Is Jump Starting Still A Viable Practice?

[supton]

I used to jump people's cars. These days I'd demur. I haven't gotten a jump box (yet) but I'm not sure if I'd loan that out, same reason why I wouldn't jump now, too much risk. Even if I don't buy into worrying about voltage spikes, I'd rather fake ignorance and defer helping (pretty easy to do, what with my New England & Gen X attitude). For friends, sure I'd help, but not for strangers, not anymore.

Everyone has a cellphone today, they can use it and inconvenience their own friends.

 

[Blueshound]

I carry a Noco jump battery under the seat. Would assist a stranger only if safe. But I'd drive anywhere to help jump start friend or family.

 

[danez_yoda]

Electrical engineer here. Many of the old wives tails about jumpstarting are just ridiculous. If you can manage negative and positive to positive without shorting the two together (no matter how fun the sparks are to look at) you'll be fine.

Key pro tips.
1) connect to the dead battery first. why?? because its dead and if the other ends clap together, there is less energy to cause sparks.

2) Connect to the battery terminals and get a secure mechanical connection but it doesn't need to be super great. It just needs to be stable enough that when the motor starts it doesn't shake them off. Clamping ground to the metal chassis is more problematic than to the battery terminals. You will change the starter current path to a location where the manufacturer didn't intend and it could loop through some sensitive circuits. Yes it would be better to connect near the starter but most people cant identify the starter anyway. You are only flowing a few 10s of amps into the dead battery, not 100s of amps. The point is to charge the other cars battery with your alternator until it is able to provide most of the cranking amps to start it. Trying to crank from another cars battery is where trouble comes in. Which leads to #3

3) Don't crank the car as soon as the cables are connected. give it a good 5-10 minutes to charge the battery first. Most of the electrical problems are not spikes but brownouts (low voltage). The memory chips in the computer don't like the voltage bouncing below and above it minimum operating voltage over and over again. They will sometimes glitch and overwrite/erase some memory locations then you lost the programming. Easy enough for an tech to reprogram but the dealership doesn't tell you that. They sell you a new computer and send that one in for reprogramming. Cha-ching!

4) I like to check the battery charge with the headlight and brake lights before cranking the car. if they are strong, it should be ready to crank. With the LED ones today that is not as useful than when it was incandescent. high beams also tell the story. if the dash lights dim when you hit the high beams, battery is still too weak.

4) Once cranked take to time to carefully remove the cables from either end and be very careful to keep the red and black from touching until both ends are disconnected. It doesn't matter which end gets disconnected first but take both connectors off one end then the other. There is no hurry to do it so dont rush yourself and make a mistake.

if you do all of these. the electronics inside won't know the difference. The car may feel funny since all the save setting will have to reset and the car may need to (tune) itself again. I hate this since there are many memory chips on the market that can save settings and not lose it when the power is disconnected. Oh well.

 

[atikovi]

As long as I’m in New Jersey it’s call 911 and keep on keeping on.

Great to hear you're using emergency services to jump your car, when somebody may need a boost to their heart.

 

[nomas]

Great to hear you're using emergency services to jump your car, when somebody may need a boost to their heart.

I really doubt they send a Paramedic unit to a dead battery call .

 

[atikovi]

I really doubt they send a Paramedic unit to a dead battery call .

I can't believe they would send ANYBODY, but you're still tying up the line for somebody in a real emergency.

 

[Cruisin'n5thgear]

I can't believe they would send ANYBODY, but you're still tying up the line for somebody in a real emergency.

Knowing Jersey traffic and Jersey drivers, a stalled vehicle can be an immediate safety concern.

 

[sky jumper]

I can't believe they would send ANYBODY, but you're still tying up the line for somebody in a real emergency.

in my village you have to call 911 for any police assistance. if you call the police dept directly they tell you to call 911 no matter what the reason. its used as a general dispatch service. to report roadkill, rabid coyotes, neighbors cutting down protected trees, etc. however, while they will respond to a dead battery I do not believe they will provide a jump. but for any car breakdown situation they will stay with you until auto service arrives if you ask them to.

 

[brianl703]

Knowing Jersey traffic and Jersey drivers, a stalled vehicle can be an immediate safety concern.

A vehicle stalled and blocking traffic is worthy of a 911 call anywhere. It is a hazard that could result in an accident that results in serious injury or death.

 

[y_p_w]

I used to use my box, although after about 15 years it no longer worked well and a new battery seems like it might not be worth it after I took it apart. I'm worried that it's more than just the battery. But I'd offered it many times to friends and relatives, as well as coworkers and the occasional stranger.

As for starting a car with jumper cables (which I've helped with and been helped), I don't do it with my engine started unless it's a really tough case. If the battery is strong, that should be enough. I also don't like keeping the engine running just in case someone sees it as a chance to take off in my car.

I guess there are a few things that can be done, including using the jumpers just to charge with the cables connected, and then let the other car start on its own.

 

[MasterSolenoid]

in today's day & age I would not offer a jump to or ask for a jump from a stranger. reasonable chance you will end up being accused of damaging their car. not worth it. everyone has a cell phone they can call auto service, 911, family member, etc.

this is also why I stopped helping people with car repairs/home repairs. you will forever be blamed for anything that goes wrong in the future no matter how unrelated it may be to the service you performed. I replaced a friends brake pads once. he bought the pads, cheapest ones at the discount auto store. many years later his wife took the car back to me because the brakes were squeaking. the pads were still fine but were glazed and a bit grooved, so I sanded them and rotated them, added more anti-squeal grease. she was upset that I didn't put new pads on at my expense, I told her it wasn't necessary and they were way out of warranty anyway. several years later she brought the car back again demanding I fix the recurring squeak. I said no, and that was the end of that friendship.

If it were my vehicle and you replaced the brake pads, that is what I would have remembered.
You made the effort as a friend, that is what's important.

I've done work for my own family.
I get the, "thanks, I owe you lunch".
Either they forget or my effort was not appreciated.
That's the way people are (well, most people).

 

[Astro14]

A vehicle stalled and blocking traffic is worthy of a 911 call anywhere. It is a hazard that could result in an accident that results in serious injury or death.

A vehicle stalled and blocking traffic probably won’t be helped by a jump. It’s got other issues.

Dead batteries cause start problems, which usually happen in parking lots.

 

[atikovi]

A vehicle stalled and blocking traffic is worthy of a 911 call anywhere. It is a hazard that could result in an accident that results in serious injury or death.

Nope, you call a tow truck for that. Blocking traffic is inconvenient but not something that results in serious injury or death unless you extrapolate it to the extreme. By that argument you should call 911 because there is snow covering your driveway and you cant get out.

 

[brianl703]

Nope, you call a tow truck for that. Blocking traffic is inconvenient but not something that results in serious injury or death unless you extrapolate it to the extreme. By that argument you should call 911 because there is snow covering your driveway and you cant get out.

I don't call a tow truck for someone else's vehicle.

If I see someone else's vehicle broken down and blocking traffic, particularly if it's unattended, I'll call 911 or the non-emergency number.

And if someone's vehicle breaks down on one of these wonderful hilly, curvy "Byrd-era" 2-lane roads we have here in Virginia, you are risking a head-on collision to try to go around it.

So that stuff needs to get towed off the road ASAP.

As an FYI, on Interstate highways in Virginia, even a broken-down vehicle on the shoulder is considered a safety hazard and the state police will have them towed.

 

[Puhdantic]

If you want control of the situation, and are lucky enough to be the party with the running car, take the keys from the dead car and hold them. Tell the victim that you're hooking up all the cables, but they're allowed to call "stop" if they don't like what they're seeing.

Then start your car, let things charge up, and hand the keys over when you're ready for the victim to try.

There are two sorts of victims out there, legitimate ones who either left a light on or just discovered their battery expired. And ghetto trash who "know it all" and who'll be in their car hitting the key seconds after you make the connection. You'll be lucky if the latter don't "test" your battery and alternator by sparking the clips together.

As far as damaging electronics, if the recipient car has, say, an arced connection to a battery post that causes high resistance, this also eliminates or reduces that battery's ability to filter power. If a donor comes along with an already running car and starts scraping the jumper leads against painted metal, sparks flying, for a "better connection" I can see that causing issues.

I agree. Clueless people just want to go and they got no idea what they're doing.

If anything, the only thing I'd offer to do is use my jump pack. That way my car stays totally safe and they can take it or leave it.