Why would you get jumper cables instead of a jump starter?

[Zap]

Since I give/receive jump starts so seldom, cables are fine for me. Heck, these days I just carry a AAA card.

thick and long

Obligatory quoting out of context. :whiste:

 

[Ns1]

Since I give/receive jump starts so seldom, cables are fine for me. Heck, these days I just carry a AAA card.

Got one of those too but sometimes you don't want to wait 30 minutes.

 

[herm0016]

I would never get any under 2 gauge. Mine are 00 gauge. cost me around $75. autozone 2 gauge are about $50. just got some for the lady to replace her 8 gauge.

 

[thomsbrain]

My jump box instructions say to leave it attached to your battery for 15 minutes before starting the car, to put some charge in the main battery. If you just clamp it on and try to start it, you're doing it wrong.

I use mine all the time for its cordless compressor.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Those are two different products IMO.

I got those 4 gauge ones you linked a few months ago, and it was only $34.40 or so, LOL...price went up!

 

[SparkyJJO]

The resistance of a 4AWG aluminum wire 20 feet long is about 0.008 ohm. For copper, it goes down to 0.005. Not a huge difference unless you're talking hundreds of cranking amps.

Which you are on larger engines. My 4.2L engine's starter can pull 150A. 20 feet of 4 AWG will give me approximately 1.2V voltage drop. Copper wire drops it down to 0.75V. On larger engines with beefier starters it would be even more.

The drop is expected and is one reason why they always say to have the donor vehicle running with some extra throttle as that helps keep voltage up to help mitigate the loss in the jumper cable.

I'm not saying CCA is useless, I was just responding to your copper price comment more than anything.

 

[Plugers]

Get the largest conductor you can comfortably afford.

That being said I have jumped my GMC work van with 2 pieces of 12g solid core ground wire when I was in a bind, worked better than I ever expected. Started as good as my 2g cables.

 

[exar333]

Personally, I think it's important to have a pair of decent-quality jumper cables and (if possible) a decent plug-in battery charger at home.

My experiences with jump boxes are not very good. They don't hold charges in cold weather very well at all. The battery charger works great anywhere close to your home with a long extension cable, or you can simply remove the battery and charge it before putting it back in.

The good jumper cables can be used when your car fails to start anywhere. Don't cheap-out on the cables, but there isn't a need to get a huge set either IMHO. The more quality cables usually are more 'friendly' in sub-zero temps as well vs. the really cheap ones. That does matter when the wind is howling and it's -5F as you are trying to stretch and maneuver the cables for a jump.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm leery of jump starting stranger's cars. You never know what might happen. One time I went to jump start a woman's car and the starter was actually locked up. Almost ruined the cables and my alternator.

Cars are so loaded with electronics and computers these days, those sparks and spikes can be killers.

As far as my own vehicle, it does such a good job of preventing me from killing the battery, that I would be shocked if I went out in the morning and it didn't start.

I really can't leave anything on unintentionally. If it doesn't crank, it will almost have to be because something has failed, not because the battery has simply been discharged. Most likely, it will be when the battery reaches the end of it's life.

 

[exar333]

I'm leery of jump starting stranger's cars. You never know what might happen. One time I went to jump start a woman's car and the starter was actually locked up. Almost ruined the cables and my alternator.

Cars are so loaded with electronics and computers these days, those sparks and spikes can be killers.

As far as my own vehicle, it does such a good job of preventing me from killing the battery, that I would be shocked if I went out in the morning and it didn't start.

I really can't leave anything on unintentionally. If it doesn't crank, it will almost have to be because something has failed, not because the battery has simply been discharged. Most likely, it will be when the battery reaches the end of it's life.

If you live where it's cold, most likely you (generally speaking) have benefited from someone else jumping your vehicle. There are definitely risks, but the chance I damage a part in my car is so unimportant compared to helping someone start their car when their kid is sitting in an ice-cold vehicle in the middle of winter.

*shrug* Doesn't bother me I guess. There are plenty of people around here (MN) that literally drive around looking to help others when it gets really bad. That is really cool IMO. I feel like a douche driving past someone who obviously needs a jump...

 

[LTC8K6]

If you live where it's cold, most likely you (generally speaking) have benefited from someone else jumping your vehicle. There are definitely risks, but the chance I damage a part in my car is so unimportant compared to helping someone start their car when their kid is sitting in an ice-cold vehicle in the middle of winter.

*shrug* Doesn't bother me I guess. There are plenty of people around here (MN) that literally drive around looking to help others when it gets really bad. That is really cool IMO. I feel like a douche driving past someone who obviously needs a jump...

I meant using jumper cables...not that I wouldn't jump start someone who was stranded. I would let them use the jump starter doohickey.

We sure don't need two disabled vehicles...

 

[Capt Caveman]

My battery was slowly dying on my old vehicle and needed occasional jumps. My father let me borrow his jump box and I discovered it didn't have enough juice to start my vehicle. Thankfully, I had a set of jumper cables in the vehicle.

 

[wirednuts]

The jumper box protects your alternator and ECU, etc., from that idiot's piece of crap car...

yep. i just had some loser in his shitmobiles ask for a jump. the battery looked 15 years old. i told him "youre sure you got red on + right?"

hes like "yep!"

i hook my side up and see a small spark. i thought "yep, seems right"

of course it wouldnt start. then i looked at his dome light and it was dim as shit. i wiggled connections and it never got better. then i said, "you must have your side wrong"

he goes "nope" then "oh... uh... yeah i do"

then i felt the cable and it was melting hot. he flipped the connections around, and i told him 'your battery is probably toast now" and sure enough, it was completely dead with no recovering it. i wasnt too happy to say the least.

and my experiences with jump boxes has been fairly good. you need a big one if you want to start bigger motors, but any 3.6l v6 or under the jump boxes usually work every time. i agree though, they only last 3-4 years. so find them on sale. i personally carry a set of cheap cables AND a cheap jumperpack. no need to break the bank on this stuff, you wont be using it much.

 

[rh71]

This thread reminds me I need to buy a set of jumper cables.

^^^ this

 

[dtgoodwin]

yep. i just had some loser in his shitmobiles ask for a jump. the battery looked 15 years old. i told him "youre sure you got red on + right?"

hes like "yep!"

i hook my side up and see a small spark. i thought "yep, seems right"

of course it wouldnt start. then i looked at his dome light and it was dim as shit. i wiggled connections and it never got better. then i said, "you must have your side wrong"

he goes "nope" then "oh... uh... yeah i do"

then i felt the cable and it was melting hot. he flipped the connections around, and i told him 'your battery is probably toast now" and sure enough, it was completely dead with no recovering it. i wasnt too happy to say the least.

and my experiences with jump boxes has been fairly good. you need a big one if you want to start bigger motors, but any 3.6l v6 or under the jump boxes usually work every time. i agree though, they only last 3-4 years. so find them on sale. i personally carry a set of cheap cables AND a cheap jumperpack. no need to break the bank on this stuff, you wont be using it much.

When using jumper cables, I ALWAYS insist on hooking up both pairs myself, without the vehicle running. I then start mine and let it "charge" the other battery for 5 minutes or so. I then shut off my car and have them try to start it. Most people don't think about what it does to your own vehicle when it's running and a gigantic electrical load is suddenly placed on it. Revving it when trying to start the other car is going to take a good chunk of life out of your alternator. Alternators don't like going from low output to full load instantly. Think about it. Your car's alternator isn't putting out power when you start, so it's not subjected to those conditions.

I've never had it fail on me, and have done it this way 20 or 30 times with my current vehicle (still on the original alternator at 180K).

 

[skyking]

Cables are far better than a jump box. If you are out and away from power, the good car's alternator can be used to charge the other battery quickly. It can put 40~60 amps into the dead battery and if left for a few minutes, the 'jump' is just about a non-event.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Alternators don't like going from low output to full load instantly.

OK, so what's super extra special bad about the voltage regulator fully energizing the field coil? The field current isn't many amps at all and it's not much work to modulate. Going from light load to full load on an alternator for a modern passenger car (100-150 amp alternator) represents a swing of only something like 10-15 amps in the field current.

Remember, alternators in cars don't use permanent magnets; the output of an alternator is controlled by modulating the current to the field coil which varies the strength of the electromagnets in the rotor. It doesn't hurt the alternator a bit to increase the field current quickly. (In fact, older mechanical voltage regulators modulated alternator output by switching the field coils on and off rapidly, effectively spending the entire life of the alternator going from no output to full output and back.)

What most automotive alternators don't like is running at/near full output for extended periods of time and this is only because they're not designed to dissipate the heat from full output for very long.

ZV

 

[wirednuts]

yeah i was going to say, alternators dont like overheating... but otherwise they are damn near bulletproof. i have a super special $100 120a alternator in my truck, its 9 years old 100K miles on it now... still turnin like a champ.

 

[sdifox]

I wouldn't want to jump anyone else's car. my battery is in the trunk under the "floor" of the trunk and I always have shit in the trunk. And chances are it will be winter when they need a jump.

 

[Baked]

I'm the conductor. I connect the 2 batteries with my finger and start the ignition.

But in all seriousness, I finally bought a pair of jumper cables for $12. It's a 8 footer and some what flexible. It'll do the job when the day comes... still waiting.

 

[SyndromeOCZ]

As mentioned up here, always watch for people putting them on backwards. I always keep a feel on one of the cables when I first hook them up to make sure they aren't starting to heat up.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Those must be monster cables. $42 jumper cables? Lol

 

[Ns1]

Those must be monster cables. $42 jumper cables? Lol

Feel free to post cheaper 20ft 4ga jumper cables.

 

[jagec]

When using jumper cables, I ALWAYS insist on hooking up both pairs myself, without the vehicle running. I then start mine and let it "charge" the other battery for 5 minutes or so. I then shut off my car and have them try to start it. Most people don't think about what it does to your own vehicle when it's running and a gigantic electrical load is suddenly placed on it. Revving it when trying to start the other car is going to take a good chunk of life out of your alternator. Alternators don't like going from low output to full load instantly. Think about it. Your car's alternator isn't putting out power when you start, so it's not subjected to those conditions.

I've never had it fail on me, and have done it this way 20 or 30 times with my current vehicle (still on the original alternator at 180K).

I always insist on hooking up both pairs myself, with my vehicle running. The battery is ALWAYS much more fragile than the alternator (often more expensive too), and I don't want to accidentally kill my battery and be stranded if they have a short or anything miserable like that. By connecting things in the right order, you can ensure a safe jump, or disconnect things before damaging your car if there are electrical problems. Once connected, I rev my car up slightly for several minutes to charge their battery, and then keep it revved up while they crank their car. Then disconnect cables, shake hands, drive away.

Hooking up the cables, THEN starting your car, puts more load on your alternator than connecting a running car to a dead car. Shutting down your car before they crank is also an unnecessary risk, and decreases the chance that their car will start.

Oh, and I've never replaced an alternator on any vehicle that I've owned, some of which went well over 180k.

 

[Zenmervolt]

By connecting things in the right order (ground on the frame, positive on the terminal, running car first, dead car second)

That's, uh, not the correct order... This is:

1) Positive terminal of dead battery
2) Positive terminal of good battery
3) Negative terminal of bad battery
4) Frame ground on car with good battery

Disconnect in reverse order.

ZV