ml#post1613400 (Jump Starters for Auto Transmission Vehicles)

[Vikram Arya]

Interesting comments here; unfortunately too many assumptions are being made in regards to the utility of these kinds of devices.

India is not just Delhi, Bombay, Banglore, and Chennai. People also inhabit the Northern & North-Eastern parts of India that are subjected to colder temperatures and nothing kills a battery quicker than exposure to negative temperatures (believe me I have changed three batteries on my wife's Hyundai Santa Fe in the last 10 years as the temperature here in winters can dip down to -35C).

Back home in Shimla in winters even my parents find it sometimes difficult to start their cars (a Honda City, a Wagon R & a Gypsy King) with batteries being replaced every 3 years (they don't drive much and that also contributes to the batteries dying early). On multiple occasions, they have encountered a weak/dead battery with not enough juice to crank the engine and no one nearby to jumpstart their car's dead battery. A power bank really came in handy in those situations.

Jumper cable is good to have and all my cars have it as a part of a safety kit but there can be an instance where you may not find anyone in your vicinity to jumpstart your dead battery and this has happened to me multiple times.

I think Maruti is charging a bit more for this device but that is to be expected as they would charge a premium for their name but you don't have to buy it from Maruti, I'm sure one can buy a 10,000 or a 20,000 mAh power bank from Amazon India for a reasonable price.

Most manufacturers rate their portable car starters and motorcycle jump starter batteries for types of engines, so read the fine print for your jump starter battery. Look for starting or cranking amps, and don't worry much about the peak amp figures.

[landcruiser123]

Interesting. Such accessories coming into the market through official branded channels suggests that the pandemic had created a new market.

Guess dead batteries were a common complaint at Maruti service centers during the lockdown.