Just a heads up folks, inspect those jumper cables you keep under the seat!

Went to help a friend with a dead battery, put the jumpers on and gave it a few minutes to charge up........Nothing, no start, just a ticking solenoid, Waited a good 20 minutes wasting gas and time charging up the guys battery, .....Nothin!, checked the connections, all good still nothing! Took the cables off the other guys batt. and hooked direct, still nothing. Finally in the process of scratching our heads we put the parking lights on on his rig just to confirm voltage was reaching his vehicle, accidentally bumped one of the cables and his lights went out, bumped it again they came back on. Took the cables off and put my test light on them and twisted the cable, on, off ,on, off......Apparently loseing contact in the jumper cables somewhere and getting intermitant or no voltage, threw his pair of jumper cables on it and it started immediatly!.....Wasted over an hour and gas too, because of old crappy jumper cables! That particular set of jumper cables now resides at the bottom of a dumpster........So check your jumper cables out, it might save you some frustration when you least need it!

 

My cables of choice; Amazon.com: Coleman Cable Systems 08662 25' Heavy Duty 4-Gauge Booster Cables: Automotive
They are long enough that you can jump off a vehicle that is parked head-in while parked behind them.

 

i just remembered wheres my jumper cables?
i think the last time my neighbor borrowed he didnt bring back
he moved last summer
im gonna look in garage i dont think ill find em

 

Good advice for something that is often overlooked. I agree with Shorebird #4 AWG with a cold resistant fexible jacket is worth the money.

 

my jumper cables in the crown vic are 1 gauge welding wire, 16 foot long with 300 amp ends.
the truck cables are 01 welding wire, 25 foot long, with 300 amp ends on one side, and a quick disconnect on the truck.

 

I have 2 sets. Both have Plugs on one end, one for my service truck, and one for my tow truck. Both I bought from Snap-On, and nobody can "borrow" them!

I also installed a switch that bypasses the voltage reg so I can charge the "jumped" battery at full amperage.

 

Just remember, with heavy duty jumper cables, if you can't get the vehicle started you can at least use the cables to tow the disabled vehicle.

 

Buy good quality and heavy duty cables. Cheap ones are gonna fail you. The ones I keep in my truck are some I found in a used car in the 60s. I keep mine under the cushion in the center 20% of my seat. It pops open and is a good place to keep the cables. Most people don't know the storage area exists and nobody bothers your cables.

 

Second buying the best cables you can buy. You want heavy gauge cables and hefty clamps. The cheapies will fail when you least expect.

The good cables will have a thick very flexible insulation and be very supple. Mine are in a one piece insulator jacket, kind of like giant size zipcord or household appliance wire. Cheap cables usually look thin and are kind of stiff. The good cable wire will have a lot of very thin wires. The cheap cables usually have a few fat wires. The good cables will also weigh a lot.

I forget the brands I have now since mine have lasted well over 20 years. I have 3 sets that show no sign of wearing out.

One area of failure you can inspect is the clamps where the wire is attached. Some clamps just use a cheap crimp to hold the wire. What you want is a welded, or soldered or screw clamp type connection. Check the screws for looseness and locktight if needed.

Check the crimp and maybe solder the wire to the crimped area if you can. I did this with a cheap set and they have held up pretty good.


Just my experience.

Jim Henderson

 

i make my own J-cables from 00 welding cable 20ft long with heavy duty ends total cost 30 bucks i personaly dont like the J-cables that are stuck together i like sperate wires that way if you have to you can hook them end for end to use for other things like bypassing an electric fence or testing starter motors on tractors

 

I agree with the flexibility and good construction, but I wonder what gauge you really need.

If the battery is at all good, you just need to charge it enough so that it can do most of the work. It could take a while, but you won't ruin YOUR alternator. Of course, it's different if you run a tow rig with a specialel electrical system -- and you don't have the time.

Just my .02 -be glad to hear opinions to the contrary.

And I will go check my cables tomorow!

 

Most jumper cables are used to immediately jump start an engine. Depending on temperature, engine size and condition, battery etc, you may pull several hundred amps when you jump start. Most of the current coimes from the good battery. In some cases you may need the engine running at a fast idle to supply enough additional charge to get things running.

What would be ideal would be a short fat cable. Reality dictates maybe 6 to 12 feet of cable with enough capacity to jump start a dead bettery. I forget what guage mine are but wild guess is the wire is at least as thick as a pencil with fine wires making it up.

So bigger cables allow a lot more current to flow, without melting, been there done that. Thin cables can usually do the job. It's when things are really in bad shape that the good cables prove their worth.

If all you need to do is charge the battery enough to start, you could just buy one of those portable battery kits that will charge the battery thru the cigarette lighter. Takes about 30 minutes with the one I bought. Rather use jumpers and start now. I have even seen battery charge cables for cigarette lighters that are essentiall household zip cord. They will work, if you aren't in a hurry.

Been saved or saved someone else with my good jumpers more times than I care to remember. Only blew up an alternator once, when I connected the cables backwards, duh. Learned how to rebuild alternators that week, so some silver lining, eh.

Jim Henderson

 

I need to get a longer pair ... wondering what gauge also ... I am thinking that a 4 ga should be enough for most uses?

 

You need a heavy jumper cable. You need the most amps to get through tht you can. A smaller gauge cable will heat up when you use them and that is a sign you are losing amperage to heat. If you have small cables, you need to let the cables sit a while connected so the charge can be transferred to the battery of the crippled vehicle.

 

just wanted to know whether this is a good price?not too sure

Amazon.com: Coleman Cable Systems 08662 25' Heavy Duty 4-Gauge Booster Cables: Automotive