03-25-2015, 08:06 PM
There is no way that is going to do anything to help jump start a car.
Wrong.
They work best if your battery is in decent shape and is only suffering from being discharged
Right.
If you have a really dead battery, discharged to 0V, this may not help. If you have a bad battery, one that has a problem holding a charge, this very likely won't help.
But a *good* battery that's died because you left the lights or dome light on (less of a likelihood with a lot of cars) will often heal itself just by turning off the drain and letting it sit. This is the type of condition that a little "jump starter" will "fix".
Using the instructions provided with most of those little "jump chargers" you're not actually jumping the battery in the traditional sense, you're jump starting the charging process. The instructions will usually say to disconnect the device before trying to start the car.
As Bill says, you need something like the device he linked to, to actually jump start the car, and not just the battery.
I see no real value in any of them for personal use, if you maintain your battery and replace it when it shows symptoms of failing. Cold weather can make for an ugly surprise, so the little chargers may help.
Wrong.
They work best if your battery is in decent shape and is only suffering from being discharged
Right.
If you have a really dead battery, discharged to 0V, this may not help. If you have a bad battery, one that has a problem holding a charge, this very likely won't help.
But a *good* battery that's died because you left the lights or dome light on (less of a likelihood with a lot of cars) will often heal itself just by turning off the drain and letting it sit. This is the type of condition that a little "jump starter" will "fix".
Using the instructions provided with most of those little "jump chargers" you're not actually jumping the battery in the traditional sense, you're jump starting the charging process. The instructions will usually say to disconnect the device before trying to start the car.
As Bill says, you need something like the device he linked to, to actually jump start the car, and not just the battery.
I see no real value in any of them for personal use, if you maintain your battery and replace it when it shows symptoms of failing. Cold weather can make for an ugly surprise, so the little chargers may help.