Urgent help needed. Best battery jumper box advic

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Thank you for reading it.

My car has an electrical short that will drain the battery if the brake is pressed when the car is off. Pressing the brake turns all electrical accessaries on with the motor still off. I need advice on what is the good battery jumper box. I have a box from AAP and a Black&Decker from Walmart. Both are junk even though they are fairly new, with the Walmart one only 2 months old and never used. I was left stranded in West Virginia yesterday and they didn't work even though I charged them for 30+ hrs before the trip.

Some nice fellow gave me a jump using his Snap On jumper. I can't find Snap On jumper around here but just bought a very large one from Chicago Electrics Power Tools at Harbor Freight Tolls store. This is a large model with 1200 Amps maximum discharge and 600 Amps normal discharge. Is this a good tool or should I get something else. This is a highest model Harbor Freight Tools had. Any other tried and trusted jumper by the BITOG community.

I am going on a trip to Florida and really need to get one. Battery, Alternator, and chargining system were checked by both AAP and Sears. I even put in a work order at Sears in WV to have battery replacement and system check. They said I didn't need a battery after installing it. Since they refuse a $115 sale and only charged me for checking, I know they really did what is best. The problem is a short and the car needs jumping if the battery is drained again. I need a [censored] fine jumper box and cost isn't a concern but I want to be able to purchased it at a store and it needs not be way too big like those that need to be on wheels.
 
Well, this may seem dumb, but with a $10 manual that has wiring diagrams, and a $5 Multimeter, you could simply fix your electrical issue.

-Rouphis
 
Right on...Or atleast you could pull the fuse that has the current draw until you get it fixed. But since this is not what M1Accord was asking, I'll tell you that any of those jumper boxes should have worked for you. Are you sure they were hooked up properly? The box I have you actually have to turn on a switch to enable the jump start feature.
 
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I'm with the two above that suggest fixing the problem istead of spending a bunch of cash on jumpers.

However, if you don't intend to fix it soon.... Instead of spending a bunch of cash on another jumper box.... why not spend $5 on a wrench and just disconnect the NEG cable from the battery whenever you're not driving the car.
 
I would fix the problem if possible. I had a 93 Dynasty that would drain the battery in about four hours when it got below 32 degrees. Traced it to the electronic transmission relay. In lieu of pulling the tranny to replace the module, I opted for a 20.00 battery disconnect switch. Hooked in line with the negative battery terminal, I just opened the hood and turned the knob down to make contact and when I parked it, I just opened the hood and loosened the knob to break the connection. It's a bit redneck but, I'm cheap and lazy. Never had a dead battery after that and I sold it to a co-worker who is still driving it and doing the same thing. The tranny shop wanted 900.00 to pull and replace the module, the parts was 144.00 with 6 hours labor.
 
The problem can't be fixed easily. I took it to a few shops and they said they would need to spend at least 3 hrs to determine what is wrong before they can fix anything. If it was simple, I would have fixed it.

I know how to use jump box and I know the jump boxes I bought cheap are junk. I am asking what is considered a good brand and that should exclude junks sold at Walmart and other places intended to be used just once or twice. I am looking for the types tow truck people use.

The problem isn't about the car draining the battery when not driving, it has more to do with a short, which is activated when I step on the brake and the car isn't on. Removing the negative terminal isn't going to fix the problem and only wastes my time.

I am leaving for a long road trip and am not going to play around with electrical right before to make things worse. I only need a good jump box to start to the car if it fails to start again. The problem only happens once in a blue moon and Sears thinks the culprit is caused by the short.
 
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I prefer a spare battery to a jump box. I have never bought a jump box in my entire life. A car battery has more capacity than the battery in a jump box
 
Originally Posted By: ksJoe
Since you're not interested in fixing it, how about a cuttoff switch ?


The battery doesn't drain itself when in storage. The electrical short activated by depressing the brake pedal drain the battery. We were taught to keep our foot on the brake pedal while as we turns our cars off for safety reason. With this short, I have to do an extra step and let off the pedal while the vehicle is in Park and the e-brake is engine before turning off the engine and remove the key. I also feel weary about sitting in traffic and be on the brake constantly if A/C is used. I turn A/C of and rolls the windows down a bit to not put too much strain on the battery.

I am going to get the problem fix, just not right now before a 3000 miles trip. A good battery jumper is the way to way. Sure, an extra battery used as a jump is also good but if I am on a long trip, I would need to recharge such battery in case I need to use it again. A jumper can be recharged while the vehicle is moving and be ready for the next usage.

I now may have to delay my trip and take the vehicle to Peps Boy to see how much this would cost to fix, if it is even fixable. Local shops wants a lot of money and there is no guarantee they can actually get it right the first time and not screw other things up in the process.
 
I am quite disappointed by the answers I received so far. Folks tends to not be able to stick to the question at hand and recommend things that aren't relevant. I hope this won't be a trend when real question is asked instead seeking advice to see if 5W30 will destroy engine spec-ed for 10W30.
 
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At the risk of giving another disappointing post... Is there room under your hood to install a second battery? If you could permanently install a second battery, you could use a couple cuttoff switches to switch between which batter is being used. Flip back back and forth when you think about it, and you've always got a fully charged spare ready to go.
 
Originally Posted By: M1Accord
I am quite disappointed by the answers I received so far. Folks tends to not be able to stick to the question at hand and recommend things that aren't relevant. I hope this won't be a trend when real question is asked instead seeking advice to see if 5W30 will destroy engine spec-ed for 10W30.

I have one from Schumacher Electric. It's an older model (I got mine in 2006) of the following. As far as I can tell, nothing has really changed much about it since the one I got except maybe the graphics. All the buttons and lights seem to be in the same place. The power supply is built-in, but requires something that can connect to a recessed plug (like you'd find on an electric weed whacker). I use a cheap extension cord and one of those 2 to 3-prong converters, which serves as an extension of the plug. It doesn't draw a whole lot of current when charging anyways. You might also be able to use an electric appliance cord.

http://store.schumachermart.com/ps-120a.html
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TD6S9U

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It's not the biggest, but it's worked well when other jump starters (more on this later) didn't work. I bought mine (a pair actually) for about $40 each, but the prices have steadily gone up. It's been able to start everything from a Civic to my WRX (when my wife left the map lights on) and a Camry with an expiring battery. It looks somewhat small in the photo, but it's rather thick and heavy. From the top it looks almost square. I've used it on the family cars as well as a coworker and one stranger in a parking lot.

I bought a Black & Decker (licensed by Vector) model that claimed to have lots of power but doesn't seem to work well. It would only jump start if the battery was barely unable to start the engine.
 
There is no room in under the hood to install another battery. I am thinking about replacing the battery tomorrow and keep the old one as a jump unit. This means I would return the Chicago Electric Power Tools jumper, which I can't find any place rating this place. Amazon has a unit looking exactly like it but under a different name and in different color. There is only 1 review for it with a 1 star rating. This is the only brand Harbor Freight Tool store carries. I can't find Snap-On jumper anywhere around here.

I have a Black and Decker which has never been used until this Saturday and it is a piece of [censored]. It was bought last year, charged every 3 months for 10-20 hrs and was even left charged for a long time before the trip and it still didn't work. I am going to stop buying anything like bb label.
 
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I saw a decent one at Costco for $60. I NEVER had luck with the cheap ones from Harbor Freight. We bought those at work, the batteries are too weak to jump even a Civic and the cables are fragile.

I'd check the brake switch circuit ASAP.
 
I know you were disappointed by my recommendation to buy another battery when you were expecting a recommendation of a good jump box but it looks like you are going to buy another battery anyway. You can keep a spare battery charged by attaching two jumper clips to the end of a cigarette lighter adaptor cord and keeping your spare battery hooked up while you are driving your car.
 
i would second the schumacher unit- i have one and it works great. I picked mine up at TSC- tractor suppy
 
Originally Posted By: M1Accord
I have a Black and Decker which has never been used until this Saturday and it is a piece of [censored]. It was bought last year, charged every 3 months for 10-20 hrs and was even left charged for a long time before the trip and it still didn't work. I am going to stop buying anything like bb label.

I'm guessing it was the VEC010BD, which is licensed by Vector. It's just a different colored version of the Vector VEC010. I bought one of the B&D labeled ones few years back at Wal-Mart. I thought it was a good deal for $35+tax. The label claimed 300 amps and it came with a lighter plug adapter (to charge off a car's power supply). That thing barely works, although the light is OK. There are some larger ones which are more powerful, but that basic Vector jump starter can't even start a Civic with a depleted battery. You can sort of tell by lifting it up and getting a feeling for how heavy the battery is. These things are mostly just battery weight.

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I'm wishing that I bought another one of the Schumacher units for my wife. It was about $50 a couple of years ago, but the prices just shot up.
 
Those cheap jumpers just have, at the best, little lawnmower batteries inside. Go to walmart and look at their cheapest 12 volt lawnmower battery, it's $15-20, and weigh it. It's lead that makes this stuff work; the more weight, the more zip you have.

I agree with the above posts that say just get a new car battery; it'll be half the price because it doesn't have all that plastic junk surrounding it. Jumpers like that sold in Target etc are designed to be "friendly" towards women. I had a friend who detailed used cars at an auction; they had a handcart with two normal batteries wired together in parallel and beefy cables. They'd jump car after car in rows without exhausting their homemade remedy.

Plus I very much doubt your brake switch diagnosis. You could try getting a test light and putting it between a battery terminal and its disconnected lead; if the light's on the car is drawing power. Do this after shutting your car down with the pedal on, and off.

Probably your trunk, glovebox, or hood light is always on, or your aftermarket radio/security system/starter if you have them is to blame.
 
I have the b&d and it is junk in my opinion. The Harbor Freight Tools I got is over 80 dollars and has 1200 peak amps. The current battery is still very good according to both AAP, Walmart, and Sears. All three places feel that I don't need the battery and didn't process the sale unless I want to really push the issue. That makes me think it is fine since most places would sale you stuffs even when you don't need.

I am at a cross-road.
 
The car doesn't drain battery on its own. I know this because I often leave it parking for 3 days before using it. It is the brake pedal that causes the short. I also don't need a battery. You guys really don't like to read information because spilling recommendations. It is like telling someone to replace the rims when the sympston is the tires; I could replace rims all year and still have the same problem.

Basically, I am asking for a quick fix-it recommendation and I barely think it is given here. Whatever happened to BITOG experts.
 
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