What is a good 12V battery jump starter

Maintenance/Repairs
1

I was stranded with a dead battery out in the country, roadside assist took 2 hours to arrive,
what kind of battery jump starter do you recommend, car is a standard pickup-12V-thanks

2

Tester

3

thanks - do you recommend from personal experience?
maybe you know what’s going on here:
after my battery was restarted, these warning lights came on: brake, ABS, slide- intermittently,
and at the same time the speedometer needle was also jumping around while driving, then about 10 miles driving, the warning lights disappeared and the speedometer needle did not act up anymore, is this connected to a bad battery? the car won’t start again, i need another jump start to buy a new battery, the battery is 5 years old, with a 84 months warranty,
to get the warranty applied is a hassle, make appointment with dealership, testing battery 2-3 hours, pay for installation, or diagnostic - autozone or similar car parts store free installation-

4

A bad battery can cause all sorts of electrical glitches in a vehicle.

Once a battery is three years old or older it becomes questionable.

Tester

3 Likes
5

it was totally weird driving like this- thanks

6

what do you think about the NOCO Boost Plus

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1 Like
7

The battery will be prorated at the dealer so you will not get much of a discount. Just go someplace that will install one for free . Even Walmart batteries are good.

8

That’s another good one.

Tester

9

GOOLOO GT4000S Portable Jump Starter - GT4000S Jump Starter - GOOLOO

I bought one of these for my new vehicle just to have in case. I have not used it on my vehicle but have jumped my neighbors handicap van with electric lift twice. and the battery was stone dead both times and did not have a problem. it has a boost button which allowed me to jump his van. It is rated from minus 4 to 140 degrees. they have one rated down to minus 40 degrees with a built-in heater. but being I’m in Florida so I don’t need it. they have sales all the time and they have different models that are cheaper. I keep mine in the house and take it with me when I leave. With the high temps here, I worry about leaving in the vehicle. better safe than sorry.

10

Just bought one of those.

11

How about you just make it as simple as possible?

This weekend, just buy whichever one is in stock at Costco, Walmart, or wherever you shop

1 Like
12

DB is being logical again . :slight_smile:

1 Like
13

I have the Fatmax I got when on sale at Sam’s. Upside includes air compressor, down side uses lead acid batteries, so needs to be plug in about once a week for longest life.
I live where we have two seasons, hot and muggy, the other season is hot and raining. I replace batteries within four years.
As noted above, the various computers and microprocessors in current vehicles do not like bad batteries.

14

how about buying the battery at o’reilly (closest shop)? they offer free installation, at the dealer
they will charge about $80-

1 Like
15

thanks- i will compare all suggestions -

16

Got a schumachrer Jump starter 5 years ago, as daughter was stranded. Worked fine, probably helped my neighbors and their kids 5 or 6 times, May still be good, but no way to test. $70 was worth it. My battery was going, free replacement under 2 year warranty so I did not have to test it this year.

17

can you share which model?

18

Schumacher Built4power 600 amp. sj1329

19

I bought several from Harbor Freight for less than $100, jump pack and pump, for each of my cars. I have used the jump pack 2 or 3 times over the past 6 or 7 years on someone elses car. I have used the pump many many times. I recharge them every month or two unless I use the pump, then recharge right after use.

20

The lead acid ones are cheaper but they go bad in 6 to 10 years no matter how you take care of them. They typically have a high rate 18 amp hour sealed lead acid battery inside, but now cheaper ones have a smaller 12 amp hour inside and it won’t start a larger engine. They have to be charged for several hours every couple months or capacity will be lost. If left on the charger all the time, they can go bad within a year.

Cranking Amps is measured as Amps for 30 seconds above 7.2 Volts. But these jump starter makers have inflated ratings like 1 second short circuit rating.

Lithium ion is better due to less storage mainteance needed. Both types are bad if used when cold.