Okay, I did NOT expect this little thing to work, but it did and might for you IF you have patience.
My Grandfather who was MoAT (Mechanic of All Things) owned back in the day what I thought were REAL chargers, they were so big and heavy they had to be put on wheels and rolled around, they had giant switches that'd illuminate and while I'm probably purely imagining this they were plugged into 220-volt outlets. This thing fits in the palm of my hand, just as pictured, smaller than most mobile phones. "Huh," I said, "this should be comical."
I hooked it up and, as others have said, figuring this thing out is NOT straight forward, the instruction manual is weak to say the least, the good news is, as I found, there are many intrepid experimenters who, like me, bought it on a whim and did some trial and error which it'd seem 99% of them got the thing to work to their needs, just like me hence, I'm taking the time to write this review. What this lacks in coherent features or instructions it makes up for it in the end by eventually (boy I mean eventually) getting the job done, for that honestly I'm giving it a generous five stars, because it did what I wanted it do against all odds, just like the Phil Collins song. ("Just take a look at my car now, 'cause it's finally starting here.")
To get the to point, this took TWO WEEKS to charge a completely dead battery in a completely dead system. If it'll help anyone I own a 2000 Lexus RX300 that is, in fact, drinking age, if I could find a small ute-friendly bar to have a couple with me of which, in terms of trusty old friends, this boring beige over beige has been one of my best now with over 270,000 miles with no reason, per the Lexus dealer, to give up the ghost before 300,000. Toyota quality and then some with only wearables and maintenance needed BTW, the car has only had one issue, eating car batteries every four or so years. Being a cheap bastard and Lexus parts are pricy I've chosen battery over a slightly-off generator which brings us to the recent hullabaloo and the need to be the Noco Genius, though it'd prove not straightforward as I hoped.
Hooking up the Noco Genius you get a slowly blinking light, like a heartbeat, that will tell you nothing really. Also there's a force-charge setting where you hold the button (there's only one button on the whole thing, this thing is basic) it supposedly will force a charge into a battery... this doesn't work, at all. After some digging it supposedly only does this if a battery is below some arbitrary limit which, my battery was completely dead, kaput, nada, force charge only made the 6V light go on which, apparently, is what others experienced. Point being, don't hold you breathe.
I kept trying to charge the battery but it didn't budge, didn't budge, didn't budge, then I had a thought and said to myself "self, what if I unhook the battery, THEN charge it?" As in, is it because it's also hooked to my car hence current is going other places? Mind you, this thing is only one (1) amp, that's very little, if you're looking for a quick charger or something to charge and jump your car, this ain't it, have you seen the size of this thing? Ha no, no, but it will trickle, very slowly, a charge into your battery... if it's not hooked to the car.
Listen, some people this may work when the battery is not hooked up and, in fact, I hooked my battery back up AFTER this thing actually worked and then hooked up the Noco to it and it did, in fact, go from red blinking to green, sooo, yeah, that happened. But I'm burying the lede here:
The Noco charger worked for me but ONLY after it was hooked to the battery without being connected to the car. Total time to charge the battery not hooked to the car? About 36 hours. Great? Eh, there's a pandemic, I'm not really going out much so had time on my hands, not to mention my wife's car.
In summation, IF you have even a completely dead battery or run down battery and IF you don't have to go anywhere in the next two days and IF you're comfortable unhooking the leads from your car to your battery so that it'll only be charging the battery itself this Noco Genius is, er, uh, genius! It really works! It works and for the cheap cheap cheap money its worth every penny. If this thing cost even 50% more I'd be taking down stars but this thing cost less than a steak dinner (back when I ate steak) so suffice to say it got my battery charged all the way up, hooked up to my car and after the computer was all "what the... ??? Was I in a coma" my car fired right up and ran, I even drove it around a bit.
This would be a good thing to own for just-in-case as its just in case money. If you have any situation close to mine, get this trickle charger, if you need the big guns, well, open up your wallet and say ah. Luckily most of us, probably 99% of us, if your battery is run down, this will do the trick.
Best of luck!
NOCO GENIUS1, 1A Smart Car Battery Charger, 6V and 12V Automotive Charger, Battery Maintainer, Trickle Charger, Float Charger
4.5 | 52,885 ratings
Price: 27.82
Last update: 01-03-2025
About this item
Meet the GENIUS1 - Similar to our G750, just better. It's 35% smaller and delivers over 35% more power. It's the all-in-one universal charging solution - battery charger, battery maintainer, trickle charger, float charger, plus battery desulfator.
Do more with Genius - Designed for 6-volt and 12-volt sealed lead-acid automotive, marine, RV, powersport, and deep-cycle batteries, including flooded, gel, AGM, SLA, VRLA and maintenance-free, plus lithium-ion batteries (lifepo4).
Enjoy precision charging - An integrated digital thermal sensor detects the ambient temperature and alters the charge to eliminate over-charging in hot climates and under-charging in cold climates.
Charge dead batteries - Charges batteries as low as 1-volt. Or use the all-new force mode that allows you to take control and manually begin charging dead batteries down to zero volts.
Restore your battery - An advanced battery repair mode uses slow pulse reconditioner technology to detect battery sulfation and acid stratification to restore lost battery performance for stronger engine starts and extended battery life.
Beyond maintenance - It's not just a battery trickle charger, it's an advanced battery charger maintainer. A fully-automatic, worry-free smart battery charger for everyday use - 24/7 - with zero overcharge.
Compatible with all types of gas and diesel vehicles - Charge and maintain cars, automobiles, motorcycles, dirt bikes, scooters, mopeds, lawn mowers, ATVs, UTVs, tractors, trucks, SUVs, RVs, campers, trailers, boats, PWCs, jet skis, snowmobiles, golf carts, classic cars, and more.
Do more with Genius - Designed for 6-volt and 12-volt sealed lead-acid automotive, marine, RV, powersport, and deep-cycle batteries, including flooded, gel, AGM, SLA, VRLA and maintenance-free, plus lithium-ion batteries (lifepo4).
Enjoy precision charging - An integrated digital thermal sensor detects the ambient temperature and alters the charge to eliminate over-charging in hot climates and under-charging in cold climates.
Charge dead batteries - Charges batteries as low as 1-volt. Or use the all-new force mode that allows you to take control and manually begin charging dead batteries down to zero volts.
Restore your battery - An advanced battery repair mode uses slow pulse reconditioner technology to detect battery sulfation and acid stratification to restore lost battery performance for stronger engine starts and extended battery life.
Beyond maintenance - It's not just a battery trickle charger, it's an advanced battery charger maintainer. A fully-automatic, worry-free smart battery charger for everyday use - 24/7 - with zero overcharge.
Compatible with all types of gas and diesel vehicles - Charge and maintain cars, automobiles, motorcycles, dirt bikes, scooters, mopeds, lawn mowers, ATVs, UTVs, tractors, trucks, SUVs, RVs, campers, trailers, boats, PWCs, jet skis, snowmobiles, golf carts, classic cars, and more.
Product information
| Product Dimensions | 3.5 x 2.3 x 1.3 inches |
|---|---|
| Item Weight | 15.2 ounces |
| ASIN | B07W46BX31 |
| Item model number | GENIUS1 |
| Customer Reviews |
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars
51,089 ratings
4.5 out of 5 stars |
| Best Sellers Rank | #38 in Automotive (See Top 100 in Automotive) #1 in Battery Chargers |
| Date First Available | November 18, 2019 |
| Department | unisex-adult |
| Manufacturer | NOCO |
| Country of Origin | China |
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