Today the topic of our post is called a small homemade starting device for starting a car, namely a starting device, not a charger, since we have many articles about it on this site. Therefore, today we are exclusively talking about a homemade battery starter.

DIY portable vehicle jump starters

So, what is a starting device for a car in general, in our case for the Hyundai Santa Fe, but this is not particularly important for which car, the capacity of the battery through which this starting device will start the engine is more important.

DIY car starter diagram

In this article we will look at the simplest diagram of a starting device for a car with our own hands, because most people do not have the knowledge in circuit design and electronics to create complex starting devices, and it is not always profitable to purchase a lot of parts for homemade products, which can sometimes come out as budget ready-made starting device for a car from the store.

So, in our case, for the launcher, we do not intend to purchase an expensive high-capacity portable battery, otherwise the device will immediately turn from a budget device into a very expensive one.

We will be making a starting device for a car from a 220V network, for this we will need a powerful transformer, preferably with a power of at least 500 Watt, and preferably 800 Watt, ideally 1.2-1.4 kilowatts = 1400 Watts. Since when starting the engine, the first impulse given by the battery to crank the crankshaft = 200 Amperes and the consumption of the starter is approximately 100 Amperes, and when our 100A device is combined with the battery, they will just give out 200A at the start and then our starter will help maintain the current strength of 100 Amperes for normal starting and operation starter until the engine starts completely.

This is what a DIY car starter diagram looks like, photo below

Transformer for car starter

To create such a starting device from a transformer-type network, you need to rewind the transformer itself.

We will need:

• Transformer core
  
• Copper wire 1.5mm-2mm
• Copper wire 10mm
• Two powerful diodes like on welding machines
  
• Alligator clips for ease of use and connecting the starter wires to the car battery, very preferably copper, as they have high conductivity, and thick, at least 2 mm thick
  

We actually begin the process of making a portable starting device for a car with our own hands

To do this, you need to make the primary winding of the transformer with copper wire in insulation with a diameter of at least 1.5-2 mm, the number of turns will be approximately 260-300.

After you wind this wire onto the transformer core, you need to measure the current and voltage produced at the output of these windings, it should be in the range of 220-400 mA.

If you get less, then unwind a few turns of the winding, and if you get more, then on the contrary, wind it up.

Now you need to wind the secondary winding of the transformer of the starting charger. It is advisable to wind it with a multi-core cable with a thickness of at least 10mm, as a rule, the secondary winding contains 13-15 turns, at the output when measuring on the secondary winding you should get 13-14 volts, and as you understand, the voltage has become small, 13 volts in total, but the power the current flowing through it increased to approximately 100 Amperes, but was only 220-400 milliamps, that is, the current increased by approximately 300-400 times, and the voltage decreased by approximately 15 times.

For a battery, both are important, but in this case the key role is played by the current strength.

Winding explanations

If you cannot achieve a voltage of 13-14 volts, then simply wind 10 turns on the secondary winding, measure the voltage, now divide this voltage by the number of turns in our case 10 and get the voltage of one turn, and then simply multiply how many turns are needed to achieve 13-14 volts at the output of the secondary winding of a transformer homemade starting device.

For clarity, let's look at an example:

WE wound the secondary winding with 10 turns, we measure the voltage with a multimeter, for example, we got 20 volts, but we need about 13.

This means that we take our voltage of 20 volts and divide by the number of wound turns 10 = 20/10 = 2, the number 2 is 2 volts and gives us the voltage of one turn, which means how can we achieve 13-14 volts knowing that one turn produced 2 volts.

We take the value of the voltage we need, let it be 14 volts, and divide it by the voltage of one turn 2 volts, = 14/2 = 7, the number 7 is the number of turns on the secondary winding of the car charger necessary to achieve 14 volts of output voltage.

Now let's all wind our 7 turns. And to the outputs of these turns, according to the diagram of the starting device for a car with your own hands, which is located above, we connect our diodes, some car enthusiasts also use a circuit with one diode and one 12V 60-100 watt lamp, as in the photo below

How to start a car using a homemade jump starter

You put the terminals of our homemade starting device on top of the battery terminals, the battery is also connected to the car, we turn on our starter and immediately try to start the engine, as soon as the engine starts, we immediately disconnect the starting device from the network and disconnect it from the battery.

Capacitor jump starter for car

Some car owners, having at their disposal high-power capacitors or, more correctly, capacitors, make a capacitor starting device for the car with their own hands, using them instead of a portable portable battery. That is, such a device can be quickly charged from the mains in a minute, then brought to the car, and the engine can be started without connecting the starter to the mains.

But as a rule, such a scheme requires some deep knowledge of electronics and an understanding of the capacitance of capacitors and the principle of their operation, and even if you don’t have capacitors lying around, then it will not be advisable to buy them, since large capacitors are very expensive, and you will need several of them or even a dozen, and how then the price will not be lower than a good factory-made starting device, while you will also spend a lot of nerves and time creating such a blow.

By the way, the capacitor starting device for the Golden Eagle car has gained some popularity in our area - here is its photo below

Therefore, it was the transformer starter that was most widespread in Soviet times, and even now; store-bought versions of such starters, of course, have been modified and contain various additional elements that make starting the engine from the mains easier and safer.

Any start from any type of launcher always has a negative effect on the condition of the battery, since the battery receives a large current in a very short period of time, which gradually leads to degradation and destruction of its plates during a system start from the launcher.

Therefore, it is better to still use a charger if you are not urgent to start the engine right now.

Well, our post entitled homemade portable launcher for cars is coming to an end. Write your reviews about what you think about this startup device circuit, whether you have ever used it and whether you were able to start the engine of your car.

Categories:// from 03/07/2017

The simplest calculations show that in order for the starting device to work effectively when connected in parallel with the battery, it must provide a current of at least 100 A at a voltage of 10...14 V. In this case, the rated power of the T1 network transformer used (Fig. 1) must be at least 800 W. As is known, the rated operating power of a transformer depends on the cross-sectional area of ​​the magnetic core (iron) at the location of the windings.

The starting device circuit itself is quite simple, but requires the correct manufacture of a network transformer. It is convenient to use toroidal iron from any LATRA - this results in minimal dimensions and weight of the device. The perimeter of the iron cross-section can be from 230 to 280 mm (it differs for different types of autotransformers).

Before winding the windings, it is necessary to round off the sharp edges on the edges of the magnetic circuit with a file, after which we wrap it with varnished cloth or fiberglass.

The primary winding of the transformer contains approximately 260...290 turns of PEV-2 wire with a diameter of 1.5...2.0 mm (the wire can be of any type with varnish insulation). The winding is distributed evenly in three layers, with interlayer insulation. After completing the primary winding, the transformer must be connected to the network and the no-load current must be measured. It should be 200...380 mA. In this case, there will be optimal conditions for transforming power into the secondary circuit. If the current is less, part of the turns must be rewinded; if more, it must be rewinded until the specified value is obtained. It should be taken into account that the relationship between the inductive reactance (and therefore the current in the primary winding) and the number of turns is quadratic - even a slight change in the number of turns will lead to a significant change in the primary winding current.

There should be no heating when the transformer is operating in idle mode. Heating of the winding indicates the presence of interturn short circuits or pressing and short-circuiting of part of the winding through the magnetic core. In this case, the winding will have to be done again.

The secondary winding is wound with insulated stranded copper wire with a cross-section of at least 6 square meters. mm (for example, PVKV type with rubber insulation) and contains two windings of 15 ... 18 turns. The secondary windings are wound simultaneously (with two wires), which makes it easy to obtain their symmetry - the same voltage in both windings, which should be in the range of 12...13.8 V at a rated mains voltage of 220 V. It is better to measure the voltage in the secondary winding temporarily connected to terminals X2, XZ load resistor with a resistance of 5...10 Ohms.

The connection of rectifier diodes shown in the diagram allows the use of metal elements of the starter housing not only for fastening the diodes, but also as a heat sink without dielectric spacers (the “plus” of the diode is connected to the fastening nut).

To connect the starting device parallel to the battery, the connecting wires must be insulated and multi-core (preferably copper), with a cross-section of at least 10 square meters. mm (not to be confused with diameter). At the ends of the wire, after tinning, connecting lugs are soldered.

Charging and starting device presented in this article allows you to start the car in winter. As you know, starting the internal combustion engine of a car with a dead battery in winter requires a lot of effort and time.

The density of the electrolyte, due to long-term storage, decreases significantly, and the sulfation process occurring inside the battery increases its internal resistance, thereby reducing the starting current of the battery. Plus, in winter, the viscosity of engine oil increases, which requires more starting power from the car battery.

As you know, there are several ways to make starting a car easier in winter:

• heat the oil in the car crankcase;
• start the car from another car with a reliable battery;
• push start;
• use a charging and starting device (ZPU).

The option of using a starting device is more convenient when storing the car in a garage or in a paid parking lot, where it is possible to connect the starting device to the electrical network. In addition, this charger-starter It will not only help you start a car with a dead battery, but also quickly restore and charge it.

Basically, in industrial designs of a charger and starting device, the battery is recharged from a medium-power power source with a rated current of up to 5A, which, as a rule, is not enough to directly draw current from the car starter. Despite the fact that the internal capacity of car battery ROMs is very large (for some models up to 240 A/h), after several refills they somehow “sit down”, and it is not possible to quickly restore their charge.

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This charging and starting device differs from the industrial prototype in its insignificant weight and the ability to automatically maintain the working condition of the ROM battery, regardless of the period of storage or operation. Even if the ROM does not have an internal battery, it can still provide up to 100A inrush current for a short period of time. There is also a good one with adjustable charge current.

To restore the battery plates and reduce the temperature of the electrolyte during charging, the charger and starter has a regeneration mode. In this mode, charging current pulses and pauses alternate.

Schematic diagram

The starting charger circuit contains a triac voltage regulator (VS1), a power transformer (T1), a rectifier with powerful diodes (VD3, VD4) and a starter battery (GB1). The charging current is selected by the current regulator on the triac VS1, its current is regulated by the variable resistor R2 and depends on the battery capacity.

The input and output charging circuits have a filter that reduces the degree of radio interference during operation of the triac regulator. Triac VS1 provides regulation of the charging current when the network voltage varies from 180 to 220 V.

The triac wiring consists of R1-R2-C3 (RC circuit), VD2 and diode bridge VD1. The time constant of the RC circuit affects the opening moment of the dinistor (counting from the beginning of the network half-cycle), which is included in the diagonal of the rectifier bridge through the limiting resistor R4. The rectifier bridge synchronizes the switching on of the triac in both half-cycles of the mains voltage. In the “Regeneration” mode, only one half-cycle of the mains voltage is applied, which helps clean the battery plates from existing crystallization. Capacitors C1 and C2 reduce the degree of interference from the triac in the network to acceptable levels.

Details

The charger and starting device uses power from the Rubin TV. It is also possible to use a TCA-270 type transformer. Before rewinding the secondary windings (the primary windings remain unchanged), the frames are separated from the iron, all former secondary windings (up to the screen foil) are removed, and the free space is wound with copper wire with a cross-section of 1.8...2.0 mm2 in one layer (up to filling) secondary windings. As a result of rewinding, the voltage of one winding should be approximately 15 ... 17 V.

To visually monitor the charging and starting current, an ammeter with a shunt resistor is introduced into the circuit of the charging and starting device. Network switch SA1 must be designed for a maximum current of 10 A. Network switch SA2 (type TZ or P1T) allows you to select the maximum voltage on the transformer in accordance with the network voltage. The internal battery of the 6ST45 or 6ST50 brand should be enough for 3-5 simultaneous starts. Resistors in the ZPU can be used like MLT or SP, capacitors C1, C2 - KBG-MP, C3 - MBGO, C4 - K50-12, K50-6. The D160 diodes (without radiators) can be replaced with others with a permissible current of more than 50 A, the triac is of the TC type. The connection of the charger to the car battery must be made using powerful “Crocodile” clamps (for operating current up to 200 A). It is important to use grounding in the device.

Settings

When setting up, the internal battery GB1 is connected to the device (observe the polarity!), and the regulation of the charging current by resistor R2 is tested. Then the charging current is checked in charge, start and regeneration modes. If the current is no more than 10...12A, then the control unit is in working condition. When connecting the charging and starting device to the car battery, the charge current should initially increase approximately 2-3 times, and after 10 - 30 minutes it should drop to its original value. After this, switch SA3 is clicked into the “Start” mode, and the car engine starts. In case of an unsuccessful attempt to start the engine, additional recharging is performed for 10 - 30 minutes, and the attempt is repeated.

You need such a device. Especially if your car constantly has problems at the start and with the battery, who knows where it will happen next time? And if you purchase a charger for personal use, you will not only protect yourself from the possibility of getting stuck in some unpleasant place, but you will also be able to help a person who finds himself in a similar situation, especially in cold weather, when many engines fail start up. In addition, almost any charger can charge a phone or tablet - they have long included such a feature as additional ports, especially for such purposes.

There are several types of starter chargers, and before you start choosing them, you should familiarize yourself with the benefits of each of them.

Pulse. The operation of a pulse device is based on pulse voltage conversion. Under the influence of the frequency of the electric current, the voltage first increases, and then decreases and transforms. These devices, as a rule, have little power and are only suitable for recharging a dead battery. And if the charge is very low and it’s frosty outside, charging with it will take a very long time. Among the advantages of such a charger are an affordable price, light weight and small dimensions. As for the disadvantages, these are, first of all, low power and difficulty in repair. In addition, they are very sensitive to unstable voltage.

Transformer. The operation of such a device is based on a transformer, which converts current and voltage. They are able to increase the charge of any battery, no matter how discharged it is. In addition, such units are absolutely independent of the stability of the network and fluctuations in it do not affect their operation in any way. They work in any condition and in the vast majority of cases will start the engine, even if the battery charge is almost zero. Among the main advantages: power and reliability, absolute unpretentiousness. However, there are also disadvantages. These are the high price of the products, large weight and dimensions.

Boosters, or battery-type jump starters, are portable batteries. They work on the principle of a portable charging unit - first the battery is charged, and the car with a low battery charge is started from the battery. As a rule, they come in two types - household and professional. The difference is in the volume of built-in batteries and dimensions. Household starting devices of this type usually have a small capacity, which is quite enough to power one car. A professional battery device is a full-fledged autonomous charger for a car, and not just one, but several. And thanks to the extremely large capacity, they can be used to start engines with different on-board networks, both 12V and 24V. Their advantage is that they are autonomous and mobile, but due to their weight and dimensions, they can only be conveniently moved on a flat surface on the wheels of the housing.

Capacitor starter. Starting the engine and discharging the battery is carried out according to a rather complex circuit, the main part of which is powerful capacitors. First they charge, and then release their charge to start the engine. Due to the fact that they charge themselves very quickly and also quickly start the engine. They are not very popular due to their high cost. In addition, their use leads to rapid wear of the car battery.

No one argues that the battery for any car is an extremely important element. But not every car owner knows that any battery, regardless of its cost, newness or brand, requires periodic maintenance. In addition to the battery itself, the generator, which constantly charges the battery during vehicle operation, also requires constant attention. As a result, quite often you can encounter the fact that the battery is not charged enough to start the engine without problems.

This problem is especially acute in winter, when not every car owner is able to start a car without outside help. This may be due to problems such as:

• undercharging of the battery as a result of malfunctions of the car generator or other device;
• lack of electrolyte, the volume of which must be periodically replenished;
• incorrect electrolyte density;
• destructive processes in the battery that interfere with the normal charging process.

All of the above is not a “sentence” for the battery, and can easily be eliminated with regular maintenance.

Starter charger - is it necessary to have it in the garage?

As a rule, most motorists periodically face the problem of difficult starting or its complete impossibility. With the onset of cold weather, the situation worsens sharply. There are not many ways to solve the problem that has already arisen, and you can start the engine when your own battery is dead as follows:

• from the “pusher”;
• by towing;
• light the battery from another car;
• quickly charge the battery with high current - a special device is used.

All these methods are far from ideal, and are impossible in some cases. For example, it is impossible to tow a car with an automatic transmission, but it is undesirable to tow a car with an injector. In order not to look for a donor for lighting a cigarette, which car owners are extremely reluctant to do, it is useful to have a battery charger in the garage, which allows you to quickly and safely start the engine in any frost and in any condition of the original battery.

The car battery jump starter has a compact size and high efficiency, so in case of any problems with the battery, it becomes the best option for starting the engine. All you need is an electrical outlet to operate it. It’s easy to use a portable charger for a car battery - just connect the positive wire to the corresponding terminal of the battery, and the negative wire to ground, closer to the starter. After turning on the ROM, you can easily start the engine, even if the battery is very “weak”.

ROM - buy or make it yourself

With all the advantages of factory-made devices, they still have some disadvantages. These include, first of all, the high cost of powerful devices, and those that are cheaper often have too little power and are not suitable for winter use. As a way out of this difficulty, you can consider the option of making your own starting and charging device for the battery, which does not require special knowledge in the field of radio electronics.

Of course, there is an obvious plus - this is the combination of a starting and charging device in a single housing. But if you have a separate “charger” for the battery, it is quite advisable to make a charging and starting device for the battery with your own hands. To make a simple, but quite powerful starting device, you will need one transformer and a pair of diodes. Estimated power of the created device must be at least 1.4 kW- this is enough to start the engine with almost zero battery charge. The ROM circuit is extremely simple, but from year to year, devices assembled in this way seriously help out many car enthusiasts.

Before assembling this starting device, you should prepare a sufficiently long power cable.

Advice! For it, it is optimal to use 2x2.5 copper wire - a smaller cross-section is undesirable.

To ensure ease of use, you can install switch S1, but it must withstand a load of at least 10A.

Output parameters are important indicators for reliable operation

The above diagram of a charging and starting device for a car battery is quite simple, but to create an effective device it is necessary to carefully calculate the output parameters - this will ensure easy starting and will not damage the battery itself. When trying to start, the engine “eats” quite a lot of energy - at least 100 A, with a voltage of up to 14 V. Accordingly, the power of the transformer must be at least 1400 W. A charging and starting device for a car battery of this power will easily start the engine without a battery at all.

Of course, a portable battery charger and jump starter, even of such power, does not replace a battery, which is still needed when starting. The starter can consume up to 200 A when starting, and part of this power will be provided by the battery, even if not fully charged. After successful spinning of the crankshaft, the energy consumption of the starter drops by almost half, and the starting device can cope with this task on its own. By the way, starting chargers purchased in a store provide no more than half of this power, and with a severely discharged battery they simply will not cope with the task of starting the engine.

The cross-section of the core used in this design is 36 cm2. The wire used for the primary winding must have a cross-section of at least 2 mm 2. It would be great if a transformer with such characteristics was factory-made. The original secondary winding must be removed and replaced with a self-wound one. In this case, a banal selection method is used. After, for example, 10 turns are wound, the transformer is connected to the network and the resulting voltage is measured.

It must be divided by the number of turns already made independently, i.e. 10 - the voltage on each turn is obtained. Then you need to divide 12 by the resulting voltage, the result is the required number of turns of each arm. Copper wire in high-quality insulation is suitable for secondary winding. with a cross section of at least 10 mm 2. After completing the work on creating the secondary winding, diodes are connected, which can be taken, for example, from an old welding machine. If all the work is done correctly, the control current measurement in the homemade ROM will not exceed 13.8 V.

How to prevent critical battery discharge

Despite the fact that the circuits of the charging and starting device for batteries are not difficult for self-assembly, it is better to try to avoid the use of starting charging devices. To do this, any battery, from the moment it is put into operation, requires constant maintenance. It is worth noting that all the procedures performed are not complicated and can be performed independently:

• At least 6 times a year you should measure the voltage on the battery with a multimeter;
• Monitor the electrolyte level 3-4 times a year;
• fully charge the battery on a special charger;
• monitoring the density of the electrolyte is the most important indicator that largely determines the performance of the battery.

All these activities should be regular, which will always allow you to be confident in your own battery. To carry out the tests, you will need a minimum amount of “equipment”:

To adjust the level in a timely manner, you will also need distilled water, which is added to the jars when there is a lack of solution, and a concentrated electrolyte, used when the density drops below the calculated value for a particular region.