Beginning Mob. Jump start Ice scraper Head-Up Parking disc Conclusion Comments by Matthias // 05. 11. 2020 17: 20 Clock

From the electric ice scraper to the power bank with vehicle jump starter: We show popular winter gadgets and electronic helpers for the car in General.

Anyone who drives a lot in winter will be happy to have clever little helpers. For this guide we looked at the relatively new power banks with vehicle start-up assistance. We also show how much electric ice scrapers can really do. Regardless of the season, electronic parking discs (advice) and head-up displays (advice) with OBD2 connection are always practical.

Power bank with vehicle jump starter Older car batteries in particular like to give up or deliver in cold temperatures too little voltage to start the engine. If you do not have a vehicle jump starter to hand, you can only hope for the help of other drivers or wait for service providers such as the ADAC. But that can take a while, they have a lot of jobs to do, especially in freezing temperatures.

Who If you want to restart your car completely independently of other road users, you need a separate energy source with a starter cable. The solution with a corresponding power bank is particularly elegant.

There are many different models with suitable terminals for the car battery between 30 and 100 Euro. Their main difference lies in the capacity of the power bank. Here buyers should buy models from a load of 007. 000 grab mAh, as starting a car draws a lot of electricity and, if in doubt, takes several attempts. Another problem: When it is cold, lithium batteries generate less energy. Here it may be necessary to warm up the power bank, which turns out to be difficult in practice if you always have the vehicle jump starter in the trunk and the temperature is also below zero.

Revolt Powerbank with vehicle Jump start (6 pictures) The Revolt vehicle jump start is coming in a practical bag for storage in the trunk, for example.

We have exemplarily the Revolt Auto Jump Starter ZX – 3000 – 675 took a closer look. Its centerpiece is the 16, 8 × 9.2 × 3.8 centimeters tall and well 675 Gram heavy power bank with 12. 000 mAh. Thanks to the thick rubber coating and a flap in front of the ports, this is protected against bumps, falls and the ingress of water according to IP 68 protected. It offers a starting current from 314 A and a peak current of 963 A. It should be suitable for gasoline vehicles up to a cubic capacity of 7 , 5 liters and suitable for diesel vehicles with a maximum displacement of 6 liters. An integrated LED helps to find the battery connections in the dark.

We think it’s good that it can be charged not only via micro USB, but also via the more modern USB-C port. She doesn’t just start cars either. Via USB A and USB C, it also charges classic mobile devices such as smartphones.

To start cars, first plug in the supplied one, for example 40 Centimeter long starter cable. There is an LED on the distributor that shows whether the power bank is sufficiently charged for a start process, the battery terminals have been correctly connected, the connected car battery has enough remaining capacity, a short circuit has occurred or the vehicle battery is simply being charged.

Caution: A lot of electricity flows when using a vehicle jump starter, which can be dangerous. We therefore strongly recommend users with a lack of specialist knowledge to acquire this knowledge beforehand. Another source of danger with such a high current is excessive heating of the power bank. Some devices, especially cheaper ones, could be poorly protected against this and could get very hot, melt or, in the worst case, even catch fire.

Electric ice scraper Scrape stubborn ice off the windshield electrically and without great effort in winter? Sounds like a dream. This is exactly what devices like the Kärcher EDI 4 want to meet. The battery-operated Kärcher device lies well with its 314 gram well in hand. After switching on, a plastic disc starts rotating loudly when you press a large button on the back. This changeable disc has six plastic blades that are supposed to scrape the ice off the windshield.

Electronic ice scraper for the car (18 Photos) Electric ice scraper from left to right: Kärcher EDI 4, Lescars disc scraper, heatable ice scraper.

That works very well with light ice and similarly fast, but more comfortable than with a classic ice scraper. As soon as the temperatures drop and a thick layer of ice forms on the front window, the Kärcher EDI 4 reaches its limits. Here the Kärcher has to be held in one place for longer until it works its way through the ice. A normal ice scraper needs a lot more force, but it also works faster.

Even if the blades are made of plastic, it can happen that they hit the front window scratch. So you can never be completely sure that some dirt or small grains of sand won’t get under the pane. This risk also exists with classic ice scrapers, but is much lower here. You also have to be particularly careful with the rubber seals on the edge of the windshield. They suffer damage if you carelessly scratch over them with the Kärcher EDI 4.

Depending on the hardness of the ice to be scratched away, the battery lasts up to 20 Minutes until it is empty and wants to be recharged. Charging only works via the supplied power supply unit and only via a mains connection. There is no adapter for the cigarette lighter. That is a real disadvantage. In winter, buyers have to charge the Kärcher EDI 4 daily in the garage or at home. The Kärcher EDI 4 costs about 33 Euro.

The disk on the underside of the Kärcher EDI 4 rotates at the push of a button. With just 25 euros, the Lescars disc scraper is cheaper . It also has a rotating disc on its front, which is driven by a somewhat weaker motor. This is another reason why it only has three plastic blades, so it takes a little longer to scrape the ice. It is a bit lighter and has an on / off switch, so in contrast to the Kärcher EDI 4, it does not have to be pressed permanently when scratching. It has no battery and instead draws power from the cigarette lighter via a four-meter cable. This is a bit more cumbersome, but it is always ready for use. He also has an increased risk of scratching the front window.

A heated ice scraper? You can safely do without that. We are also testing a heated ice scraper from Goods + Gadgets. This comes in the form of a classic ice scraper, only that a U-shaped heating rod heats up on the underside. Unsurprisingly, this hardly works at all in practice. The heating element heats up after plugging it into the cigarette lighter. However, it takes a few minutes until it is up to “operating temperature”. And even then, the heat it radiates is far too little to provide any real added value. Now the user has to hold it over a spot for about a minute until the ice loosens there enough to be easily scraped off. It would probably be faster to let the engine heat up the interior and thus loosen the ice than to thaw the entire windscreen with the heated ice scraper. This ice scraper fails completely.

Overall, none of the tested products convinced us completely. If you want to save time, energy and nerves, you can buy a suitable tarpaulin and place it over the windshield the evening before.

Head-Up-Displays Head-up displays look good and offer real added value at a comparatively low price. Not explicitly in winter, but especially for older cars an interesting gadget for some are very cheap head-up displays for retrofitting. They show the driver relevant driving data such as speed, kilometers driven and engine speed directly in the field of vision of the windshield. It’s convenient and safe, after all, you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to get on to look at the speedometer. Such head-up displays work via a connection to the OBD2 port that almost every car has. There are also GPS solutions, but in most cases they are more expensive and less reliable.

Some OBD2 head-up displays also offer Bluetooth to be used via a smartphone read out diagnostic error codes of the control units with the corresponding app. Ultimately, however, reading out the car is only relevant for a very small target group and does not add any added value in everyday life. Basically, most devices are similar. Their main difference lies in the type of projection and the display. While some appear cluttered and colorful, others concentrate on speed thanks to the minimalist head-up display with an opening projection surface. We recommend all those who are interested to have a look at our detailed guide to comparing OBD-2 head-up displays for cars.

Electronic parking discs They are small, cheap and practical: electronic parking discs. An electronic parking disc is also not only practical in winter. With it it is no longer possible to forget to put the parking disc in the corresponding parking spaces, it always shows the rounded time when parking. But be careful: not all are legal. The following points are mandatory and must all be fulfilled:

The P (white letters on a blue background; traffic sign 314) must be printed The arrival time must be printed After the engine has been switched off / switched off of the vehicle, the parking disc may no longer change its settings The time must be in 24 – the hour format must be displayed (for example 17: 30) The time must be easy to read The display must be at least 2 cm high Type approval must be obtained be granted There are many models on the market that are not are allowed, such as automatically rotating electronic parking discs. At first glance, these look like classic parking discs, but have a clockwork built into the back. If you buy such a model, you can leave it out entirely.

We recommend everyone who is interested in the very cheap and practical solution to take a look in our detailed guide to electronic parking discs: Legal models.

Conclusion Are practical in an emergency Power banks with vehicle jump start – if they are ready for use at the right moment. In order to keep the risk of failure low and also to meet certain security aspects, buyers should not go for the cheapest model.

Anyone who thinks they can escape their morning frustration with an electric ice scraper will usually be disappointed . At least in the dead of winter, they are rather impractical. There is also the risk of micro-scratches working into the windshield. A tarpaulin that is laid over the windshield the evening before is more suitable.

Whether winter or summer: Both head-up displays (advice), as well as electronic parking discs (advice) always prove to be very practical. You no longer have to take your eyes off the road when reading your speed and you never forget to set the parking meter again.

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Auto Gadget OBD-2