Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!mit-eddie!media-lab!minsky
From: minsky@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Marvin Minsky)
Newsgroups: sci.electronics
Subject: Re: Car Battery Rechargers
Message-ID: <3718@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU>
Date: 16 Oct 90 14:48:42 GMT
References: <1990Oct4.222556.20668@athena.mit.edu> <4179@rsiatl.UUCP> <13019@sdcc6.ucsd.edu> <524@cow.ecs.oz>
Reply-To: minsky@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Marvin Minsky)
Organization: MIT Media Lab, Cambridge MA
Lines: 9

In article <524@cow.ecs.oz> bmp@cow.ecs.oz (Bruce Paterson) writes:
>I've heard of a setup which (on the flick of a switch) uses a lantern 12V
>dry battery to run your ignition while either your almost dead car battery
>slowly cranks the engine (without pulling the volts to the ignition so low
>that the car would never start anyway) or (if things are really bad) you push
>the car. 

Yes.  I did this on a Volkswagen bug (6-volt) in the 60s.  It worked
fine.  I used 4 standard D-sez flashlight cells and it worked every
time, with a very weak main battery.  5 cells worked even better.