Showing posts with label car battery lookup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car battery lookup. Show all posts

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Lenmar AIDCU2 Auto Charger with High Output Dual USB for for Smartphones, iPad/Tablets, MP3 Players

Lenmar AIDCU2 Auto Charger with High Output Dual USB for for Smartphones, iPad/Tablets, MP3 Players and Other USB Powered Devices
  • High output dual USB car charger ideal for smartphones, iPad/tablets, mp3 players and other USB powered devices
  • 2.1A total output for one USB port or shared between two
  • Sleek, compact design looks great and reduces clutter around your vehicle's dashboard & console areas
  • Works with any 12V DC auto lighter socket to keep you powered and connected on the road
  • Replaceable 10 amp car fuse protects your connected devices from electrical damage

Found this today while out @ Fry's for $4.99 so I took a chance. Since my needs are minimal (occasional iPod 5G use in non-iPod integrated vehicles) I thought it might be nice to get one with dual USB ports, just in case.

After taking it out to the parking lot I recall how a number of these chargers don't always work in every car. So I plugged it into my '04 TSX 12V power port and low and behold it lite up, so far so good.

Since my car has dual 12V ports (with flip-up protective covers)and because the charger is not a flush mount (sticks out more than an inch) it appears somewhat awkward and prevents the covers from closing. Next I relocated it to the power port inside the center console storage compartment (below armrest). As soon as I did the device began to flicker. After removing and reinserting it, it failed completely.

Only after closer inspection did I notice the center pin was dislodged and fully retracted (should be spring loaded and fully extended). I grabbed my receipt, product and packaging and immediately returned it (all within 15 minutes of purchasing it). Rather then exchanging it, I decided to wait and reassess my options.

I post this as a heads up to anyone contemplating this model (also branded under other names)...

BTW, I'm not completely heartless so I gave it 2 stars instead of one primarily because of:

Dual USB ports with 2.1 Amp (max on top port)

Integral and accessible fuse

Subtle illumination

Bottom line, I don't expect much of electronics (other then work reliably for a reasonable time) but if a device fails within the first half hour... time to start over. It's also the best way I know to send a message to companies regarding inferior merchandise quality.

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I originally purchased this to run my GPS and charge my phone or I-pod while on motorcycle trips.

It was excellent for this use and my wife has since "borrowed" it to use in her car.

I really need to get another one.....

Read Best Reviews of Lenmar AIDCU2 Auto Charger with High Output Dual USB for for Smartphones, iPad/Tablets, MP3 Players Here

Best Car Charger I've Used! Second one I've bought. Gave one to a family member. Compact and yet powerful charger.

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I really enjoyed this project right up until it broke. It's not too long, so you can fit it into a tight space. It also puts out a lot of power, nonstop.

The trouble is, if you pull it out and put it back in too many times, the shell starts to crack, and the fuse falls out. Replacement fuses are very hard to find. Eventually the tip fell out and the whole thing split apart. My wife's unit, however, is still going strong because she leaves it in.

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When plugged in and turned on, it works ok. But there is a serious voltage spike when you first power this up. Apparently no filtering is used at all. Messed up my phone. So only add/remove devices AFTER it is plugged in and powered.

And that big bright blue light...what a waste of energy! This thing is BRIGHT. In the dark it lights the whole car. So even when nothing is plugged in, it's still drawing alot of power. Annoying and unnecessary.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Black Dual 12v Dc Double Car Cigarette Socket Adapter

Black Dual 12v Dc Double Car Cigarette Socket Adapter
  • 2 adapter sockets
  • LED indicator
  • 12v Compatible

This dual charger is OK for the low amp charging jobs like GPS, Bluetooth and Cellphone auto charging. However, give it a bigger job like an 8 amp draw mini moto air pump (for pumping air into the tires) and it blew this 12 Volt Two Way DC Car Charger into a smelly mess (along with my cig lighter fuse). FYI-The Scosche 12 volt twin adapter is the same as this one.

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I received the item very quickly as promised, no worries there. used the device for 1 week and 1 of the 2 sides stopped working. I did receive an email from the seller after advising my situation, I was impressed by the fast response. this may or may not have been a factory defect. Bottom line, is the unit broke, for whatever reason.

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I just recieved this item and used it for about 4 hours before it overheated and stopped working. It cannot handle very much, so tread lightly.

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I got this product to charge my phone, use an FM transmitter and use a GPS system in any order. I have not had any problems of the unit overloading like the other reviewers have described. I would just use caution before plugging in anything that draws a lot of power. One thing you need to consider is that it may need to be positioned vertically as in my car it blocks the stick shift. But not a big deal. Overall a good deal and get the job done.

It works perfectly. In my all three car. While going to road trip, this is very helpful. while charging GPS, I will charge my iphone.

Saturday, August 16, 2014

DEWALT Bare-Tool DW059B 1/2-Inch 18-Volt Cordless Impact Wrench (Tool Only, No Battery)

DEWALT Bare-Tool DW059B 1/2-Inch 18-Volt Cordless Impact WrenchI own a business where we source vehicle parts for various shops obsolete parts, discontinued parts, and when we're unable to locate NOS parts used parts. I purchased this impact to replace another cordless impact that died, for mobile-use in areas where power is not available and extension cords are impractical (e.g. body shops, salvage yards, etc.).

While I've found this impact wrench to be more than capable, it has two major short-comings for those considering a battery operated impact for shop/professional use.

First, the anvil incorporates a detent pin, for retaining the socket. This makes the placing/changing a socket on the impact difficult, for most sockets. While those sockets with considerable wear usually go-on without much fight, most sockets either have to be forced onto the anvil, or the detent pin has to be manually depressed to get the socket to slip over the pin. Removing the socket can be even more problematic, if the detent pin is accidently placed into the retainer-hole that is drilled into most impact sockets. You must use a small diameter phillips or torx screwdriver to manually depress the detent pin, before it will release the socket.

Second, the "trigger" switch is non-standard and functionally poor in design. Unlike most impacts, the switch is a pivoting type of rocker-switch that is approximately 2" in length. This requires you to either reposition your hand to change from removing a bolt/nut to tightening a bolt/nut or to use your index finger for removal and ring-finger to tighten. Several people "inadvertently" used the impact in the wrong direction before getting use to the rocker-switch, and in one case significant shop-time was wasted extracting a bolt that was sheared as a result.

To the positive, this impact is very strong when it comes to bolt/nut removal. I've had it remove 32mm axle-nuts, where a 25" breaker bar could not "break" the axle-nut loose after repeated tries and this was not on a fresh battery. I routinely use it to remove pinch-bolts (spindles), subframe bolts (front wheel drive transmissions), and U-bolts (rear axle assemblies), without any significant problem.

Overall, I rate this cordless impact as follows:

Ability (5) outperforms other battery-operated impacts in the same price and torque range

Design (3) detent pin significantly increases time required to change sockets; the rocker-switch can be difficult for some to adapt to especially when you routinely change between an air-impact and cordless-impact.

Price (5) performs nearly as well as higher-priced cordless impacts, such as Milwaukee and Snap-On

Useability (3) again due to the added time required to change impact sockets (detent pin) and non-standard trigger-switch, it detracts from use in situations where the socket must be frequently changed.

If DeWalt were to produce this same cordless impact with a hog-ring type retaining anvil, as well as a single-pull switch and separate directional switch like the DC823B I could see this becoming the defacto standard in mid-range cordless impact wrenches.

Overall, I rate the DeWalt DW059B/K Impact Wrench a (4).

Great price without the battery. Very powerful. Able to easily remove lug nuts without effort or the need for a breaker bar.

Get it if you need something small (relatively) that can remove multiple sets of wheels without breaking a sweat.

Only gripe...the trigger. It isn't like a regular dewalt drill where there is the button you push back and forth to change the direction the drill goes when you pull the trigger, the trigger has an upper and lower portion...a little harder to use but fine none the less.

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First of all, I never had air before. So I bought this instead of buying compressor and the hole nine yards.

I already had a 18v dewalt drill with a nicad battery. The battery is about 1 year old with not much use. At first when receiving this impact drill, I felt weak power so right away I made sure by fully charging the battery I had and trying it out. It worked well, but with automotive you know there are some stubborn bolt/nuts because of normal oxidation and things. So I would use heat/breaker bar then this which worked fine.

So just a month ago I bought the new dewalt lithium-ion battery with charger. Charged the battery and it sat for like 2 weeks. Finally had some work to do on a car where my elcheapo air tools frustrated me. Pulled out the impact drill and plugged in the new battery.

This beast blasted nuts off that I even had a hard time with a 18 inch breaker bar(more to do with position clearance; I have some guns on my arm).

So I came to the part where I put the new parts in. Normally I would torque to specs but I would at least use the drill to get close where i don't need to ratchet. I accidentally broke a bolt with this drill. It works so fast that I wasn't able to release and sure enough it snapped off the bolt with nut. Luckily it was an easy fix but I just wanted to warn people not to underestimate the ft pounds mentioned on this tool.

great job dewalt and great job amazon for price and delivery.

Read Best Reviews of DEWALT Bare-Tool DW059B 1/2-Inch 18-Volt Cordless Impact Wrench (Tool Only, No Battery) Here

Good tool and price but one problem, the socket retaining device broke the very first time I used it.

The impact socket wouldn't come off for anything the first time, I ended up putting the socket in a vice and pounding the socket off with a punch and hand sledge though the center of the socket. Retainer parts flew when it finally busted loose. Don't think there was anything I could have done differently. I'm sure I could send the unit back but it seems to hold the sockets on just fine without the retainer. Besides I don't see how a replacement wrench would be any different.

As far as strength goes, it was able to break a 8" long 3/8" lag bolt in half. I've been grabbing it every time since I got instead of my 1/2" IR pneumatic impact. It's been able to break loose tractor tire lug nuts that were torqued to 250 ft/lbs.

Hard to beat that.

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I purchased this to remove lug nuts from my cars and trucks. I went with the bare tool as I already had 18v Dewalt tools that worked great. Opened it up, inserted a freshly charged battery and tried to take the lug nuts off my Ford Super Duty (14mm) with no luck. Doesn't even seem to be trying. I typically torque them to around 125 lb. ft. I haven't had the opportunity to try it on other, smaller nuts yet, but I'm not too hopeful. Still trying to decide whether to keep it or send it back. Very disapointed.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

BMW Advanced Battery Charging System - plugs into power outlet

BMW Advanced Battery Charging System - plugs into power outletI found out the hard way that BMW deactivates the cigarette lighter on recent BMW models, thus making it impossible for this product to work. You must buy a product with battery clips instead of the cigarette lighter version.

The vendor includes language on their website as follows:

The battery charger only works on the following BMW models:

3 Series 2009-Later (not 2006 Conv.)

5 Series 2004-Later

7 Series 2002-Later

X5 2007-Later

1 Series (All)

Z4-New Style Hard-top.

I was wrong in assuming that my 2008 528xi was "later" than 2004. When I contacted the vendor, I was told that this language means that any version "earlier" than 2005 is compatible.

You can get the battery clip version from your local BMW dealer and avoid the high shipping price charged by this vendor.

Buyer Beware.

Modern cars have a host of electronic gear inside of them, gear that drains the battery even as your car sits parked in a garage. I lived in NYC for the entire time I had my 2003 M3 and didn't drive it very often. Result: The battery was often dead. Solution: A trickle charger. These chargers put a low current into the car battery and then, when the battery is fully charged, you don't have to unplug it. Instead you leave your car plugged in, and the charger keeps your battery topped off. Unplug when you're ready to drive and off you go! Great if you don't use your car often and want to have it fully charged when you finally do need to use it.

Not so great if you're expecting an instant charge. If you need to start your dead car soon, jump it or push it down a hill and pop the clutch. Note: try these solutions at your own risk.

The other great thing about this little baby is how you can just plug in to your lighter. So convenient!

On the downside you need a power socket somewhere in the vicinity and possibly a very long extension cord or 2.

And you'll need a car model that works with this. Newer cars can't be charged with this through your lighter socket, so make sure that this is the correct charger for your car. Newer cars need to trickle charge through the connection under the hood or through the battery. I haven't tried it so I don't know what's involved, except that you need some kind of adapter with allegator clips. Amazon's compatibility program doesn't seem to realize this and will happily tell you that your car will work with this charger without any adapter.

I used this for years until just recently, when I got a new car AND started driving more frequently, which was another way to solve the problem!

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I works well on my '02 M3 convertible. Usually it will take a while (e.g., overnight) to get it fully charged. The plastic shell on the cigarette charger plug got a crack when I accidentally dropped it on the ground, but it still works. Perhaps they could've used more durable material.

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Thursday, June 5, 2014

ICBM-0K - Performance Teknique and SoundQuest 2 Farad Digital Power Capacitor and Installation Kit

ICBM-0K - Performance Teknique and SoundQuest 2 Farad Digital Power Capacitor and Installation Kit
  • (1) 2 FARAD Digital Capacitor
  • 17Ft 15mm Blue Power Cable with 3/8" Ring Terminal
  • 8Ft 10mm Blue Power Cable
  • 6Ft 10mm Black Ground Cable
  • (2) 17Ft Clear Blue RCA Cables

i previously wrote a review about this stating that the capacitor didnt work but it was my error there is a little screw on top for a remote wire that i overlooked it is now working and everything is great!

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Saturday, May 24, 2014

goPoint Technology GL1 OBD-II Accessory for iPhone/iPod/iPad

goPoint Technology GL1 OBD-II Accessory for iPhone/iPod/iPad
  • Directly connects OBD-II data to your iPhone & iPod Touch; patent-pending feature charges iPhone during operation.
  • With access to all OBD-II parameters, view, capture and CLEAR engine codes. View fuel consumption.
  • Works on all 1996+ OBD-II and EOBD vehicles with download of goLINK App.
  • With 1.5m cable connect your goLINK to the iPhone or iPod Touch without any dropped connections.
  • Official "Works with iPhone" product.

Just starting out as a DIYer, I'd been looking into code readers but was put off by the price of many scan tools that can do more than pull the trouble codes. I was skeptical about this at first and spent weeks searching the internet for reviews. Then my SES light went on after doing some work myself and I finally decided to purchase this little cable. I couldn't have been more pleased.

Why I love it:

Totally easy plug and play technology. Plug it in to the OBD II port and the iPhone, turn on the car, the iPhone vibrates once it has made the connection, start the app. That's it. Awesome.

Reads and clears DTCs. So instead of going to a mechanic and spending $50 for him or her to tell you you forgot to plug a sensor back in (or your gas cap is loose), you can find that out yourself. Scan your car and clear the codes twice and this thing has paid for itself.

It DOES charge your iPhone--or at least provide A charge to your iPhone. If the iPhone is plugged in and you're not running the app, the phone charges. If you're running the app, the charge decreases, but very slowly. My assumption is that due to how resource heavy the app is, the drain on the battery is more than the incoming charge and so even though the phone is being "charged" you're still going to loose some.

All in all, this is a great little tool(/toy), and I look forward to it getting even better with updates to the app in the future.

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I don't normally do reviews but for this one I wanted to to warn others to at least wait a couple of years until this company could get it right. Like others have said this is a BETA product at best when coupled with its BETA apps on the App store. I bought it as soon as it came out because I was looking for a scanner and had just bought my iphone and saw there was an app for it along with the cable. I got the cable and immediately plugged it in to my 96 Accord, and bam....nothing. I unplugged, replugged....nothing. I immediately contact customer NO service and got a response a few days later. Basically I got an old style cable...hmmm...what? It just came out, how could it be old? Any way they sent me the new cable, apparently Apple wouldn't let them upgrade the firmware through the app so they had to send me a new cable with new firmware. Plugged it in and finally it pulled up the screen and worked. Tried it on my 00 Grand Prix and nothing happened. Unplugged, plugged back in and finally a screen comes up that this product isn't optimized for this accessory. Huh? Unplugged, plugged in and finally it worked. Contacted customer NO service and two weeks later they contact me back on their pathetic customer NO service forum. Basically in a nutshell, its a great concept with poor execution and even POORER support from the makers who have no idea apparently what they are doing and have some pretty bad and slow techs. Not to mention that the company changed names late last year which in hopes would have given the maker more time to develop the product than worry about business affairs, but alas as of yet the updates haven't made it and basic functions the app originally should have had and were promised (MPG calculator, readiness monitors, etc) are sold as separate apps while my cable collects dust in the center console. My advice wait a few years until they or someone else gets it right and don't waste your time with their forum either as many frustrated customers such as myself await reconciliation with the creators for a product that basically functions as promised.

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I recently used the goLINK to diagnose the OBDII codes for "check engine" in my 2001 Mazda minivan. I did not trust the dealership and wanted to know the codes myself. I was truly impressed with the ease of use and effectiveness of the product. Just download the free app, plug it in and scroll through the menus. This little device saved me hundreds of dollars in repair bills.

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This thing Never worked. Software would not regonize the cable. Customer service resent a cable. Neither worked. Returned for my money back. Invested in a REAL scanner. First, I wasted my money buying the cable, then wasted hours of my time trying to get it to work. A REAL scanner plugs in and works, instantly.

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After using a handheld Actron for a few years I decided to go higher tech and use my iphone. Unfortunately, the GoLink software leaves a lot to be desired: it has a 3 second or so lag from realtime reading, it does not allow you to view systems readiness (so you know if your car can be inspected), and codes that it reads on my Nissan Maxima are all identified as P0000. No help at all.

Not ready for prime time and if I can figure out how to return the cable without having to pay for shipping off it goes.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Car Charger For Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet

Car Charger For Barnes & Noble NOOK Tablet
  • Compatible with 12 VDC ~ 24 VDC

Although this product seemed nice and new, it did not preform well with my Nook. When plugged into my Nook it lit up, but the screen on my nook said it was not charging. In the listing, it stated it would work with my nook but it did not. I would not and could not reccommend this for anyone trying this product until you have read the return policy from the shipper.

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It doesn't charge or run my Nook at all so it is a waste of money. My son's car charger (different company) works fine so it isn't my Nook

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I was very disappointed with the charger because I specifically purchased it for my Nook Tablet to charge in the car when we are on a trip. It does not charge the Nook but it does charge my daughter's cellphone. I will keep it for her cellphone but again I am disappointed.

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Charger does as it says. Nice to have available power on the road when you need it. Plan to use it a lot.

I love this charger for my nook. It makes it so much easier for me when travelling. I would recommend this.

Friday, February 7, 2014

Metra 1/0-Gauge Silver Battery Cable

Metra 1/0-Gauge Silver Battery Cable
  • Battery Cable: 1/0 Gauge; 25'; Silver

First understand this is NOT 0/1 gauge. It is closer to 2 gauge. I'm using it to transfer power to the battery's in my trunk and it works perfect. If you try to use this as your main power I wouldn't recommend more than 1200 watts, it's just too much distance to risk running any more than that.

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not much you can say about wire but it worked great! and was $2 per foot cheaper than local audio shops I found out that this wire is actually produced by tsunami under the name raptor

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25 feet of battery cable, with a silver casing. Thickest battery cable I've ever used. Installing a 220 Amp alternator into my Avalanche 2500 to add a dual battery back up. Very fast delivery by UPS, and wire seams to be in excellent condition, will edit this when I complete the job.

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As it states, it is not copper wire. The only real problem with this wire is that you need to be very careful when cutting or striping it as the actual wire inside is very easy to break/cut through and the individual strands are very fine and you can actually break them off very easily.

This "soft" wire is both good and bad. It makes it very easy to run the wire as it's very flexible, but once again you have to be a little more careful with it, unlike a thicker copper wire.

Used it to do the "Big 3" on one of my cars and seems to be working fine.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Multi-Functional Auto Electrical Circuit Tester with LCD Display and LED Flashlight -- tests contin

Multi-Functional Auto Electrical Circuit Tester with LCD Display and LED Flashlight -- tests continuity, polarity, voltage, frequency, misfiresSince I watched one youtube cast on car repair I wanted to buy Power Probe III Eric the Car Guy used. In my opinion original Power Probe is extremely overpriced. I hesitated buying this one being afraid it's low quality chinese cnock-off. This tool here I don't know about the legal issues patents and so, has exactly same functionality (and bit more) at lower price, extremely well made, is aesthetically and ergonomically nicer than power probe (I think whoever designed the shape and look of power probes was thinking about brick on the stick).

I totally love this tester here. Backlit LCD, white LED at the end to see what you're probing, extender for the probe and power supply, soft cable, good grip. low current test light safe for electronics.

You have two LEDs, red and green. red one goes on when you touch +12 or the flying lead of something connected to +12.

Green one goes on when you touch the ground or flying lead something that connected to the ground.

Using rocker switch you can supply the probe end with +12 or ground. This way you can test activate different circuits.

Warning! You should know and understand what are you powering and understand how electricity works. Otherwise you seriously risk frying something. In experienced hands this tool is awesome, you don't need a mess of jumper wires to test circuits anymore.

Tool has built in 5amp self reset breaker when you power the circuit.

I can't comment on the misfire detection function, my cars are in perfect shape here. Frequency/rpm meter can't see where I might need it in the car, we don't adjust idle anymore but let it be. with the voltage threshold detection for example you might check for voltage ripple in case of the bad generator if you understand it again.

Bottom line five stars from me

The device is just what I expected, it is practical and reading of the screen is clearly visible, the length of the cable allows testing in the rear of the vehicle as the rear lights and fuel pump built light lets you see just those parts dark in the back. You can test the pulse of the injectors without damage to the ECU. I think a good general test device Electics system of the car and easy to use. It is great device

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I am a professional mechanic. This tool is good. The only downside that I have with this tool is that is doesn't make a beep sound when touching a B+ or ground like the power probe does. With that said, I think the other features in this tool make up for that over sight. The KV spark test function is cool. The jury is still out on weather the rated KV's shown on the tool are accurate, but it will quickly tell you if a car has spark or not (only cars with wires, not cars with coils on plugs). If you in the market for a power probe you should really take a good look at this tool. I would consider this tool a bargain at double the price!

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This is a great product, I used others similar as this one with less functions but this one has extra functions

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Saturday, January 4, 2014

Wagan 2295-6 Smart AC 210W Modifed Sine Wave Power Inverter with USB Port

Wagan 2295-6 Smart AC 210W Modifed Sine Wave Power Inverter with USB PortI bought this inverter because of its compact size. Since my car only has one power point (cig lighter), it's like a 3-way adapter.

I've used it for awhile now and works well for me. I mainly use the household outlet for keeping my laptop topped off on the road and sometimes the USB port to recharge my iPod after a long day. If I had to, I can also plug in my cell phone charger into the second household outlet.

Most other inverters were much larger and would have been messier.

mmm. I definitely was expecting something a little different. It works okay. They haven't perfected a way for what you plug in to actually stay in. It's not the greatest compatibility. You have to maybe turn it side ways so it doesn't fall out. I get a little annoyed with things like that. You pay good money for something to deliver convenience or some sort of gratification and you still wind up settling a little. I had to turn it a few times. Push it back in a few times. If you hit a bump it might move. It is quiet though. My friend has one from another company that is noisy as hell. That would definitely annoy me more so I guess it's the lesser of evils. I'm sure with a little research there is a better version that we can totally feel confident in. So in closing if you don't mind a few things a little off and you can work around them then try it. I'm sure I'll get another type to compare because I put them in different vehicles and I'm always on the road.

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Bought this items primarily because of price and dual outlets, but wish now I had bought another. It works, but is frustrating. My primary complaint is getting this thing to stay in and connected. The metal contacts on the side are too thick and without sufficient "spring" to make good contact and hold it in place. The end contact has no spring at all, so if the unit wiggles out a fraction of an inch it loses contact and goes off. The plastic locking switch is so inaccessible and hard to move that it is effectively useless. The AC outlet contacts are so cheap that they don't hold plugs at all...they just slide in and out. Finally, when it rolled off the seat and out the door one day (maybe a one-foot drop), the cheap plastic clip that holds the unit together broke (easily remedied with some glue). If you're only concerned about price...well, I would still look at other options.

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It's a very good item and seves its purpose. This is another item I got on the daily deal and got an excellent price. I recommend that you check out the daily deals, some of them are excellent. Some of them you just don't want to pass up for the price. Like I say, if you want to charge your computer in the car it is a lot cheaper than most 12 volt charging set-ups for most computers and has multiple uses. It also has a USB outlet for charging such things as iPods.

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I bought this product to replace a much more expensive inverter I purchased from Best Buy. The more expensive inverter would get hot and sometimes it would just not work for several minutes and would go off if I started my vehicle and have to be re-inserted into the power outlet. I have had no problems with the Wagan as it stays cool, quiet and has never shut down.

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Friday, December 27, 2013

Goal Zero Sherpa And Escape 12V Car Charger Black OS -Kids

Goal Zero Sherpa And Escape 12V Car Charger Black OS -KidsIt's a must have with your GoalZero products

Works perfectly

I own the Escape 150 pack and plan to purchase the Sherpa 50

SHOULD BE INCLUDED :-)

GoalZero don't do like Apple, don't change your connectors

This is a definitely a must have for your Goal Zero system especially for a run of cloudy days just like a cell phone needs one and you have to buy one.

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I use this 12v charger with my Goal Zero Sherpa 120 battery Goal Zero 11102 Sherpa 120 Battery and it works great. I really like the chemistry of that battery, how well it holds the charge and how many cycles it supports. When I charge from the solar panels it can take considerable time and often on camping trips we end up moving from site to site and thus end up in the car for a limited time. Using this 12v charger I can get the right voltage to top off the battery and set us up for a few more days.

The 12v adapter charger is designed to get the voltage up to where it's needed to enable a full charge in the battery. We are very happy to have this as an option. The battery comes with the 120 AC charger, we use the solar panels Goal Zero 12201 Nomad 27M Solar Panel when off the grid, and then this 12v adapter/charger when mobile. Adding this gives us a complete solution for nearly any situation we find ourselves in.

This charger is not designed for all Goal Zero systems, but specifically for the Sherpa and Escape lines. Make sure that you are buying this to charge one of those battery setups and it'll assure that you are getting the right voltage and plug for plug and play compatability.

5 stars, a great accessory, though it would have been better if included with a several hundred dollar battery!

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Friday, November 22, 2013

Viper Smart Start System VSS4000

Viper Smart Start System VSS4000
  • Warm or cool your car
  • Lock and unlock your car
  • Controll Multiple Cars
  • Personalize Settings
  • Start your car from virtually any where with your iphone

Bought this system to warm up my car before getting in during the winter. First of all, the command to start my vehicle works MAYBE 50% of the time. Secondly, there is no confirmation on whether your vehicle received the command or not, so generally, I trudge through the snow only to be surprised to find my truck still icy and unstarted. I've had to resort to using the keychain remote starter (instead of my iPhone) which completely negates the purpose of this overpriced piece of garbage. AVOID at all costs.

Just wanted to update my review....since my initial review above, Viper has released a new version of the software which now sends a confirmation back to you if your vehicle has received the command. This is night and day difference as compared to the old software. I would not hesitate to recommend thie Viper SmartStart system to anyone and am changing my review to 4 stars. (Minus 1 star for cost).

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This SOUNDED like such an awesome idea. No keyfob to carry, unlimited range...price was a bit more than a traditional remote start, and annual service fees, but that seemed ok for the benefits.

Except that it only works about 25% of the time. It's not that you think the car is started, but it's not, it's very good about telling you when the start command is received by the car or not...it's just that it fails to send the command. My experience is no amount of retrying is going to make it work either, I've spent 30+ minutes hitting the button over and over (takes about a minute to timeout) and never had success. Either it works, or it's not going to work. The installer shop suggested I add on an antenna and keyfob remote since the cellphone interface is so unreliable. So I can pay MORE, and get less functionality...awesome.

I've seen other reports of people claiming they were told they've oversold capacity and can't keep up...but last I checked, they're STILL selling units and taking money, so I can't imagine things getting any better.

EDIT 2/24/12

Wanted to update this earlier one star review because it's no longer accurate.

Viper has addressed whatever network issues they were having and now reliability is excellent for me. I still get "failure to connect" maybe 5% of the time, but a retry usually works.

One oddity, the "failure to connects" were at the 100% mark a few months ago, and when I gave up and contacted support, they sent me a link to download a special version of the app for my phone (EVO 4G) and all problems went away. Viper support has actually been pretty good.

All that being said, I'm updating my review to 4 stars. It's an excellent system when it works, and currently it's working great.

Support is non-existent. Once I was told "we've reset your system, it works now" and nothing changed. Two other requests for support went ignored.

It's a bit frustrating when you buy something like this so you won't have to scrape your windows and get into a cold car in the morning...and then you have to scrape your windows and get into a cold car. the only difference is now I've paid a lot of money for the privilege.

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I did not purchase this on Amazon but rather bought it and had it installed by an authorized dealer. I was shown how to use it after installation and was thrilled by my new toy. Unfortunately, I would estimate that it only works about 10% of the time. I have found that whether or not the module receives service does not depend on the location as you would think, but it seems that regardless of where your vehicle is parked, service fades in and out. Now I am left with the predicament of whether to wait to see if coverage is improved as time goes on, or trying to return the item where I bought it and attempting to recover the installation cost as well as the $100 I already paid for three years of service.

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Bought this 3 days ago at a local Best Buy and they installed it. Toatal after activating system $586.00 not a problem at all because I was so excited about this awesome piece of technology. The installer and I tested the unit before I left and it worked as advertised and I felt happy I purchased it. Happiness quickly turned to frustration when the next morning it was 30 degrees at 5AM when I get up for work and tried to start my suv and after 15 attempts nothing. Later that day I tried again and it worked. Confused but opptomistic I tried again the next morning and again it did not work. Sorry to say this is a waste of money. Great Idea!!!! flawed system. Hopefully I will be returning system for a regular key fob system and will get my $105 back from Viper for the 3 year activation service. If money isn't refundable this might be a really big scam.....Buyers Beware!!!

I thought long and hard about buying a SmartStart unit. I found way too many negative reviews online. I decided to go for a regular remote car starter after reading all the poor reviews. Then, after 2 days of having to walk across my work building to start my vehicle, I thought screw it, I'll see if I can swap it out for the SmartStart after all. I live in Canada and had it installed at Future Shop. I had problems originally with the install, but I don't think the installer quite knew what he was doing. After taking the vehicle in 3 times at first, it hasn't failed since. I've had the SmartStart for 6 months now and it's worked EVERY SINGLE TIME. I love it! I'm sure I just jinxed myself by writing this review. Note: Vehicle must be located within ROGERS' network coverage in Canada, and AT&T in the US. Phone just needs any internet connection. I also paid an extra 60$ to have an antenna installed along with a keyfob. I did that in case I had problems. Haven't needed it yet. I highly recommend the SmartStart

Friday, September 27, 2013

Husky Liners Custom Fit Heavy Duty Front Floor Mat (Black)

Husky Liners Custom Fit Heavy Duty Front Floor MatUsed the Amazon wizard to see if these would fit in my 2002 Mazada Protege LX and it said they would. Found out after they got here that they do not fit. What you see in the picture is what you get, nothing more or less. Returned these for a refund.

Far from being a great fit, these are really just stock mats that fit well enough you don't have to cut them.

Outstanding product quality, no so great fit for the VW Golf -some left foot rest/mat overlap.

OK for this set, but I will look for a better fit the next time.

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1987 Jeep Wrangler -DOES NOT FIT

Amazon's find parts says they fit, but they do not.

I will cut them to fit but I expected "custom fit" as represented in the product's features.

In this case I guess "custom fit" means that you will have to customize them to fit.

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had to trim both sides.would have bought truly custom ones for more if they had them available.these are one size fits all but they are durable

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These are nice thick rubber but they are not made to the contour of my vehicle....the 'see if it fits' feature says it does fit, and it does fit if you don't mind curled up rubber around the edges.

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Sunday, August 11, 2013

Park Zone PZ-1600 Precision Parking Aid

Park Zone PZ-1600 Precision Parking AidI got this unit because my wife would pull into our garage a little too far every now and then. This left a tight space in front of her car where we store cat food, pop, grocery bags, etc. so it always made for a tight fit. The straw that broke the camels back is when my wife cut her left on her front license plate trying to squeeze through. Granted, if she wouldn't have pulled up so far, she wouldn't have cut her leg. But what's done is done so I wanted to look at options to help her park in the garage perfectly every time.

The tennis ball idea was the obvious one but I work in the garage a lot so I didn't want to keep walking into a hanging tennis ball. For the $20 price tag, I decided to give this one a shot from Amazon. If I didn't like it I could send it back because Amazon's return process is AWESOME and FAST! No need on this unit though.

There are 3 pieces to this unit: the "stop light" (red, amber, green), sensor unit, and coiled phone cord that connects in between them. I simply mounted the stop light on a set of cupboards in front of her car using heavy duty velcro (in case I ever needed to remove temporarily). I installed the sensor unit just below the cupboards about 2 feet away from the front bumper and then connected both with the coiled phone cord.

Setup is EASY! Just make sure you have the car parked where you need it and point the sensor toward the bumper. Press the On button (right on the front of the stop light) and it cycles through the lights and "learns" the distance in just a couple of seconds.

The unit can detect the vehicle from 16 feet out so when the car approaches the sensor, the green light illuminates. As you get closer to the sensor, it turns to amber and then finally red when you should stop. It works perfectly and best of all, my wife loves it. There are many days when she comes home from work and just wants to pull in the garage and get our of her work clothes but the system is so easy that she takes the extra second or two to watch the lights and stop when she hits red.

There is an option to connect an AC adapter on this unit but I am using 15-minute rechargeable batteries so I will opt for the clean installation. Also, even though the stop light unit is mounted on the front of the cupboard, we can still open the cupboard door without disrupting the sensor system. The coiled phone cord can easily stretch to about 4 feet so no worries there.

This unit is HIGHLY recommended!

PROS

1. Installation and set up was a breeze. Install in minutes with the screws provided.

2. It uses 2AA batteries so no need to place device near an outlet.

3. Gives excellent visual feedback. It alerts you with a green, yellow and red light to slowly guide you as you approach your desired distance.

4. Affordable.

CONS

NONE

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Purchase this product so that I can pull the car far enought in to cover when the garage door closes. It was an easy setup and works everytime.

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This parking aid works exactly as it should. I am quite happy with it. The only thing is the manual said that it gives alarm beep tone when parking is close. It does not. The manual is wrong

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I have to admit that I was pretty suspicious about this product. My wife like to back in her SUV into the garage. She never hits the wall but sometimes she doesn't go in far enough and then she either has to start it up and back in more or the garage door hits her front bumper and then she gets mad and *then* she has to start it up and back in more. Anyway, I decided to give this a try.

All I can say is, the thing works great. It's very easy to install and it takes just a few seconds to set the exact parking distance.

This device is a lot better than other I have seen. With others, they have a switch to set the parking distance to 1ft, 2ft, 3ft, etc. That's very inflexible. For the PZ-1600, you park to exactly where you want to be and then press the button on the device. From then on, you end up parking within an inch or so of where you set it the first time. It's terrific, and way better than trying to adjust a tennis ball. Now I can always raise the hatch and the garage door never dings the front bumper. Problem solved!

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Black & Decker VEC1093DBD Smart Battery 40/20/10/4 Amp Battery Charger

Black & Decker VEC1093DBD Smart Battery 40/20/10/4 Amp Battery ChargerI bought this charger from Amazon a little over a year ago and use it about once a month. The fan became raspy when starting after about nine months but would sound ok once it it got going. Now it has stopped altogether.

Interestingly, I was Googling this charger and "fan" and this Amazon review site popped up. I see it's happened to others as well. A fan failure after a bit over a year shows very poor quality, especially since mine is not an isolated incident. How many people had this problem but bought them elsewhere or who don't post reviews? And the warranty issues are as I would expect.

While I have the floor, my policy on warranties is: If the item is expensive or I don't trust it, I go to a big-box/any-local store where I can return it for 6 months, no matter what. Other than that, on the internet, there is no warranty. This item is inexpensive; I can try a Schumacher next.

There's no way I'm going to find a box, pack it, trudge to a shipper/P.O., pay to ship it, hope.

Anything I buy on the internet is a done deal.

As an engineer, I'm going to open mine up and see if I can find a similar fan on DigiKey.

If I find one (and think of it), I'll post it here. Be prepared to perform surgery.

I've seen previous posts stating that the fan is only to cool the CPU. I doubt it. As light as this is and the with amps it can deliver, this is obviously using switcher technology which definitely has actual heat sinks or, probably, cooling surfaces (still heat sinks). A transformer-based charger would weigh MUCH more. The CPU would probably be the last thing to fail and the power semiconductors or any copper would be more likely. But, no matter; if anything fails, it's toast.

Also, DO NOT USE THIS CHARGER ON Odyssey batteries. I tested the AGM mode and it does go over 15 volts, which will destroy an Odyssey battery. At hundreds of dollars each, losing an Odyssey hurts. I haven't lost any due to this charger (because I won't use it) but have lost two to solar chargers. The solar chargers will only supply 100mA (.1 amp) but they can reach 20 volts, open circuit, which is enough to ruin an Odyssey. This may also apply to Optima batteries sold in auto stores as they are also made by Hawker. Aside from an "equalizing", which requires a nail in a hole on this charger, I don't think ANY charger should EVER go over 14.5 volts. There's no point.

I concur with other comments about the fact that it won't even try on a completely dead battery. I can see needing SOME voltage to detect a reversed connection, but give a guy a chance. Just say "voltage too low" (or reword the instructions) rather than declaring the battery shot. And provide an override button. There are two ways around this. 1) Charge with a "dumb" charger or a trickle charger for a while or 2)(cumbersome but faster) Use jumper cables to connect a good battery in parallel and start charging immediately. Remove the good battery and recharge it later.

Also, their "recondition" mode (I forget what they call it) does nothing. Plus, it stops after a day or so (I forget that, too). I have two "zappers" (desulfators) that I built and they work very well. But they take a month, or two, or three; no way should a zapper stop after a day or two.

I built my own but Jaycar (Australia) has a very similar kit, with improvements over mine. If the B&D "reconditioner" didn't stop so soon, it might work, who knows? There's no way anything could work in less than a few weeks, other than a very mildly sulfated battery.

Also, I don't know what kind of voltages this charger uses in recondition mode, but mine, at 80-100 volts, can damage your car's radio, engine-computer, etc. To be safe, remove the battery from the car; do not "recondition" an in-vehicle battery.

I'll digress here (if I haven't already) ... desulfating:

Wet-cell batteries (with lead plates/honeycombs) develop a sulfate coating on the plates when left discharged for a period of time. (This is why you should put float chargers on wet-cell batteries, but there's a catch). Constant float charging will dehydrate your battery, no harm done. Just add DISTILLED water and you're back in business. I put mine on a 24-hour timer and run them for 1 hour out of every 24. Back to sulfated batteries: everything is perfect, good lead, good acid but the sulfate coating acts as an insulator that prevents charging/discharging (use). The most obvious indicator is that a very dead battery will reach a full-charge voltage very quickly, too quickly.

Even a trickle-charger will bring it to full voltage is minutes, if not seconds.

The zappers work by pulsing the battery with 80-100 volts for 50 microseconds 1000 times a second (every millisecond). The theory is that this causes the plates to vibrate (somehow, it's a mystery) and break off the sulfate coating. It does work but it's extremely slow. You can't desulfate the battery from your daily driver overnight. You must buy a new one and then desulfate the old one for non-critical use.

So, would I recommend this charger to a friend? No!

1) An early fan failure is not acceptable. This is just trash, considering it's happened to others.

If you don't know to listen for the fan, your unit will eventually emit acrid smoke. Game over.

If you listen and hear no fan, stop pull the plug. If you can't replace the fan, game over.

If it weren't for the fan failure, I could live with this charger. I am severely peeved.

2) No charger should go over 14.5 volts for reasons noted above. Even Harbor Freight trickle

chargers are set at 13.5 volts. I like them and use them.

3) Any reconditioning, desulfating, zapping operation should continue until the user terminates it.

A day or two is ludicrous.

Last word: If you're in the 99.9% of users who don't use Odyssey batteries and don't need to

desulfate old batteries, this is a very useable product. UNTIL THE FAN DIES.

This battery charger is very versatile and powerful for its size. I am a mechanic and it is nice to have all the features of a full size battery charger in a unit that will fit in my toolbox. Looks big, but is fairly lightweight. Highly recommended.

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Very impressed so far. Used it to recondition 2 batteries and charge up 2 others and it has worked flawlessly. Never impressed with Black and Decker tools but I think they got it right this time. Time will tell and I would have given it 5 stars if it holds up for a few years.

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I bought this to trickle charge my car that I rarely drive. This battery has "Float Mode" that is supposed to do this. The instructions say it should go into this mode automatically after fully charging. I waited days but it never switched to Float Mode; meanwhile the built in fan is running 24/7. So I emailed B&D for help. The gal who replied, Barbara Barr, didn't know the product, and on top of it, insisted all new batteries, my Die Hard included, are Gel type. I went back and forth with her for days, telling her that a Sears battery dept head told me they only make Wet type. What's more, I can take the caps off the cells and see the liquid. She insisted it was a Gel type. I gave up on the online support and called the help number on the instructions. Nobody at their call center knew much about this charger. They set up a call back from someone at their headquarters. It took a couple of days to talk due to time differences. This man, Robert, was helpful and knew the product. The instructions should have explained that the charger switches to Float Mode only after the you first fully charged it, then left it hooked up while the battery slowly loses its charge. Once it falls below 12.6v then it should go into Float Mode. In this mode, as its topping up the charge, the fan comes on, but should go off in between. The design flaw is, the built in fan stays on 24/7 until the charge falls below 12.6v even if this takes weeks. The fan is to cool the CPU, but should only need that when the charger is charging and generating heat. It should have been programmed to turn the fan off while its waiting to go into float mode. Or, it should go into float mode immediately after it fully charges. Or, they could give you a manual switch to put it in float mode.

They could of had a good product. Its so close. Yet, its flawed. I'll keep it because there are no good alternatives in the same price range. But you have to tolerate the bad design.

UPDATE Well, the charger stopped working. The fan never going off was a warning sign. Then, finally, it would show an error message within minutes of hooking it to any battery. I tried it on a new batter too. I had to ship it to Florida to get a replacement. It cost me over $25 from Hawaii, which is about 60% of what I paid for it. The woman I originally spoke to and emailed about it, quit her job. The USPS tracking number I had from Delivery Confirmation showed they got it around June 20th. I didn't hear boo from them so I called and found out it didn't show in their system as returned until July 10th so for 20 days it was in limbo somewhere within their facility. Anyway, it took until October 10th to receive the replacement. Seems to work but I won't leave it hooked up all the time. Oh, and the cable clamps don't have any rubber/vinyl covers to protect you from shock like the original one did.

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I BROUGHT THIS BLACK&DECKER CHARGER NEW EIGHT MONTH AGO AND HAVE USED ALL FEATURES. MY MOTORCYCLE BATTERY WAS DEAD FOR SIX MONTHS TOOK IT IN FOR RECHARGE THEY TOLD ME NO GOOD, I PUT IT ON RECONDITION MODE 24 HR LATER LIKE NEW SAVED $125.00 STILL IN USE SIX MO. LATER, MY WIFE LEFT HER LIGHTS ALL NIGHT BATTER TOTALY DRAINED THE BATTERY 6 HRS LATER LIKE NEW.CHEV ASTRO VAN SAT FOR TWO WEEKS BATTERY NO GOOD AGAIN RECODITION MODE 24 HRS LATER LIKE NEW.OUTSTANDING PRODUCT. FOUR YEAR BATTERY IN MY GARAGE FOR 8 MONTHS WOULD NOT TAKE A GHARGE NO PROBLEM RECONDITION MODE 24 HRS LATER WORKS LIKE NEW. NABORS CAR WON`T START SET TO ENGIN START QUICK START SAID HE WAS GOINING DOWN TO GET NEW BATTER I TOLD HIM TO RECONDITION IT FRIST 24 HRS LATER THAT`S RIGHT LIKE NEW STILL 4 MONTH LATER. HAD IT RESTESTED AFTER THEY FRIST TOLD HIM TO GET A NEW ONE THEY SAID IT WAS AS GOOD AS NEW.

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