Maintaining ecu and radio settings battery disconnected

Yes

Yes - it kept the memory going in my radio while the battery was off.

Ring

Halfords

Hope that helps, frisket

Got mine for £30 from the market in Milton Keynes. OK, it wasn't made by Ring, and it doesn't have an inverter which I've had for some time, but £30 is nearer my pocket money level than £70 .

The message from frisket contains these words:

You can get one for under a tenner which just holds a 9v battery - usually enough to keep the radio alive for a few minutes provided you pull the fuses for the courtesy lights first.

If you can tape the door switches etc so no lights come on, a PP3 battery will keep all the memories alive for long enough to change the main battery.

Thanks for all the (very swift) replies. I have a spare 12v car battery. Does this £10 device allow other power connections to be made? Have you a name for the unit?

Just need a temp holding device. Not too sure how they work as it is putting current through a circuit that is meant to supply it! Can this cause problems?

Will have a look at this Ring system - sounds like a garage job - getting close to the replacement cost of my remote.

The message from "sid" contains these words:

No, just seen 'em around. They're tiny - contain a PP3 battery. Nothing to 'em.

Tried a google search but no luck with my rather vague wording. Is there a general description/name for this unit. Would any on-line MF's stock this?

Halfords web site seems rather poor - nothing listed that I can identify.

This seems to be what you're after ;)

Er, why not just switch them off?

Just making the point that if you open a door - or boot or bonnet - which has an automatic light as many do, it will kill a PP3 stone dead while the main battery is disconnected.

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

What are they certain about, Dave? Apart from not wanting to be frozen solid then thawed out, of course.

They're certain that someone will ask a fatuous question about them? ;-)

Thanks Tony. Thats what I require.

Thanks Tony. Thats what I require.

The message from "sid" contains these words:

That's 'cos you're comparing chalk and cheese. Malc's solution will work fine, and is what's inside the 9.61 version. The others are battery packs suitable for starting cars with - which you won't manage with a PP3!

Fortunately mine was paid for by work (bless 'em) cos a lot of the sites I attend don't have mains and I need to charge my battery drills / run floodlights etc.

Hi Sid

The commercial items are usually nothing more than a PP3 battery connected to a cigar lighter plug, really clever one's have a diode in circuit to prevent the PP3 exploding if the Car battery is reconnected while its still plugged in.

With a bit of ingenuity and a visit to Maplin you can make your own for about a fiver. You just need a cigarette lighter plug, a PP3 battery connector, a PP3 battery and a IN4001 diode.

Hi again

There's a steaming pile of dog do around the back of my house that's got more information about Halfords stock that their own website! Anyone needing info on Halfords products are welcome to visit me and I'll steer them to the steaming oracle.

Yes, I take your point but I have never seen any tech specs and I had absolutely no idea of what was involved. The £9.61 version has the facility to connect to a an ordinary 12v car battery as well as a PP3.

I am very grateful for the advice and knowledge so willingly given by the various posters.