ever needed or given a jump?

[rh71]

My parents were stuck a half-hour from home and dialed me up. I drove out there and jumped their car no problem, but it made me think what I would do if I were stuck out there and without cables... ask passersby or wait 30 minutes in the car... hmm.

When was the last time you were a good samaritan, if ever? Or needed one? Would you only call a relative to come get ya? We let AAA expire too (didn't use them but once in 4 years) so we'd probably be dependant on family.

 

[jagec]

I've actually done it a bunch. Most recently, probably a couple months ago...group of guys in a parking lot. I carry jumper cables.

 

[BlackTigers]

I bought a pair of jumper cables the day I drove my car home, and I've used them twice since then. (Gviing jumps)

 

[Baked]

I used to give free jumps for hot chicks at the school parking lot. No guys, no ugly girls. I call my insurance company if I need a jump.

 

[kt]

Actually, I just helped some guy jump start his car at a gas station. Poor guy had his whole family in the mini-van on his way to his parents for Thanksgiving.

 

[Leros]

My car wouldn't start after I fueled at a truck stop. After asking around, I got someone to jump start me. I got about 30 miles and my car died again. It was 11pm at night, 30F out, no cell reception, and very few passing vehicles. After about 30 minutes of trying to flag someone down a trucker stopped. He radioed the sheriff who called in a tow truck for me. I spent the night in a shitty hotel and was pretty much forced to pay a mechanic $300 to change my battery. Bad experience.

 

[Jeff7]

Yup, I've needed quite a few jumps. I do carry my own jumper cables, too. It's been either from someone who happened to be walking back to his car, or else from a roommate who didn't particularly relish the idea of trudging out into Erie's lovely winter weather.

When I lived on campus, and still had a cheap CD-MP3 player, my car would sit a week or two between uses. This POS stereo system apparently was a big drain on the battery, and it would go dead in that time. So I'd need a jump.

Besides that, my car's wiring is such that the parking lights can remain on when the car is turned off, even though the headlights stop getting power automatically when the key's off. It took me awhile to become mildly obsessive about making sure I'd turned off the lights when getting out of the car.

With all the deep discharges, my first battery didn't last very long before suffering from severely depleted capacity.

 

[zeruty]

Carrying jumper cables and a tow rope should be requirements for your man card. Check the fine print on the back.

I've needed and given many jump starts. I had a leak some where around my firewall. which soaked my Twilight Sentinel module (automatic headlights) so until I got that disconnected, my lights would never turn off, had to d/c my battery each time... sucked.
Now, I'm STILL used to my automatic headlights, and sometimes I just forget to turn them off..
Really sucks

Also, my stereo seems to kill my batteries.. I'm on my third Exide Orbital. I really should buy a capacitor to protect my battery, but that requires effort.
I was living about half a mile from work too, and for a while I wasn't driving anywhere except to work and back... found that the half a mile trip wasn't enough to recharge my battery from the start.... so my car would go dead all the time unless I did some extra driving.

 

[LTC8K6]

I quit doing it because you never know why the other car won't start.

I almost ruined my own car one time because the nice family's car turned out to have a serious problem with the starter engagement. The gears would jam up and pull enough current to smoke the battery cables and the jumper cables.

That was my last jump start.

 

[d33pt]

i've jumped countless people over the years with my portable battery. i even helped a lady bypass her car alarm because it was malfunctioning and the starterkill disabled the ignition.

 

[FDF12389]

I keep a portable jump start in my trunk, helped give countless jumps.

 

[herm0016]

yes and yes. i carry cables and tools at all times.

 

[Steve]

I jump-started a friend at band practice a few weeks ago, and a stranger up in Canada earlier this summer (with a rental car, their cables). I think it was last year, or else earlier this year when I made a U-turn and jump-started a cabbie. And one time I had to jump-start my dad, who was already close to home.

On a band trip to Scotland several years ago, we had two large passenger vans rented. One of them was dead at the end of a day at an event, and a bunch of us got out to try and push start it. Unfortunately it was diesel, hard if not impossible to do this or so I am told. We did get it jump-started anyway.

 

[Colt45]

Seeing as we get down to -40 far too frequently, boosting cars and getting frostbite from the jumpers is something of a past time for me. lol

 

[Blackjack200]

2 years ago I left my lights on after driving to work. When I discovered the battery was dead it was 6:30 and almost everyone had gone home. No one there had jumper cables; I had to call my dad to drive out (20 min trip).

Now I keep jumper cables in my trunk and I've used them a few times. Well worth it.

 

[zinfamous]

Originally posted by: kt
Actually, I just helped some guy jump start his car at a gas station. Poor guy had his whole family in the mini-van on his way to his parents for Thanksgiving.

:beer:

 

[zinfamous]

Recently had some construction workers that helped my GF jump her car a few months back....a street away from my apartment (shut up K1052 )

damn car was shot: our battery charger didn't work, eventually got the thing towed. those guys stuck to it though, so we gave them a pack of smokes as they were leaving their job at the time.

I don't remember any opportunities to offer assistance, but I've always carried cables in my cars. Back in high school and shortly after, I used to have to start my '82 Honda with a fork when it would die out on the middle of the expressway. That sucked sometimes...

 

[grrl]

Originally posted by: herm0016
yes and yes. i carry cables and tools at all times.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

Err, push start?

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: RocksteadyDotNet
Err, push start?

Won't help if you

a) Drive (most) autos
b) Don't have enough power to energize the coil, computer(s), injectors.

 

[RocksteadyDotNet]

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: RocksteadyDotNet
Err, push start?

Won't help if you

a) Drive (most) autos
b) Don't have enough power to energize the coil, computer(s), injectors.

Yeah, you can't push start an Auto. Here most people have manual cars. I've never owned an auto. Auto's suck.

B = Fail. You can push start a manual car even if it is dead flat.

 

[JohnCU]

i keep jumper cables in the car and a multimeter so i can verify that the battery is indeed the problem.

/nerd

 

[mcmilljb]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
i keep jumper cables in the car and a multimeter so i can verify that the battery is indeed the problem.

/nerd

When I worked in the EE department, we took some copper cabling out of one of the labs to jump my car because we didn't have jumper cables.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: RocksteadyDotNet

Originally posted by: jagec

Originally posted by: RocksteadyDotNet
Err, push start?

Won't help if you

a) Drive (most) autos
b) Don't have enough power to energize the coil, computer(s), injectors.

Yeah, you can't push start an Auto. Here most people have manual cars. I've never owned an auto. Auto's suck.

B = Fail. You can push start a manual car even if it is dead flat.

Wrong-o, I've tried it.

"But wait, if you roll down a long enough hill, the alternator will provide enough juice to start the car!"

Nope, the alternator in fact requires a small amount of power to energize the coils, without which it isn't generating a single watt. Mind you, your battery has to be pretty darn dead before you can't push start it...but it's certainly possible.

I agree about autos sucking, though.

 

[CptCrunch]

I have used my jumper cables a few times. If i see people on the side of the road trying to flag me down, I will stop.

I carry both jumper cables, basic set of tools, and tie-down straps that can hold more than what my car weights.