Why Jumpstarters are now leaving people stranded
Battery Jumpstarters will leave you STRANDED if you don't know this trick. I hate how these work but as long as you know you will be able to jump start any vehicles.
Hulkman Jumpstarter: amzn.to/3USAHCX
Favorite Tools: www.amazon.com/shop/silvercymbal
Disclaimer:
Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, I cannot guarantee against improper use or unauthorized modifications of this information. Silver Cymbal assumes no liability for property damage or injury incurred as a result of any of the information contained in this video. Use this information at your own risk. Silver Cymbal recommends safe practices when working on machines and or with tools seen or implied in this video. Due to factors beyond the control of Silver Cymbal, no information contained in this video shall create any expressed or implied warranty or guarantee of any particular result. Any injury, damage, or loss that may result from improper use of these tools, equipment, or from the information contained in this video is the sole responsibility of the user and not Silver Cymbal.
I hope this video helps save you from getting stuck - Get the Hulkman amzn.to/3USAHCX
The channel "Project Farm" recently did a review on many jump starters, highly recommend him!
Yes that's right I was approached by someone winning a grand prize for an e bicycle,,,, and I have to say that they're very slick,,,,,
@@nelsonericreed6439 They were very slick! Using the channel’s name and logo. I supposedly won a DeWalt Charger and Battery, but needed to pay for shipping. Nope!
Those are complete garbage. Just spend a little more and get one of the big jump packs with the air compressor
I mean in my experience people have problems grasping that those little portable ones aren't a consistent voltage you can actually hear them. Click on and off. They do it in pulses, So sometimes you have to time it just right. So you get full amperage at the initial start. If you get a bigger bulkier one those don't work off a pulse. They just continuous send it You can even charge your battery off of it I mean those little tiny ones. You can sort of charge your battery off of them. It's just going to take forever. Also boost doesn't mean that it turns dumb. It literally means that it will stop doing its pulse mode and try to dump all its power in one go. The problem with that is lithium ion batteries have a tendency to have thermal runaway. It's kind of a bad idea
Pro tip - make a label on how to engage boost mode and attach it onto the jumper. Trust me, when your stressed out with a dead battery stuck somewhere, you are not thinking clearly and may forget how to engage it.
I've used a sharpie to write on mine.
Great idea.
This is a great idea! I'll do this when I get a jumper. We just got a new battery and I need to get a jumper for the next time it goes bad. A silver Milwaukee inkzall marker is supposed to write on anything, just store it tip down!
Better yet, buy a proper jumper. With air compressor built in. JF.EGWO 6000A
@@WontSeeReplies LOL, no. New company, few reviews, high price, suspicious specs. Too many questions. I'm not that kind of sucker.
I've had two battery jumpers for several years, both have a button labeled BOOST. The manual with each also tells you when to use the BOOST feature. Contrary to what some people seem to think, manuals are actually intended to be read.
I know right? This whole video is about how no one reads manuals. Ugh
Correct, but we live in a world of `smart' devices? People buy these things `cos they think the device will understand what is required to be done? Let's face it, if it's called a `jump starter' that, after all, is its primary function. You shouldn't have to press another button(s) to make it understand that you want it to start a vehicle, with insufficient charge to do so? I own an old fashioned jump starter - basically, a 12v battery in a carry case - It ain't smart, you just keep it in a state of good charge, until needed, clamp it to the dud battery's terminals, wait 5 mins, turn the key and away you go. Now that's what i call smart!
tbf. Some manuals are not intended to be read, they are just there for legal/marketing reasons along with 100 pages of different languages telling you not to swollow any parts. They could also just display the error message instead of a code or print the codes on the back of the device. Dead batteries are more common in colder weather and i dont want to find the manual or google it.
Yup, big button that says BOOST. Can't miss it. Unless you are trying to sell one without that button. ;)
My first question after watching this video was how these devices deal with a battery that is drained so much, or ruined to the point where it is practically shorted. Wouldn't "BOOST" mode allow the jump-starter to destroy itself, or worse, in this situation, or does it still sense an over-current situation and cut off the connection? When dealing with a battery that bad, it would probably be better to take it out, start the car with the jump-starter, and drive to the nearest auto-parts store.
It does a great job of telling you what to do on the back of the unit. I have had these type of jumpers for year, and they have always bailed me out.
He was trying to point out a problem with the jump starter that did not exist.
The Project farm yt channel has done many thorough reviews of many of those jump starter kits and shows which ones can start a completely dead battery. Definitely an important feature to have in a jump starter.
For anyone wondering the completely dead “battery” was a literal hunk of wood. If the jump starter didn’t have a bypass mode it wouldn’t work.
Gooloo gt4000 ran for 2 years now awesome
or knowing witch one to get. one that's meant for just jumping 4 and 6 cylinders don't work on 8s
I had to buy a new one cause my cheapo one finally died. I was lucky to have him post an updated video the day before. I ended up getting the VToman since it was the best one with an air pump. The thing is tanky, way heavier than my old one.
@@jordanmercredi3740 still got mine, I love it.
Do note, when you use the boost/god/override modes you are bypassing all of the built in safety checks so if your polarity or cables are backwards then you are going to have a very bad day.
The Hulkman still catches reverse polarity even if you engage the bypass, I believe. I could be wrong. Easy way to be sure is to connect both cables first, then engage the boost mode. It will catch reverse polarity before boosting then. Edit after experiment: As long as your battery still has some voltage, it will catch reverse polarity before you engage boost. I am not sure if it will allow you to engage boost while connected with reverse polarity. However, if you engage boost with no battery connected or with a completely dead battery it will not detect the reverse polarity and it will blow up whatever you are sending current through backwards. I tried on a scrap car and it blew the fusible link in a hurry! Be very careful using boost. :)
I agree. If they made it too easy to override the safety lockouts, more people would ruin their vehicle's electric system with reversed polarity.
My Noco has a check light, if that’s not lit, it’s no connected correctly, or there’s no connectivity.
Real problem is people just don't know the basics of cars anymore, and can't figure out how to tell if it's the positive or negative. Let alone change a spare tire anymore. They don't even include those on most new cars now, just and air pump with tire sealant in it. People need to go back to learning the basics.
My Noco GB70 would not engage the bypass when my truck battery was frozen (and in hindsight, probably cracked). It clearly doesn’t disable all the safety features.
NOCO makes boost mode easy to do, it's usually the big red exclamation mark button which sometimes is also labeled "override" to make it even more clear.
I just posted this but if you have a noco it does one weird thing sometimes. I have had the gb70 and currently have the gb150 and both of them do it occasionally. You will hook it up and turn it on and it sits there and clicks once a second not boosting, two lights flash on it at the same time as the click. Override button will not work in this state. You have to disconnect it from the battery, engage override mode, and reconnect and it will boost fine. No idea why it does that sometimes. Other than that I have nothing bad to say about the gb150 it has been great, boosted hundreds of vehicles, my old gb70 was good too.
Got a NOCO GB70 here in the UK, it's been superb, sat unused for 9 months, yet it still started 3 different vehicles in one morning without any problems.
@@juliogonzo2718I had a two year old gb40 that did this but nothing would break it from its cycle no matter what I tried. I got rid of it via the trash can and bought a lead acid jump box.
@@jdraupp I hope you didn't just throw it in the trash you know that there is a battery in there
I got my NOCO used with no manual. Thanks for the info.
as a auto transporter i have this Hulkman 8.5 and it saved me a lot of times especially with insurance cars with dead battieries. It started my 6.6 and 7.3 diesel trucks. I love it so much that my friends in same business have those also.
One other "too smart for their own good" piece of knowledge is that my jump-starter will not feed starting power to the battery if your car isn't in accessories. With old keyed ignitions, this wasn't an issue as you have to roll through ACC before getting to ON or START. However, with push-button cars, you need to put the car into ACC (push the start button without holding the brake pedal) and then my device will show the lights stating it's ready to start. I found out that the jumper attachment has to see current flow before it will put full power to the jump clamps.
yeah the more you know help when using one of those boosters so you don't get fooled into thinking there's a problem with the booster when it's not being used right in that situation plain and simple
@@SaraMorgan-ym6ue I think it's more the engrish instructions included with most of these. They seem to be written with keyed ignitions in mind so they don't tell the user to put the car in ACC first.
You were doing something wrong, potentially attaching it upstream of a protection diode or charging circuit. If you connect this direct to a drained battery, it will be flowing PLENTY of current, because it will be literally charging the battery once connected, enough current to drain it if not trip the protection circuit, if sitting like that for more than a few dozen seconds.
@@stinkycheese804 just hit ctrl alt del problem solved works everytime🤣🤣🤣
@@stinkycheese804 Nope, I directly connected to the battery clamps but the jump unit never detected it and prepared to feed power. If I tried to start the engine, it'd overload the jumpbox without feeding enough to crank. It only showed ready to start after putting the truck into accessories. It's fine, the clamps know there's a vehicle connected when power draw occurs and a fully-off vehicle doesn't draw enough to trigger the device.
I have the same jump starter, and if you turn it over, there's a label on the back explaining those error codes, and how to solve them. This SHOULD NOT be an issue if people take the time to explore their devices after purchase, but here we are.
Yupp. I thought this video is about how the lithium batteries of the jump starters are degrading over time, but hey, it's just about the people who cannot be bothered to read the manual. 🤦♂
It's just a channel needing content for videos..
@@petesmitt Congratulations, just just described like every channel on YT. When there is content then there will be videos about it, not exactly a revelation.
@@d1oftwins well then, it's no revelation that people are dopey and can't figure this out for themselves..
@@petesmitt Not sure how that is logically connecting to my prior comment. Because Videos need content therefor dopey people are ignorant...what?
It's like the instructions booklet is there for a reason...
My thoughts as well.
RTFM!
If it's cold, snowing, and I have to leave right now or 10 minutes ago, the last thing I'm doing is looking for a direction manual. And that's usually when these things happen.
@@danielmoulton4117 understandably. At the same token, we should read through it when you received delivery of it. To at least familiarize when it’s functionality.
@@danielmoulton4117 The other guy said "write it on a sticker on the booster." Sounds sound.
That was a GREAT explanation of something that many, if not most, people are unaware of when they first use their new jumpstarter. And that includes me! I bought my first one about 5 years ago and thought that it did not work on my 1995 BMW 540i. But then I read the directions. ;-)
I got one from Walmart that has a boost button. It works really well, I've used it multiple times when my truck was completely drained. I've helped a stranger start their car as well.
FYI: The Gooloo Titan Series GP-4000 and it has a boost button. If I recall correctly it was recommended by Project Farm. I don't recall needing something like this so much when I was younger but in the last year or so I've had need for the Gooloo multiple times for myself and other people. It hasn't let me down yet. These things are worth the cost.
I just bought one of those for $129 on deal from Amazon for the same reason. A couple months before I'd bought a smaller Noco Boost and after watching the Project Farm review I gave it away to a friend to jump small engines because I had no confidence it would start my CRV .
even the older gooloo jumpstarters/powerbanks have the boost button. very good and reliable.
I just bought a Gooloo. Glad to hear positive feedback!
I have a gooloo gp4000 and its just now started giving me issues.. but i use it as a power bank as well.
With all the electronics today it's better not to do the normal jump between the two vehicles. I know there has to be a special connection to share information on computers.
Thank you for this video! Now I know why my jumpstarter was having problems last time I tried to start my totally dead car, and can fix it next time. I very rarely leave comments on videos (this may be one of my first), but your videos are super helpful. Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
Very informative video, straight to the point without unnecessary backstories or topics that pad out the time of the video. Sometimes after a few years in the extreme cold my battery temporarily gives out, I'll keep this video in my mind in the future.
This is definitely good for people that may have received one of these as a gift and never took the time to figure out how it works before they have an emergency and panic. Gotta make sure you look it over and make sure you completely understand how it works before the need for it arises!
Great point on using the max load mode. My Noco needs 2 volts to work, otherwise it won’t send the charge. But my unit have an override mode as you described in the video. However, this could easily be missed when reading the manual. Thanks for highlighting this in the video. Both my wife and I carry a unit in our cars here in New England.
Noco is the way to go. I live in Illinois and we can get down to -40 weather and the noco has worked every time. It also has a boost button.
Agreed, shouldn’t even consider anything else, it’s saved me multiple times.
Noco has saved me before, it's a phenomenal brand in my experience. I go with Schumacher for 120v plug in chargers
is the same with any other brand, I have a noco too and have to use the "boost" botton on a complete dead battety.
@@ramonqueloquera Their button is easier to find.
I have that same dump pack for a couple years now. Works great. I’m a diesel mechanic and work on mostly Medium duty delivery trucks. Has t let me down yet.
On a totally year long flat battery i just connected a small 12v drill battery to the jumpstarter with two speaker cables, to provide the little voltage that was needed for the jumpstarter to sense it was connected to a battery. Started without problems
Is that you MacGyver?
I like this short video format. I don't want to listen to a 10 to 15 minute video about battery jumpers. Thumbs up
Good information/video as usual. I have the same unit, and had to do the same thing with my sister’s car that hadn’t been started in 10months. The key sequence is actually on the back of the unit as a reference. Works perfectly.
Great video, and very informative...but another often overlooked issue, is the fact that many people often forget to recharge their jump starter device, on a regular basis, especially soon after they have jumped another vehicle! I've used these devices for many years, and never had one fail me yet. Eventually, like most everything else, they will need to be replaced. Just learn to be methodical, such as charging yours the first week of every month, and every single time they are used. Harbor Freight has some quality units, as I've purchased them as gifts, as well as for myself. Upon purchasing, they will tell you about charging them monthly; if not, according to a manager, the warranty is void, if preventive maintenance is ignored. Thanks again, for the Stellar video! Greetings from N. Kentucky.
I agree. I’ve now had to use my device for 2 other people and worked perfectly. When I bought mine to downgrade from the portable heavier bulky jump starter, I also bought my mom and brother one cause they are so portable and the perfect gift for everyone. Even work great with charging your cell phone out of you need a light.
Harbor Freight has "quality" units? Was not aware HF had quality anything. Just sayin...
That is absolutely great information! I can’t imagine how many of these jump starter’s off of Amazon have been returned because people don’t read the manual and just think it doesn’t work. Thank you so much!
I bought the Fanttik T8 Apex you had done a video on awhile back. I have used mine several times. Most recently my neighbor’s car battery was completely dead and I couldn’t remember how to boost. I hadn’t used or charged it in over a year. I watched your video again and voila his car immediately started. I did a screenshot of two buttons so I am ready next time. Thank you so much.
So glad it helped. That T8 was an awesome jumpstarter, they did a great job on it. Hopefully they all add a boost button in the future but at least you knpw the buttons now to turn it on.
What are the buttons you press? I tried helping a guy a few weeks ago and no luck. I was embarrassed and felt bad that I couldn’t help.
@@benbrodbeck3699 The power button on top and the flashlight button on front at same time for couple seconds. Should see start in green on display. If you watch SilverCymbal’s video on Fanttik T8 he demonstrates it nicely. Video is about 4 minutes long.
This channel is great. It gets me excited for learning about things as simple as jumpstahtas
Freudian slip
Thanks. I have this same Hulkman and one time it did not jump the vehicle. Once I learned about holding down the two buttons, I've had no problems since. Thanks again. Full-watch. 👍🏽🤠 4/1/23
Nice, that's useful. I bought a portable tire inflator because I noticed that one of the tires has a slow leak (it's been that way for years, I think my dad hit the curb while parking and damaged the rim, even though it looks fine it's always the same tire that ends up low). I also have jumper cables and keep a gallon of gas in the trunk, but now that I know they make jumpers that are that small, I think it's time to get one. I also have a small fold up solar panel that can trickle charge anything from a cellphone to a car battery. But that would take at least a day or two.
Thank you for this information. I’ve got the same jump starter and I’m going to need it tomorrow. So, very timely! 🙏
I have the same hulk man and I love it. It saved me plenty of times, and I’ve been able to help strangers quickly as well. Mine lives in a case under my car seat. If you have a German car, do not leave it in the trunk. If you have a dead battery you might not be able to even get into your trunk to grab it.
Any car with electronic trunk release and weak battery will leave you stuck, unless you have the key. If you don't have the key and do have your jump starter, you will need to find a jump spot other than the battery if the battery itself is in the trunk. I back my car in the garage and the battery is in the trunk. My Hulkman made it easy to jump since my standard jumper cables that I still have wouldn't reach that far.
Hahahahah, I can visualize Fritz attempting to pull out the rear seats to get to his jump starter, and getting more and more frustrated with each failed attempt.
I can’t remember for sure, but I think the Hulkman one has a legend on the back saying what each code or beep sequence means. Many jump packs are like this. What boggles my mind is that they actually sell some that don’t have the boost/bypass button required for stone dead batteries. Luckily through my tests, I’ve only found 1 or 2 without the boost button, but I would never purchase one of these without that feature. Had one without that feature and it kinda screwed me over trying to jump my dead truck lol.
for some reason I think it is good when people have to look/search for the overwrite function. Implication: If someone does not read the manual carefully, they might miss the part about red on red and black on black. I mean, mistakes happen, but making the overwrite mode a bit inconvenient to reach (not a big red button) prevents mistakes.
Thanks for your advice! The other problem with what are now amazingly compact jump starters is some users dont read the instructions and think they can leave the JS connected as a substitute battery. Bad day scenario!
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. It was very useful and informative!
You did a good job explaining why this and many jumpstarters work. Thank you.
I'll be damned. Just reread my manual and saw that it had a button I could press to engage an 'overload' mode when the battery was dead-dead. Didn't know that and there have been two times that I could have used it.
This is common with modern "smart" chargers as well. If they don't detect a little bit of voltage they won't come on and start charging the battery. Glad to see a boost mode, maybe they have done this with the chargers as well. My issue was unique to charging a dead battery rather than jump-starting but I had to use jumper cables temporarily so that the charger would come on, then it would start and complete a charge cycle...
I had to charge my dead battery with an old manual charger for a bit before I could get my smart charger to work.
Giving them a "tickle" from a good battery often tricks them into starting up. It's likely to be potentially fatal to anyone under the age of 50 though. So don't do it. Just chuck them dead batteries in the bin and buy more. OOPS......my bad, of course I meant, recycle them and buy more. The main thing is, just buy more.
I don't have one but finding out about this was enlightening. Something to remember. Never would have thought about a battery needing to put out some voltage for the jumpstarter to work. That would have been most frustrating to find out on a dark and stormy night with a dead battery.
Great video, good to know. We have "Gooloo" battery jumpers in all 3 of our vehicle and all have been used (with one being having been used around 50 times now as I use it at work as well). They do have a "boost" button, though it's not always required to depress to work. Usually as soon as the cables are properly placed, "ready" is displayed. I did have a couple occasions where "ready" wasn't on the screen and I had to press that boost button. It would be followed by a click, but it seems like it's coming from the unit itself. Each time, the jumper started the vehicle immediately afterwards. I always wondered why that was there and now I know.
I did not know this. Good to know! Thanks! I actually had a tow truck driver who didn't know about this and we ended up using jumper cables... Would've been handy knowledge at the time.
@MineShiftGaming Many tow truck drivers are kids who just love cars and take the jobs to be able to be around them. Cut them some slack, we need kids to become interested in cars (until the govt takes them away from us). Just keep an eye on the driver.
Man I do not understand how a tow truck driver can be that incompetent. It's literally written in the instruction manual. It fascinates me how many humans do not read instructions for something.
Women are guilty of this but men aren't. Strange how that is.
@@larrybe2900 If you are just commenting to @MineShiftGaming you make no sense. All of the people who have commented that they didn't know this were ...well .... men .... I'd bet big money that more women who have bought these devices have read the instructions and know how to use the bypass procedures because they aren't manly enough to ignore instructions. I only knew about it because I had to research them to decide what to buy for a backup. I just accidentally ran across this feature on some reviews. Edit: Reviews of a product are often much better than instructions. They are written by people who have actually used the product and have no reason to lie or ignore a problem and also the reviewers often speak English as a first language while many instructions are written by people whose first language is Chinese. Bless their heart, I don't speak Chinese or any other language. But then I don't get paid to write instructions.
@@boyracer3477 Well, I did get one response. I thought it might have been more. Yes, I have to fully agree with you. Through these conversations I have learned that my Yesper may not have reverse polarity safety. The back of the unit tells me it is a hazard to reverse them. I shall find the literature to be sure. It is a fine power pack though. I suppose this is not a venue for stirring up many females to get a response. ;}
I got a NoCo jumpbox and the very first thing I did was read the manual. It has a dedicated boost/override button you hold down for two seconds, it comes in handy too when the car has a bad alternator. With that so far I've jumped about 8 cars(some completely dead) on one charge. I use it often, probably about three to five times a week on various cars and trucks. I've made a habit of reading the included literature to things I get and have, even things I've had for years I'd learn something new
Yeah, NOCO makes boost mode very easy to do. I love my jumper and have used it multiple times without problem.
Yup, i love mine, i use the boost button all the time, it's great because i can use it as a stand alone battery to run pumps and lights with no other battery.
Thanks!!! Checked the user's manual for my jump starter and discovered it has a labeled "boost" button. Now, I know when and how to use it. I've used my jump starters several times but never knew what the "boost" button was for. Again, thank you!!
DUHHHHHHHH
Ohhhhhh, read the instructions! I have a jump start battery with a boost button, but always look at that button not sure if I should use it or if it’ll fry something. Thanks for this clip. I will remember this.
I have the NOCO Boost XL GB50 and it has a boost button on the front.
I have the GB50 NOCO. It is a great unit and I have ran a vehicle about 1.5 miles (inline four) off the pack alone, leaving the battery completely unhooked. It has a boost button labeled on the front. Highly recommend the unit I have for up-to pick-up trucks.
To any of you guys who own a Noco: 1) How long have you owned 2) How many "boosts" / start can it do one one charge? 3) Doest it keep the charge few months or does it discharge itself? Years ago I bought a booster on amazon with great reviews, and I paid the price! Cannot remember exactly but it was over €120 It did start the car few times, probably 4x per charge. The issue was, that booster discharged itself withing days /week. Which is a pain! Today I've noticed the booster had a strange shape, while battery didn't catch fire, it surely had a problem. Very conveniently that brand with "great reviews" disappeared from Amazon, replaced by other similar products. = Chinese junk products. Brands like Bosh, Ryobi, Makita, Black & Decker, none of them propose such device.
Are you aware the vehicle runs off the alternator once the battery starts it? You can literally remove the battery if you wanted but it just burns the alternator up as the battery helps regulate it's voltage.
I own the Noco GB40 & GB70, and they both have a red boost button for when the battery isn't detected. I've used them quite a lot for myself and other people that I've come across. They have never let me down.
The Bigger problem I mostly see is people do NOT Check what type of Batterie and Car they have and what kind of Batterie booster they need you can not Start a Diesel with the smallest noco GB20 with a 500A ...
I own the 40 as well. I’ve only had to boost someone a few times but just use it normally without bypassing any protection. They are good little jumpers.
To any of you guys who own a Noco: 1) How long have you owned 2) How many "boosts" / start can it do one one charge? 3) Doest it keep the charge few months or does it discharge itself? Years ago I bought a booster on amazon with great reviews, and I paid the price! Cannot remember exactly but it was over €120 It did start the car few times, probably 4x per charge. The issue was, that booster discharged itself withing days /week. Which is a pain! Today I've noticed the booster had a strange shape, while battery didn't catch fire, it surely had a problem. Very conveniently that brand with "great reviews" disappeared from Amazon, replaced by other similar products. = Chinese junk products. Brands like Bosh, Ryobi, Makita, Black & Decker, none of them propose such device.
@SERGIO-cr6uy I have owned my GB40 for about 7 or 8 years, and my GB70 for about 3 years. I couldn't tell you exactly how many times you can start a vehicle on one charge because I always try to keep them charged and ready. But I did use my GB70 to boost my neighbors car 3 times in a row when it wouldn't stay on. Now, both my boosters keep their charge for quite a while (6 months or more). I usually end up bringing them in and charging them up once or twice a year just to make sure they are fully charged and ready. Now, I can't testify to the experience of others. But these booster have never let me down once. Even the GB40 jump started a vehicle it wasn't rated for. It jumped a V8 Chevy Suburban. It struggled but still got it started. If the battery was completely dead, I doubt if it would have started it, though. Anyways, these have been a great investment for me, and I would never choose any other brand.
Good information. This "too smart to work" thing happens to car battery maintainers also. If your battery is dead flat, a Battery Tender or some other brand will not charge the battery even if left on for a couple of days. The Battery Tender needs to sense 3 volts on the car battery to connect. I then purchased a $200 Porsche maintainer just thinking it would be better and would work before I researched the problem. The expensive thing needed 6 volts and wouldn't work. These units have no magic button to remove the need from some voltage unfortunately.
To outsmart chargers that are not sensing voltage on a dead battery, you can start charging a good battery and then add the dead battery into the circuit with a set of jumper cables.
Having to jumpstart the jumpstarter, for instance with the battery out of the key fob or a garage door button, feels more dangerous than not having all that safety stuff in the first place.
I have a schumacher SL15. The boost button is on the leads themselves. The port on the end of the jump box is always hot 12v. I bought a couple of connectors that fit that battery pack and the most common use for it is an offroad light i installed on my snowblower. Only annoyance i have had is the battery pack only keeps track of its charge actively if you have the usb ports in use or the built in flashlight turned on. I 3d printed a holder for the jump pack to keep it in place while in use on the snowblower.
THANK YOU! I can't believe this is not more commonly known! I was very disappointed the first time I tried to use my portable jump starter. I was trying to help a stranded motorist whose battery was completely dead, and though I'd be saving the day for them. No such luck! It was the first time I tried using it to jump start a vehicle. I thought I received a faulty unit, or that it was damaged from being in the trunk of my car in very cold weather. Your videos always go above and beyond , delivering the details that really matter! Thanks again!
it is known. it's right there when you read the manual.
These are great. I use one like it but a competing brand, to jump start quite a few people on one charge at my local drive through. They didn't realize starting your car during inermission,, after the first movie but before the second.. leave the car running to provide as much power back into the battery as possible. Came in super handy, and made a lot of people very, very happy. I swapped out my own battery in my vehicle years ago with a much larger AGM battery, so its never an issue with mine.
I got the Noco gbx155 it has a dedicated override button however it is in a different price range so cant compare
yes, all noco have that exclamation botton that you need when the battery is complety dead like he said.
Excellent video! I have a Fantik T8 Max and unless you know what combination of buttons to press simultaneously, you're stranded.
Thank you, I showed that product last year and loved it. Scotty Kilmer (who I am a huge fan of) showed and it and said it was junk, all becuase he of all people didn't know you need to use the boost at times.
Good information. I had this exact same issue with an Anker jump starter that I bought a few years ago. My battery was dead and the Anker wouldn't do anything. Luckily, I was at home. (I left the dome light on all night-DUH) So I hooked up my very old battery charger and after popping the breaker several times, it finally started to charge. I just read the Anker instructions and they are skimpy. There's nothing about starting a dead battery. It looks like it's time to get a better jump starter. Thanks to this video, I know that there are jump starters that will work with dead batteries.
I always carry BOTH jump packs (Clore JNC 660 rightly beloved of mechanics, I used one at a used car lot where I worked and fell in love) and jumper cables. My JNC 660 does not come with extra features to break or malfunction and the cables are ALWAYS hot so I carry it in a milsurp back pack. Totally worth it. They sell spare parts and have excellent service.
Agree JNC 660 and ES5000 are AAA tow truck go to in the north. NoCo is good for the size but I don't trust them long term and 2x the price with more to fail. They are always HOT no need for Boost and keep their charge for 8+ months. I just check my 10 year old ES 5000 in 29 deg weather 3/4 full and charged april 2023. Not bad for an old dog. They also charge faster. Im going to buy another ES 5000 for a 4th car.
This is one reason I prefer the Clore jump boxes like the JNC660. It's just a sealed AGM battery in a box with leads. The 12V output can be used to start a vehicle even when there is no battery installed. You can also use the 12V to power anything. Sometimes dumber is better. :-)
Issue is self discharge and longevity & they can not start big diesels leadacid have a lot more internal resistance than lithium ion or Lifepo4 & can not dump that much energy. Most of them have a 18ah battery with barely enough amps to start a 2l engine. While these small lithium packs can dump enough energy to start a 6l diesel
@@KuntalGhosh My JNC660 has a 22ah battery and has started anything I've ever tried it on. Granted, I'm not starting big diesel engines. Mine goes 6-months between charges. When my tractor battery shorted out I was able to remove the battery and sit the JNC660 in its place to start the tractor and get it back to the garage. I guess all the different units have their place.
@@eosjoe565 I gave up on lead jump starters. I'd charge mine after every use and twice a year as per the recommended care procedure. Still had to replace the battery after 3-ish years. The second replacement was going to be 5 years ago, but I tried a lithium jump starter and never looked back.
@@Sylvan_dB yes that is normal shelf life of lead acid. U must replace them every 3-4 years.
@@eosjoe565 that 22ah is measured over a 20 hour slow discharge down to 1.5v per cell , which if u try in everyday application would kill the battery in 100-200 cycles. If you discharge it at 14 amps then you will only get 1 hour of run time before the battery is depleted below 1.5v and in reality you should never go below 1.7v per cell so from a 22ah lead acid battery you will only get 13ah due to the peukert effect. You can also draw 80 amps for 5min from such 22ah leadacid. And 300amps for 5 seconds. And all of this numbers are from the datasheet of b.b. battery's 22ah 12v leadacid which sells for 80 euro. And jump starter packs come with batteries that are lot cheaper than this so the numbers are even lower. In my own tests i have noticed 12ah of Lifepo4 gives same runtime as of 28ah of leadacid and so if you calculate the cost . Lifepo4 in my case was cheaper. And there is no peukert effect. It will pull it's rated capacity even if you discharge it within 10mins with a heavy current..
The Fanttik can actually replace your car battery for short distances though I haven't tried it. I believe the boost mode on it runs a really long time for this reason. But I thought it would be a good option to work long enough to get to an auto parts store/costco to get a new battery. Again I haven't seen it done but Samcrac's channel has done this a few times even on big displacement (V12) engines. I boosted a worker's F250 duallie diesel with my fanttik when they'd left the radio on. He was shocked such a little pack jumped that big diesel from 0 volts. He assumed the starter was bad but once I connected it, his radio and light came on and it fired right up.
My F150 will not allow the radio to play but for a few minutes without the engine running. It is integral to the start/stop feature to maintain adequate power.
One thing I really like on my Subaru, if you turn the car off and take out the key, everything turns off, radio, lights. If you turn the light switch off and on they come back on and you can kill your battery, but if you just leave everything on and don't touch anything, and just turn off the car, remove your key, you're good. Back in the 1970's I had to train myself to check the light switch before I got out of the car at work. I used to leave when it was dark out and by the time I got to work, the sun was up and I would forget my headlights were on. I had many dead batteries. Thankfully the local garage was 1 block away, he charged up my battery and jumped me many times, till I trained myself to turn off the lights before exiting my car.
As far as i know the Fanttik-T8 Apex boost mode is time limited to 30sec..
I use a NOCO 1250A specifically for the Override button. GREAT video!
Had that exact problem a couple weeks ago with a Hulkman. Now I know. THANK YOU!
That is exactly the situation I ran into with him really old farm tractor, and I was pissed,,, I have not taken the time to read the manual for the GOD mode. So I did go back and read the directions after seeing your video,, the instructions are misleading,,, they simply state: connector cables, wait for the ready sign, start your car. **You have to turn this unit on first!! they failed to tell me that. I have another unit which is smaller and it does turn itself on simply by connecting the cables to the battery so I assume the same thing was going to be true here with this Hulkman,,,, but such is not the case. Very helpful video, thanks
Very helpful if I ever switch to a Lithium ion jump start battery. Everyone, especially every woman, should have a jump start battery: you can jump yourself instead of depending on strangers, they have an on/off switch so you can safely connect them to battery terminals (IMO), as mentioned, they check polarity, they don't touch the ground and stay neater than cables, they're more compact than cables, and you can use them on a car that's nose-in in a parking garage where you'd need car-length cables if the spots around your car are taken --and if you're ever lost in a snow drift, it'll keep your phone charged long enough to be found. Don't get one w/ an air compressor: they burn out much more quickly than the battery and add weight. Everyone should have a compressor, but it should be separate from the JS battery. That said, I prefer to use a conventional Black & Decker model that I assume is lead acid based because its slightly larger size discourages anyone from pulling it out of the car to use elsewhere for phones, laptops, etc. The other, salient difference is that it *isn't* smart enough to recognize that the car's battery is truly dead, a fact I've used several times to bring a battery back by leaving the jump starter connected for some time. The same technique came in handy on another battery that my battery charger refused to charge, thinking it was completely gone. Putting the jump starter on it for many hours (12?, 24? I forget) finally convinced the charger to charge it.
One should keep in mind that jump-starters have to be regularly charged as well, and that lithium powered devices don't like the cold that much so keeping your lithium jump-starter in the car in winter might not be a great idea.
@@BoraHorzaGobuchul this is an important detail that seems to have either been overlooked or an assumption was made that "everyone" knows that you have to charge the charger. So during this video my mind is asking "but from where does this wee gadget get its own power (or energy or whatever) so as to be able to then jump start the dead battery?" The only battery chargers I've ever seen were plugged in with a cord to an outlet and were often left overnight to charge a dead battery. But with your response/comment I now know that the charger's own battery needs to charge, assuming plugged into a household outlet. So either it's in your garage charging...or in your trunk discharging, possibly dead...when you need it for an emergency! 🤔 But wait...maybe the charger has an adapter so as to plug into your automobile's power plug (or what we used to call the cigarette lighter plug in thingy) and then it gets charged up while driving around. ?? Is this basically the gist? and thank you for pointing out this obvious but not so obvious important detail Krista in Colorado!
@@BoraHorzaGobuchul That's true but the GOOLOO GT4000S Jump Starter 4000A 100W says it has Intelligent Pre-Heating Tech: A smart start in an environment of -40 °F (GT4000 only). It also claims to hold it's charge for up to 2 years. I'm not sure how that works or if it's effective though. I had an old Ravpower Lithium Jump starter (no longer made) sitting in my car boot for over a year and jumped someones Mercedes.
@@BoraHorzaGobuchul Mine works fine in winter. Living in a state that has temperatures below freezing isn't a good idea. 🙃
I bought a bunch of the Gooloo brand boosters. The GP4000 model has a tiny obscure boost button on the cable connector and the newest GT4000 has a very prominent boost button on the face of the unit right by the power button but yes I can see how it would be overlooked on some models.
They wouldn't if they read the manual (despite the Chinglish).
I bought a couple generic Chinese jumpers about 7 and 5 years ago when my car battery was old and didn't start the car when it was below zero, and later below freezing, here in Minnesota. Luckily they've always worked well even on other people's large vehicles, but I didn't know about a boost mode, so good to know.
Be right back......have to delete my Negative Review and Rant on the Jump starter I just purchased. Thanks for sharing the info.
Don't feel bad, last year when I reviewed the Fantik jumpstarter, Scotty Kilmer did a review and said it was a POS and went crazy. It was due to him using it on a totally dead battery and not knowing this either. Probably the worst communicated feature in history that is so vital!
@@SilverCymbal Wow, will have to visit your past videos, I'm a new Sub. Seriously though it is critical information that even I missed, being in the auto repair industry myself. Thank you again.
I have the same one. I had an issue with it while jump starting my sister's car in sub zero temps. It had been sitting in my car so the buttons didn't really want to work in extreme cold. Eventually was able to get it into boost mode then the car fired right up. Some times you need to let it sit a few minutes in boost mode while connected to pre charge the battery a bit before starting.
If it detects low temperature, it will not work, even in boost mode, once it warms up, it'll work. Glad you got it. Goin
Life saver! I helped my boss when he couldn't jump start his car . I jumped in & show him the boost button & be the hero. 🎉
But, did you get a raise?
Used one of those to jump start my old CJ7 in the garage. The jump pack exploded and started a fire. Both the Jeep and the garage were fine in the end, but it was a damn close call.
Very handy video! I didn't know that you could override the "smart" stuff - sometimes too smart for their own good! But the safety features regarding polarity and the sheer small size of these jump staters compared to the lead acid filled monstrosities of yesterday easily make up for it! Thank you for sharing.
I returned two battery chargers last week because both of them were too smart to charge a dead battery (I left the dash cam on and the truck sat for about two weeks).
Quick question @SilverCymbal What are your favorite snow removal tools such as snow shovels, driveway salt, salt spreaders, favorite snowblower?
Unsolicited response from Flagstaff, AZ, which has had a meter of snow in a 24 hour period: I like the snow blower if the snow is not wet. If it is wet, a plastic snow shovel. If it has an undercoat of half an inch of ice, a steel snow shovel. When I remove all I can remove, out comes the "salt" (actually a pet safe purple - so we can see it - version sold at Walmart.) I just cast it on the ice like bird seed. It doesn't take a lot.
You have only had the thing 2 weeks and it`s jumped so much for you already....Fantastic...🤔
I've used Booster Pac Model ES5000 for years. I was stuck in the lot at SFO airport and the airport service vehicle that came had one. They're a couple of hundred have replacement parts and are for pros. Really, that model is large and overkill but they have smaller models. It has the 12volt cigarette style socket for air pumps. Also used it in a power failure in a BNB I was at to charge my devices with a 12v to USB car adapter. Highly recommended and bullet proof.
I purchased an Audew branded jump pack (cause project farm told me to) and its been amazing- I use it regularly especially in summer because I'll probably never replace my dead lawn mower battery lol. But that starter with only work if you press the boost button- its just a tiny button on the base of the cable plug- no complicated steps to engauge boost.
I have the same one, but luckily so far have only ever had to use it for pumping up tires.
@@6mtzhp55 does yours have an air compressor built in? My is just a jump pack
As soon as you said "too smart for their own good" I knew exactly what you were referring to. It took me a while to work out why it couldn't start a dead battery. Without hitting the Boost button, mine won't even bother trying to start a car!
The Noco boost plus battery jumper I have has the boost button on it
Thanks again for all your information, great content, have a great weekend!
Looking for my daughter this is brilliant NOW I know what to look for complex button sequence is a no go keep it simple didn’t realize about boost so thank you SOOO much
I have multiple Hulkman jump packs now. I have used them extensively. They are the best jump starters I have used by far and I love them. It would be nice if there was a simple boost button. However, reading the manual is always a good idea. ;)
RTFM
Or search KZhead 👍🏻
This is the PERFECT kind of click bait. It grabbed my attention and I learned something useful Thank you sir 🙏
What you showed in this video also true for smart battery chargers. If they don't sense a small voltage to begin with, they don't even turn on their potential output voltage.
The Viking one I have from HF has a dedicated engine start button, everyone of these should have that and be very clear to use.
Well now I know! I've got 2 sitting in my garage and the manual says NOTHING about boost mode. I paid a lot for the Solar model.
most of them have boost on the leads handle that you plug into the booster, its a small button on the side you have to push
I need to find those ones, I think they do it so people dont just short the leads and blow it up but many folks are giving these to their kids thinking they are all set but its a huge issue
@@SilverCymbal the issue is the kids not reading and they deserve to be stuck until they learn to grow up and read
@@genghischuan4886 is this like all the old farts who get confused about their iPhones? Sorry, I was just trying to make this agist like you did.
That's where it is on my GooLoo GP4000. Tiny button on the side of the leads labeled "Boost". It's worked fine every time I've needed it.
Hi. I bought this device hoping I would be able to also do voltage measurement of my car battery. However when I plug it in - the device indicator displays only the device battery percentage level and "Ready" sign, not the current voltage of the car battery. I emphasize, that my car battery is OK for now - however I really want to see the exact voltage of it and know what is the battery condition without need to have voltmeter with me. Do you by chance know the device comparable to this, but which can display car battery voltage even if the car engine is off?
Not ALL jumpstarters do this (though many do). Project Farm channel has done a couple of comparison tests of various jumpstarters. Well worth checking out.
I have a feeling I'll be thanking you for this video before it's all said and done.
This is a great video. Note: There may be some models that do not have a boost mode! Project Farm did a video recently on them and noted which ones needed a 12V reference in order for them to work.
Very valuable information - thank you for making this video! ❤
The Suaoki U28 has the "BOOST" function you're looking for. It's actually called "force start" in the manual. I've had this starter for years and it's worked on those rare occasions every time. Seems to still be holding a charge well. Good product.
The big problem with these portable jump starters, especially the smaller ones, is that the connecting cables are made of smaller wires that can easily get burned up from carrying that much current. The lead jump starters sold at OReillys have bigger wires. But unfortunately I believe all of the lithium boosters sold have small wires. So if you use one with smaller wires only crank the engine for a couple seconds and if that does 't work wait a minute before trying again.
Total nonsense. Those wires carry current for only a few seconds and in every jump starter I own the wires are sized correctly.
@@mikeb.7068 Do you own a lithium jump starter?
@mikeb.7068 No theres quite a few with tiny wires. Sometimes the wire is "double insulated". So it looks thick with TINY conductors.
@@mikeb.7068Those smart chargers use smaller gauge wires than an automotive jump box. You might be able to start a car with a smaller smart charger, but it is very unlikely that you would be able to run your vehicle off of that for any extended period of time - like if your car's alternator dies and you're somewhere that a tow truck is going to take a very long time to get to you (because any car-based Roadside Assistance isn't going to be of any help for you).
I can tell you from experience, if you have to use a jump starter that's been sitting in the freezing cold, forget it, it likely won't work. You'll have to warm it up some how. Not so hard if you're home but if you're on the road, that's a different story. Secondly, ya, if your battery is below a certain voltge, you'll have to override the safety like he did with this specific one, make sure you have (red on red or +) and (black on black or -.) The better jump starters just have an override button.
Not that I flat out disagree with you, but I do think your comment is inaccurate. For example, my NOCO advertised operating temp is all the way down to -20c. I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's going to depend on the exact model you have. Cheapo amazon units I can definitely see not working in the cold.
@@TheMidnightNarwhal I have the NOCO GB70 and it failed sitting in my car in sub 0 Celsius temps, I don't remember how cold it was but I don't think it was colder than -20c. I brought it in, warmed it up by putting it on the rad and about 15 minutes later it worked. Before that I had the GB30 which I gave away because I originally thought it was too weak or to old and that's why I didn't work in the cold temperatures. That is until I found out that's the problem they have. At least the lithium based ones don't work in cold from my experience. I brought this up at work and everyone who had one had the same experience. I have to look into it more but if ever buy another one it will be one of those lead acid ones tow truck drivers carry or maybe the supercapacitor ones. Again, I have to look into whether they're better in freezing weather. Oh, you may want to check out "Project Farm's" channel. He tested a bunch and they all failed the freezing temp test if I recall. If I recall, he didn't go too cold either, certainly not -20c.
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@@dosdont Ah shoot ok thank you for the more in depth information. I must say I did watch some project farm videos to about the GB40 before buying in and I must have missed the cold testing. I'll have to consider what to do... it is winter here in Canada lol. Sits in my trunk.
@@TheMidnightNarwhal Luckily where I am in Canada it's been pretty mild, but still not a party. He's done a couple of videos, I don't recall but I don't think his original group of boosters were tested in freezing temperature whereas the last one I saw did test them. Worth a look. I think he tested my GB70 also. Cheers.
I bought an In and Out T8 Pro Car Jump Starter and it has a booster button, i had this exact problem and exact reaction, till i hit the button and it worked. Thanks for the info
Literally every single jump starter that I’ve seen on Amazon has the boost button, I don’t know how he managed to buy one without the override button. I just bought one and it has the button and it was powerful enough to start my car even without the car battery whatsoever, just hooked the cables up to the cars cables. This protection feature that prevents it from recognizing a completely dead battery is also common in many smart battery chargers too. It’s not specific to jump packs, it’s been around for a while.
Thanks for info ordered my Hulkman yesterday 👍🏿
I have a NOCO GB30 that I bought 8 years ago and it still works. I even lost it in my wife's car for over a year and found it under the seat. It has a dedicated button on the front, pretty intuitive how you use it. I've probably used it over 100 times, I always have equipment with dead batteries...
I would not recommend you leave it in your car during the summer months. One exploded in my car's center console during summer due to the heat. They are really great to have, but please be careful where you store them.
i bought a supercap jump starter for this very reason: no 'sploding batteries during arizona summers
My Antigravity XP-10 Micro Start battery jumper has a Boost button right on the cables connector. But it also detects when the battery is super low or fully death and it automatically switches the boost on for you. I had this jumper for almost two years now.
I have several jump boxes. The NOCO 250 is a beast, the Microstart not so good...but I a impressed with the Blue Fuel (from NAPA at the time) was the only one to start my super dead motorcycle when the GPS got left on. Even the big NOCO was a no-go. One very important feature is battery charge retention in storage. The NOCO and the Blue Fuel seem to excel in this category. The boost mode info is good info, I will check this.
I have the GT4000S and it has a boost button. It also will only let you attempt to start 3 times before it will enter a cooling cycle to prevent overheating the cables.
The biggest problem I have seen with these is that they don’t work if their battery percentage is below a certain level. You need to keep them charged because that level varies, but can be as high as 70%. So, if you have 70% left on your charger, it might not be enough to start your engine. I don’t remember which brands are like this, but watch out when you’re buying one.
My Yesco says that it must have three charge level lights in order to use the jump feature. It says on the back that it is a hazard to reverse connect the terminals. Satisfactory unit as a power pack probably won't be in the car if I should happen to need it.
That's the price you pay for its small size. You need to get a lot of amps from relatively small cells. To do that, they just need to be fully charged. If you want to jump start cars with jump starter that has only 50% battery left, you need one of those big, heave and expensive ones. I've been using mine for 3 years now and this never was an issue, I simply make sure it is charged when I think I might need it (overlanding camping trip, winter, etc.)
This is extremely helpful. Thank you for sharing!
Excellent presentation. I have one of those (not that one), but I've never used it. I thought you just hooked it up like a battery. I need to recharge it anyway. I'll read the rest of the instructions with all this in mind.
If you need to engage the override, you should also replace the vehicles battery. Those are designed to never drop below 10.2V and if they do they chemically damage themselves internally.
That completely depends on how long the battery was held under 10VDC.