Stupid owner question

You can jump start and/or charge a Boxer from the starter motor connection..

BUT DO NOT ATTEMPT TO START THE CAR USING A BATTERY CHARGER ON BOOST...

.... the fact you even needed to ask, suggests you may be a little out of your depth with electrics...

so for fear of blowing your igntion unit/alternator etc... maybe you should just disconnect the battery and charge it conventionally.

 

I am on my 3rd AMG car...just noticed your profile lists an 84 AMG 500sl.

I was perplexed and didn't know they made one of those...heres some that they did make.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-AMG

 

Not to cause a stir, but AMG before the late 90's was a shop like renntech or brabus. You sent your car to them to mod. There is a chance that he has a 500sl modified by AMG, but slim that being 1984 he wouldn't have a 560 modified instead? If you are really interested do a search for amg hammer cars with 6.0 litre motors wow they were serious cars back in the 80's.
Erik

 

The battery in the BB512i is under the spare in the front bonnet and that's where you need to charge from...otherwise you risk damaging the Dinoplex.

 

If you don't use the car on a regular basis, have you thought of installing a battery switch? Both my 328 and 512 had them but not my GT4 - gotta be the same vintage as yours or near enough?

 

Phil (FerrariFixer) - what is the issue with starting a Boxer with a battery charger on "Boost"????

If the battery charger is connected properly to the battery terminals, or to the starter main bus, how would the car know (electrically) that the current is coming from a booster or a battery? Electrically it is equivalent. The diodes won't care.

Jim S.

 

dinoplex modules are sensitive to voltage spikes, a charger on boost puts out more than 12 volts, closer to 14V.

 

Paul - thanks for the reply. Of course, being the contrarian that I am, you introduce additional folklore to debate.

First, the voltage regulator should raise the bus voltage to 13.8-14.2 volts when charging. This is normal voltage output for the voltage regulator, and any electronic equipment should be designed for such voltage. I suspect that Dinoplex did design their CD system to sustain 14.5 volts.

Second - a booster provides the necessary current for the starter motor. The booster represents a current source. It does not have to raise voltage above the 14.2 range to provide the necessary starter motor current. In fact, most modern cars would also have difficulty if 18-volts were introduced to the bus. Hence, starter boosters are designed not to fry automotive electronics. When the solenoid closes the contact, the starter motor coils initially appear as a short circuit to ground (let's not complicate things with inductive properties). This "lock or clamp" current represents many times the steady state draw of the starter motor. The point here is that the starter motor does not need voltage...it needs current.

Finally, Dinoplex's fail. As they say, bad things happen. I don't (necessarily) attribute the failure to "voltage spikes". Heat, reverse polarity, bad solder joints, shorts across circuit board paths, etc., are equally likely culprits.

I have started lots of old exotics with boosters. Haven't fried anything yet...at least that I am aware of.

Jim S.

 

I cant give exact reasons, just past experience, particularly on a 930 turbo I worked on in the past. If you boost them you are gambling with your permatune module. The Dinoplex is delicate and similar in design, old and outdated. They dont take kindly to boosting or low batteries, fortunately mine is still fine for now. As an example, the dinoplex will pop the instant you diconnect a battery terminal while the engine is running, most cars dont suffer this same fate which tells me the dinoplex isnt forgiving.

As a demonstration perhaps you can see what it takes to ruin one and let us know for the good of the community

 

Take one for the G'ipper. Sounds like a reasonable sacrifice. Problem is, all of my Dinoplex's have failed and are replaced by MSDs. I can't tell you why they failed, but it seems that every time I start my car with a booster the Dinoplex smokes. Oh well...so much for the theory.

Jim S.

 

All electronics are sensitive to voltage and amperage surges..

Battery charger boost systems are safe if you have carbs and points igniton... but if you have any "solid state" electronics... keep it simple...

My own charger has a boost setting which delivers 16 volts and over 100 Amps if required... There's no way I'd ever let anyone (or myself) ever start a car off it on that setting....

BUT, I do know of many cases where it ahs been done with no ill effects.... however... this doesn't out weigh the handful of cases I know of where it has costs many $1000's to fix the dramas..

Curious fact... I once jump (normal parallel) started a dead 308 at a customers house ... when it fired up... it's aftermarket alarm system made all the indicator lights flash... and by bad luck the parking lights had been left on, and by even further bad luck.... the alternator was failed (overcharging).. and the voltage surge blew every bulb on the car, including all the instruments and everything...

 

Have seen waaayyyyy to many cars suffer damage from jump/start position on a battery charger. Had a TR alt failure form it a few months ago. 360 dash boards go up in smoke from it regularly. Dinoplexs are very sensitive to voltage....to high or too low. Thats why BBi's and 400's got a second alternator.

 

Is it ok to use a Portable Jump box??

 

Yes, jump starting is fine, providing you use the correct 12V system and not a truck 24V one! (it's been done)...

 

For some reason I have a thing for bad boy Mercs as well. I have an 86 560 Sl that I have been re-doing for a few years. I put the Euro bumpers on it and had Boyd do the wheels.

I had a Brabus K8. Holy Buckets what a rocketship. Everywhere I'd go people were trying to buy it from me. I finally caved.
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Brabus K8 - Very nice....

 

Now that was rather funny