Battery bank that can jump a car?

I had a 400amp booster from Costco and when my van went flat (not fully Flat but enough not to start) I tried the booster, I put it on the battery the LED went from red to green , I turned the key and it just went click. The van needs a certain voltage before it will even attempt a start, and the booster couldn’t supply enough.

The li-ion booster went back and I bought a caterpillar lead acid booster, it’s much bigger and heavier but it will start it no problem. It has started it 5 times on one charge ok. It even started a Mercedes sprinter van that was so dead none of the dashboard lights would come on. Best £60 spent in ages as when the li-ion failed to jump start I had to push the 2.5 ton van up a slope to bump start it on my own pushing 2.5 tons on a slope is hard work.

Which displacement is the engine you want To start? Diesel por gasoline??

I think that a proper lead acid battery is better, cheaper and safer.

Tagged for interest. I just helped my father in law boost his SUV with a motormaster eliminator 800. –30C here in Calgary. It worked fine.Its bulky and old though. When full, it loses its charge within a day. Needs a new battery. Anyone have experience/opinions on the battery-less super capicitor boosters? They are expensive but catch my interest.

Had an old Honda that did not turn off lights automatically, so a couple times/year would come back to a dead(ish) battery, dead enough to not start, but maybe……barely……light the dome light.
Got one of those jumper packs. I completely disconnected the Pb battery and the jumper pack would start the car. I never needed it after that but I did use it a couple times on friend’s cars and it worked fine.

If a battery is really dead, and the vehicle has a pretty high cranking requirement, even a full jump with huge cables from another running car may require several minutes of pre-charge before the jump will actually work. You may need to do the same thing with a jump pack.

Note- the better ones of these use LiFe cells. They will take a lot of abuse. MOST of them use Li-on (cheaper), not as rugged. I made an insulating/reflective jacket to put mine in to hopefully moderate the heat impact of sitting fully charged in a black car trunk, in the sun. Don’t KNOW it’ll help, but it sure won’t hurt.

I got my mom this years ago because I don’t want her using jumper cables. https://www.amazon.com/Wagan-EL9796-Quick-Jumper-Jumpstarter/dp/B00005OWK2 Best when time is not an issue.

I bought this on Amazun in 2016. (No longer available there) Has started my riding mower many times and my 5.9L Dodge Ram even when the dome light wouldn’t glow, and it was 32 degrees.

The compressor is very handy and works a treat.

A year ago I gave my SIL this.https://www.amazon.com/Bolt-Power-D29-Motorcycle-18000mAh/dp/B01N3SEJIJ/ref=sr_1_2?hvadid=78408985923529&hvbmt=bp&hvdev=c&hvqmt=p&keywords=bolt+d28&qid=1549832625&s=gateway&sr=8-2&tag=mh0b-20
He has needed it to start daughter’s SUV a couple of times and it worked fine… I have one, but have not needed it.
Although larger ones might be better the size becomes a problem. These small starters can be carried and used by women and people who no longer have the strength to lift a battery.

I would recommend the small jump starter, and the Bolt is one I know about.
Jerry

I’d ask a dealer mechanic that question. Not so sure thats true with newer vehicles. One way to find out is, start your car, and disconnect the battery and see what happens.

edit… Actually, don’t do that, it’s bad advise. From what I just read, you could damage the ECU, and diodes in the alternator.

I just replaced my 6yo battery. Froze in the cold wx we had a coupla weeks ago, ironically while I was taking my other car back’n’forth to work to charge its battery. Figured the battery was nearing its end-of-life anyway, getting weaker and weaker that it’d function fine under good circumstances but croke when I’d need it most.

Anyhoo, sure, you could jump a dead battery and have the alternator do all the heavy lifting charging it, but it puts a continuous heavy load on the alternator, not just running the car and all its electrojunk, but also trying to top off the cell from zero. Nice way to pop a diode-pack, fry a winding, etc.

On top of that, once the cell gets too depleted, its internal chemistry can get ruined just like running down a Li cell to nothing. Might even end up with a “leaky” battery, that self-discharges over time even with no load, and worse, puts a heavier strain on the alternator possibly taking the alternator down with it.

There are probably ways to test the cell to see its “internal health”, but in general, Pb-acid cells can be ruined if drained too low, even once.

I have decided to replace the battery just to be on the safe side. I looked around and found that Costco sells interstate batteries for far less than anyplace else. I an going to look at all these chargers and see which one I should pick up. Thanks for all the good info.

Btw the vehicle I am trying to start has a 3.8l V-6 engine.

i got a engergizer lithium jumper pack on sale and it started a car that had just died but if the battery is completly dead it wont do much. I wish they were more clear about that on the package. It’s better then nothing but I would rather have the big jumpers that use a lead acid battery even if they weigh a lot. Only benefit to the lithium pack is it keeps a charge forever but the others have to be topped up often.

they all have to be topped off from time to time

actually you can start most cars with the battery disconnected with the one I have
and with the low/dead battery not taking juice from the jumpers, it is easier to start.

then just reconnect the battery and the alternator starts charging it

you might have to reset your clock and my Ram needs to reprogram its brain automatically to my driving habits.

Had no issue starting a 2.0 diesel Audi with a completely dead battery. Ignition lights came on but wouldn’t even attempt to crank

https://www.anker.com/ca/products/variant/car-jump-starter-and-portable-charger-2-in-1/A1314171

This one outputs 200 amps and 400 amps peak.

Considering it’s small (44.4 Wh) it will only help when your car starts well if the battery isn’t flat.
If you usually have to try to get your car started for minutes until it fires up, this pack isn’t sufficient.

It is possible to jump start a car with no battery connected other than a smallish (like 2000mah) 4S lipo. Sure, the lipo won’t like it but it works. Yes, the cables are “thin” but they are also very short.

I work part time at a car auction that moves 7000 used cars (in one sale day) a week. This is the one we use: Clore Booster PAC ES5000 https://www.jumpstarterreviews.org/booster-pac-es5000-jump-starter-review
It will work all day (10 to 15 cars) without a recharge.

Hi Deputy Dog,
I have no doubt that that jump starter willl work, but the size and weight take it out of the range of some women and elderly. The small ones work fine and can be easily carried and handled.
Jerry

How old is elderly? You can’t carry it in a purse, but… I’m 61. Many of the guys and gals using them are 10 to 20 years older than I am. It only weighs 18 pounds.

Edited to add: If you’re not able to lift 18 pounds, how are you going to get the hood up?

There are elderly who can lift much more, but also those who have trouble walking. The small ones can easily be kept in your auto without taking up much room. Let folks take their choice.
I am 86 and had a staph infection in my lumbar spine in 2008, and some days I have trouble walking without a walker. In addition I am now having hip problems. While I can handle the 18 pounds I find it simpler to use a lighter one. I don’t think it takes 18 pounds to lift the hood of my Toyota Sienna, but never had a reason to find out.

I was hunting in the mountains and carrying deer out on a packboard at your age, but it only takes a heartbeat for big changes to occur.

I change my car batteries about every 4 years. I don’t consider it very wise to try to get the last 6 months out of a battery since today you have no warning like the old days. I do the same in the case of tires, especially since I can no longer change a tire.
Regards, Jerry