Will You Jump Someone Else's Car?

[nthach]

Originally Posted by Linctex
Originally Posted by nthach

I have a Li-Ion jump pack I carry now but I feel it's more appropriate for a Prius or Fit.


Those will start full size pick-up trucks with ease!

I'm not sure if I want to test that theory out. It's certainly plausible - Li-Ions are energy dense.

 

[Whipcitywrencher]

Originally Posted by Gebo
In the past, I would "always" jump someone else's car. I didn't think twice about it. I recently have come to the understanding that I could really mess up someone's car including my own in doing so. There are these horror stories of someone's electrical components being destroyed either on the giving or receiving end of the cables.

What is your feeling on this? Will you jump a complete stranger's car? Do you just stick with people you know like co-workers? Will you only do family? Or will you only do your own vehicles?



Yes and many times,
Some day I may need the same.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted by Chris142
Yes but I will the The cable hooker upper.


same here, and the donee has the right to watch and veto before any hookups are made.

I also hold the keys until I feel enough time has gone by for their battery to get a surface charge. Too many impatient sorts start grinding the second they see the dome light come on.

 

[ZZman]

Yes, of course. Have and will.

 

[Alfred_B]

Have and will. Of course, with complex vehicles the user manual will need to be consulted first.

 

[JimPghPA]

I have jump started straingers vehicles in the past, but am much more cautious now days.

The last time I jump started a straingers vehicle was last winter with snow on the ground at night. They had a very old truck with bad paint and rust, and it was a young couple with kids in the vehicle and bags full of groceries. He had the hood up and as I walked by him to go to my car I saw that the battery was a top terminal with very corroded terminals and it looked cruddy. I figured it was old. I asked him if he needed a jump and he said yes. I told him I have a very good set of jumper cables but they are in my garage back home, wait ten to fifteen minutes for me to go home get rid of my groceries and come back with the cables. I did, connected it up and it fired right up. I think they were surprise in the first place that I offered to help, because they were of a different race. Anyhow, after it started he offered me a five for helping out and I told him to keep it, your going to need it to buy a new battery.

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Someone posted about being careful that the person looking for help is not someone looking to use you stopping to rob you, or car-jack you. I had not thought of that, but now days it is something to keep in mind.

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One thing I always do when I jump start a vehicle is turn off the engine of the good vehicle and leave it off. You do not want to take the small chance of damaging your alternator by over-loading it with the load of the bad vehicle trying to start.

Sometimes if the bad vehicle has a completely dead battery, and jumping it will not work, you can get it to work by charging the bad battery for fifteen minutes with the vehicles connected and running the good vehicle. However before I attempt this I always have the owner of the bad vehicle give me every set of keys to the bad vehicle so there is no way they can try cranking the engine on the bad vehicle while the good vehicle is running. Then after fifteen minutes I turn off the good vehicle, give them there keys back, and let them try to start it. I usually works.

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One time back in the 1970's I was going to roads end junk yard and the one lane dirt road to it had a big earth mover sitting sideways in the middle of the road with a stalled engine. I had a long set of 12 gauge jumper wires with me that I sometimes used to charge my grandmothers little garden tractor. The battery for the earth mover was on the side of it, and it was only one 12 Volt battery that was very big, and I though my cars battery was way too small, and my wires were way too light a gauge but charging the big battery might work. I told the driver that it would take a while, but I could connect my car to the earth mover and charge the battery and it might start. After about 20 minutes of charging I disconnected it and they tried it and it started. They moved it, and I was then able to get to the junk yard.

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One of the reasons I am cautious about jumping any vehicle is that I have seen a bad battery explode as soon as the cables were connected, and rain acid on the person doing the jump start, and he said he had the polarity correct. Fortunately for me I was far away from it when it happened.

One of the things to keep in mind is where are you going to run to to get under a shower or turn on a hose if you get sprayed with acid.

The last time I jump started something there was a young boy who wanted to get in close and watch. I told him to get far away, because there is a very small chance the bad battery will explode and scatter acid everywhere around it. I have seen it happen.

 

[IndyFan]

Yep. It is an easy way to help someone in need. I'd rather do that than to not help someone and then rationalize it to make myself believe it was a good decision.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by brages
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl

Not that I'd ever get stranded because of a bad battery. I'd have to be down right lazy since me vehicle gives me ample warning of a weak battery.


Is this true? How does it work?



I get a dash notification. My vehicle has stop/start technology and it will fire a warning when the battery is at the point where the feature may not function. This is in addition to the typical long cranks associated with a failing battery. Plus I'm well aware of the age of my battery.

I've been driving for well over 20 years and the number of times I've needed a jump. Answer: Zero.

I've been driving for 59 years and if your battery short circuits you get no warning.

 

[PWMDMD]

Where the [censored] do you people live?! I've been driving for 25 years and the first time I had to jumpstart a car was 2 years ago and it was one of my own cars in my driveway. The situation just hasn't presented itself otherwise....

 

[AC1DD]

Originally Posted by PWMDMD
Where the [censored] do you people live?! I've been driving for 25 years and the first time I had to jumpstart a car was 2 years ago and it was one of my own cars in my driveway. The situation just hasn't presented itself otherwise....


The truth is that there are many people just barely getting by, many Americans don't even have 100$ in the bank right now.

 

[P10crew]

OP of coarse I would. A lot different here than a lot of the country. I read threads like this and just scratch my head. Not allowed to get political so that's it.
Mines a 90 not gonna screw that up

 

[Al]

I carry this:

Also you can shut your car off and jump them

 

[super20dan]

my neighbor jumped another neighbors Toyota Avalon and it fried the computer. I drive a Silverado and tell people I cant jump them due to the tiny GM batt posts.

 

[spasm3]

I will, but only if i hook up the cables on both vehicles.

 

[brages]

Originally Posted by PWMDMD
Where the [censored] do you people live?! I've been driving for 25 years and the first time I had to jumpstart a car was 2 years ago and it was one of my own cars in my driveway. The situation just hasn't presented itself otherwise....


I have had to jump start because:

I left the lights on (probably more than once, hasn't happened in a while, though)
Someone left the dome light on
I had a parasitic drain from a failed part
And I had batteries die without warning (at least twice, maybe three times)

 

[michaelluscher]

Yes.

I've been on both sides of the situation

Lots of people these days either don't have cables, or don't know how to use them safely

I cover both

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted by tig1
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted by brages
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl

Not that I'd ever get stranded because of a bad battery. I'd have to be down right lazy since me vehicle gives me ample warning of a weak battery.


Is this true? How does it work?



I get a dash notification. My vehicle has stop/start technology and it will fire a warning when the battery is at the point where the feature may not function. This is in addition to the typical long cranks associated with a failing battery. Plus I'm well aware of the age of my battery.

I've been driving for well over 20 years and the number of times I've needed a jump. Answer: Zero.

I've been driving for 59 years and if your battery short circuits you get no warning.


Ya well if my AGM short circuits then I'm just SOL.

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted by Al
I carry this:

Also you can shut your car off and jump them


That's a battery charger, not a jump pack. What do you do if you're not near a socket?

 

[gathermewool]

Originally Posted by JimPghPA


One thing I always do when I jump start a vehicle is turn off the engine of the good vehicle and leave it off. You do not want to take the small chance of damaging your alternator by over-loading it with the load of the bad vehicle trying to start.

Sometimes if the bad vehicle has a completely dead battery, and jumping it will not work, you can get it to work by charging the bad battery for fifteen minutes with the vehicles connected and running the good vehicle. However before I attempt this I always have the owner of the bad vehicle give me every set of keys to the bad vehicle so there is no way they can try cranking the engine on the bad vehicle while the good vehicle is running. Then after fifteen minutes I turn off the good vehicle, give them there keys back, and let them try to start it. I usually works.


That's very interesting. I've never once jumped a vehicle with the engine in the good vehicle OFF. I'd worry about overly-depleting my battery or, worst case, ending up with two batteries that are JUST too weak to start either engine.

I'm pretty sure I've been able to hear the difference in how an alternator sounds based on the load on it, especially in older vehicles. A dead battery does put a good load on the alternator, but I don't think it would be detrimental unless it's at capacity for an extended period of time (e.g., while pumping max amps into a shorted battery!) Heck, it's not like your method results in a dead battery coming back to anywhere near full. Once started, their alternator will be working hard to fill the battery back up, as best it can, for a much longer time than it would take to give them some juice to jump with.

For batteries that are depleted JUST enough not to start, the vehicle with the bad battery can usually be started immediately after the jumper cables are connected, so that the cables aren't even connected for more than, say, 15 seconds. Like I mentioned above, the Beamer I jumped yesterday with my NOCO jump pack started immediately upon connection. I don't think it was connected for more than 5-10 seconds in this case.

Note: I think we all know that NO cables should be connected for long with both cars running. There is no need to run both alternators in parallel, especially since I've noticed a tendency for people to want to rev their engines a bunch just after being jumped. So, it's better to let the good engine run for a bit BEFORE starting the bad vehicle if it doesn't start immediately. Immediately disconnect jumper cables when the bad vehicle starts and runs.

 

[PWMDMD]

Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by PWMDMD
Where the [censored] do you people live?! I've been driving for 25 years and the first time I had to jumpstart a car was 2 years ago and it was one of my own cars in my driveway. The situation just hasn't presented itself otherwise....


The truth is that there are many people just barely getting by, many Americans don't even have 100$ in the bank right now.


I understand. I'm not saying I see people who need a jump and I've just ignored them for 25 years. I'm saying I simply have not seen or come across anyone who has needed a jump in 25 years. Based on this thread, it seems like you are all jumping people every other day...