NA jumped a car for strangers while walking the pups

mandm

mandm

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Was walking the dogs this weekend and saw a group of ladies trying to jump their car. I asked if they needed help and they said sure. I said to turn the car on and hooked up the cables and I said to start the car (oops no key), or try 2, with the key, car starts. I unhooked the cables and one turns the car off. I’m like noooo you gotta leave the car on until you reach your final destination otherwise you might need another jump. Repeat, done, happy I helped.
 
mandm said:
Was walking the dogs this weekend and saw a group of ladies trying to jump their car. I asked if they needed help and they said sure. I said to turn the car on and hooked up the cables and I said to start the car (oops no key), or try 2, with the key, car starts. I unhooked the cables and one turns the car off. I’m like noooo you gotta leave the car on until you reach your final destination otherwise you might need another jump. Repeat, done, happy I helped.
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Man, you carry a spare battery and cables with you while walking the dogs? You must REALLY like a workout! :)
 
EdFred said:
Man, you carry a spare battery and cables with you while walking the dogs? You must REALLY like a workout! :)
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I didn’t share the full story I guess, the lady already called her friend and they had 2 cars present and cables already.

But yea I’ve been skipping the gym, I should carry around my old Concorde battery and put it to use until I get in shape again ;)
 
mandm said:
I didn’t share the full story I guess, the lady already called her friend and they had 2 cars present and cables already.

But yea I’ve been skipping the gym, I should carry around my old Concorde battery and put it to use until I get in shape again ;)
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I figured there was something left out, like you ran back home a 1/2 a block and grabbed the car.

Side question to the general masses:
IS there a way to jump an gasoline driven car from an electric? Like does a Tesla have two posts somewhere to connect to?
 
EdFred said:
I figured there was something left out, like you ran back home a 1/2 a block and grabbed the car.

Side question to the general masses:
IS there a way to jump an gasoline driven car from an electric? Like does a Tesla have two posts somewhere to connect to?
Click to expand...
I don't really understand why people are still messing about with jumper cables when stuff like this works brilliantly with far less hassle. Charge it. Throw it in the trunk. Forget about it until needed. Way better!
 
No but noco makes one with less weight than a rg25 that can start a semi.

NOCO Boost Max GB250: 5250A UltraSafe Jump Starter – 12V Lithium Battery Booster Pack, Portable Jump Box, Power Bank & Jumper Cables - for 16L Gas and Diesel Engines https://a.co/d/gnhppiX
 
AvNavCom said:
I don't really understand why people are still messing about with jumper cables when stuff like this works brilliantly with far less hassle. Charge it. Throw it in the trunk. Forget about it until needed. Way better!
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I don't have a trunk. So it either bounces around in the cab or the truck bed. Also, do they hold their charge forever? I can just see needing to self jump, and the gadget be dead as well.
 
AvNavCom said:
I don't really understand why people are still messing about with jumper cables when stuff like this works brilliantly with far less hassle. Charge it. Throw it in the trunk. Forget about it until needed. Way better!
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Those jump packs are awesome, just don’t make the mistake I did. I left it plugged into the cigarette lighter in the trunk all the time, thinking “that way it’s always ready for me if I need it” and forgot about it. 2 years later I needed it for someone else and opened the box up to grab it and the battery had swollen to the point that the plastic housing was cracking open nearly an inch! Had to quickly find a place that could dispose of a swollen LiPo.

Much better to just charge it once a month, just more work unfortunately.
 
EdFred said:
I don't have a trunk. So it either bounces around in the cab or the truck bed. Also, do they hold their charge forever? I can just see needing to self jump, and the gadget be dead as well.
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Mine held a charge for over 2 years and worked when I needed it. It is a far stronger boost than jumper cables. I sometimes carry on XC trips, just in case. Very small, easily fits in console or glove box.

 
AKiss20 said:
Those jump packs are awesome, just don’t make the mistake I did. I left it plugged into the cigarette lighter in the trunk all the time, thinking “that way it’s always ready for me if I need it” and forgot about it. 2 years later I needed it for someone else and opened the box up to grab it and the battery had swollen to the point that the plastic housing was cracking open nearly an inch! Had to quickly find a place that could dispose of a swollen LiPo.

Much better to just charge it once a month, just more work unfortunately.
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That's crazy! Glad it didn't blow up on you! I check mine every six months. They seem to hold a charge though, so it's more of a peace-of-mind check. I stopped carrying cables years ago.
 
Would you have offered to help if it was a group of men? Would they accept or stubbornly decline?
 
AvNavCom said:
That's crazy! Glad it didn't blow up on you! I check mine every six months. They seem to hold a charge though, so it's more of a peace-of-mind check. I stopped carrying cables years ago.
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Yeah that was definitely a little bit of a brown pants moment when I discovered that!
 
EdFred said:
I don't have a trunk. So it either bounces around in the cab or the truck bed. Also, do they hold their charge forever? I can just see needing to self jump, and the gadget be dead as well.
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I charge mine to 80-ish % (if needed) every 6 months or so.
In a pinch, a weak battery that can't crank the engine will still have enough juice to charge the pack, and then you can use it to start the engine. It works since most of them can charge using a 5V USB charger.
 
Car in the hardware store parking lot needed a jump, I volunteered.

When I opened the hood, something bothered me. Realized the red cable was connected to ground. Looked close at the battery, noted the negative terminal was connected via the red cable.

As an EE, this bugged the heck out of me. Glad I traced things down instead of connecting red to red, and black to black.

Ron Wanttaja
 
wanttaja said:
Car in the hardware store parking lot needed a jump, I volunteered.

When I opened the hood, something bothered me. Realized the red cable was connected to ground. Looked close at the battery, noted the negative terminal was connected via the red cable.

As an EE, this bugged the heck out of me. Glad I traced things down instead of connecting red to red, and black to black.

Ron Wanttaja
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That must have been an older vehicle. Pretty much impossible to cross connect on any of the vehicles we have (all 2020 or newer)
 
mandm said:
Was walking the dogs this weekend and saw a group of ladies trying to jump their car. I asked if they needed help and they said sure. I said to turn the car on and hooked up the cables and I said to start the car (oops no key), or try 2, with the key, car starts. I unhooked the cables and one turns the car off. I’m like noooo you gotta leave the car on until you reach your final destination otherwise you might need another jump. Repeat, done, happy I helped.
Click to expand...
Good advice in that situation is to drive around for a little while and then to an auto parts store or repair shop. Turn it off and restart there. If it don’t, your covered
 
BTW I originally bought my battery jumper for fishing. Nothing like being 15 miles offshore in the Gulf (of Mexico), alone in an 18 foot boat, and your engine won't start. Especially entertaining when you almost drain the battery trying repeatedly to start it, while not noticing the kill switch dangling from your belt. Ask me how I know.
 
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Ed Haywood said:
BTW I originally bought my battery jumper for fishing. Nothing like being 15 miles offshore in the Gulf (of Mexico), alone in an 18 foot boat, and your engine won't start. Especially entertaining when you almost kill the battery trying repeatedly to start it, while not noticing the kill switch dangling from your belt. Ask me how I know.
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Sounds like the equivalent of cranking that starter on the plane over and over and not noticing the mags are off. Not that I have ever done that morethanonetime
 
I thought about a jump pack, but the set of jumper cables I own only get used every couple of years - and virtually always loaned out to a family member. I don't remember the last time I had to jump start anything we owned. That's why I own cables but not a battery jump start box.
 
EdFred said:
I figured there was something left out, like you ran back home a 1/2 a block and grabbed the car.

Side question to the general masses:
IS there a way to jump an gasoline driven car from an electric? Like does a Tesla have two posts somewhere to connect to?
Click to expand...
Every hybrid/electric vehicle I've seen has a low voltage battery to run electronics (like the door locks) when the high voltage battery is disconnected. They also generally have jumper posts under the hood. If the car is left unplugged for a long time, like months, it's possible for the 12v battery to go dead and need a "jump".
 
EdFred said:
IS there a way to jump an gasoline driven car from an electric? Like does a Tesla have two posts somewhere to connect to?
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Depends on the EV. Most have a 12v battery in addition to the big ("traction") battery.
EdFred said:
Also, do they [jump packs] hold their charge forever? I can just see needing to self jump, and the gadget be dead as well.
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No and I posted a similar comment here a while back. The response that I got was to add the top-off task to your oil change checklist. I thought it was good advice. I still don't have a jump pack nor have I ever needed one(*), though.

(*) since college, anyway
 
I have a jump box ,I use it mostly for my boat if the batteries get too low. Says to charge it every six months or after every use.
 
I was asked to jump a car by a woman in the grocery store lot. I happily agreed to help and told her to pop the hood. That's when I realized her engine was already running. It sounded great, ran like a Swiss watch. The car just would not do anything else. The dash wouldn't light up, it wouldn't go into gear... the engine wouldn't even shut off. It would do absolutely nothing but idle.

I had to tell her that her problem was beyond my diagnostic capabilities and she would need to call a better mechanic, or a tow truck. I do not envy modern automotive techs that have to diagnose crap like that.
 
Racerx said:
Would you have offered to help if it was a group of men? Would they accept or stubbornly decline?
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Yes I would have offered to help if I felt they needed help. Or to stir up a conversation, provided they look somewhat friendly. Someone asked me how to use the RV dump the other day too, I just gave them verbal instructions and they were thankful.
 
luvflyin said:
Good advice in that situation is to drive around for a little while and then to an auto parts store or repair shop. Turn it off and restart there. If it don’t, your covered
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Yeah I told them it needs to go on the highway, you need a new battery (there was blue stuff everywhere), it’s probably $200-300, go to autozone and they can help you, if you don’t want to spend the money then keep the car on until you’re home, you don’t want to be stuck elsewhere / aka unsafe. Also be aware it’s Sunday so things might close earlier. Etc. etc. they were so thankful. Felt good to help. The positive cable was so corroded, wish I could have helped clean it a bit.
 
Fiveslide said:
I was asked to jump a car by a woman in the grocery store lot. I happily agreed to help and told her to pop the hood. That's when I realized her engine was already running. It sounded great, ran like a Swiss watch. The car just would not do anything else. The dash wouldn't light up, it wouldn't go into gear... the engine wouldn't even shut off. It would do absolutely nothing but idle.

I had to tell her that her problem was beyond my diagnostic capabilities and she would need to call a better mechanic, or a tow truck. I do not envy modern automotive techs that have to diagnose crap like that.
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Did you put the car in drive and try or what happened when you press the gas pedal?
 
mandm said:
Did you put the car in drive and try or what happened when you press the gas pedal?
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I did try to put the car in gear, it wouldn't shift out of park. I had an older Ford Explorer that had some kind of safety or anti-theft thing that had to be bypassed by popping out a little plastic cover and sticking a screwdriver in the hole to bypass, but wasn't trying that on some random woman's car. It may have been for towing if the car wasn't running, but something broke and had to be done every time you shifted out of park when it had about 150k miles on it.

Even if something like that worked, I'm pretty sure the steering was locked, because the car didn't know it was running. Weirdest crap I've ever seen a car do.

I don't remember if I tried to press the accelerator.
 
AKiss20 said:
Those jump packs are awesome, just don’t make the mistake I did. I left it plugged into the cigarette lighter in the trunk all the time, thinking “that way it’s always ready for me if I need it” and forgot about it. 2 years later I needed it for someone else and opened the box up to grab it and the battery had swollen to the point that the plastic housing was cracking open nearly an inch! Had to quickly find a place that could dispose of a swollen LiPo.

Much better to just charge it once a month, just more work unfortunately.
Click to expand...

Anyone remember when jump boxes first came out and they were almost exactly the same size as a car battery? And they still sucked. That's probably why you felt the need to keep it plugged in all the time, because the old ones were mostly junk and you had to do just that.
 
Fiveslide said:
Anyone remember when jump boxes first came out and they were almost exactly the same size as a car battery? And they still sucked. That's probably why you felt the need to keep it plugged in all the time, because the old ones were mostly junk and you had to do just that.
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Respectfully, don’t think I’m old enough to remember that time.

I just left it plugged in because I’m used to higher quality electronics that can handle that without overcharging the battery. I left it plugged in because I didn’t want to think about ever having to charge it and didn’t see any downside to it. I won’t pretend I bought the best jump box, it was a $50 Amazon special. Now I know better.
 
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My parents met when my dad jumped my mom's old VW bug (one of the originals). So I guess it worked out for him :)
 
My jump starting horror story was when we (the Other Guy, airplane partner) and I went to go pick up the plane in Jackson after a major reupholstering job. For whatever reason, the battery was drained, and we didn't have the Piper electrical plug. We tried our best to hook up jumper cables to the battery, but couldn't make direct connections to the terminals themselves, and ended up starting a fire, which we had to put out with the extinguisher, which, we fortunately had.

Two weeks and a hefty A&P bill later, I was able to fly it back home. Oh, and in the course of installing the new plastics, dude broke off the trim indicator. I cranked the wheel while the Other Guy eyeballed the trim tab. Took off and flew it back without incident.
 
I went to guy's shop to work on his motorcycle. He worked on construction equipment and his big diesel trucks, but wanted help on his Triumph motorcycle. He had an awesome jump setup. It was a garden wagon, with eight 6v golf cart batteries wired so that it could output either 12v or 24v with the flip of a couple of switches. That little wagon would jump start anything. It just needed an overnight charge about once a year.
 
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