So check your portable power pack at least once a month and give it a charge as needed to make sure it's there for you when you need it. Our pro tip: A battery booster won't give you a boost if it's dead too. Some of those are great, and some of them aren't necessary, but what you want is up to you. From there, everything else is an added bonus feature. They have a small 12-volt battery with enough power to crank over your engine enough times to get it started. Portable jump starters, also called battery boosters, jump boxes, and probably a handful of other nicknames all work the same way. Only one of those options lets you get your car started immediately and by yourself, and it's the same option that actually can give you handy portable power whenever you're away from a wall socket. You can get one by calling a tow truck, by relying on a set of jumper cables and the kindness of strangers, or you can get a portable jump pack. Whatever the reason for your dead battery, if your Jeep won't start there's one solution: You need a boost. An empty battery in your car can come from far too many reasons, from a battery nearing the end of its life to somebody accidentally leaving the dome light on. If you often drive in very cold conditions, check out our recommendation above.Own and drive any brand of vehicle for long enough, and you'll end up needing one sooner or later. While all of our recommended models have an operating temperature range that goes as low as -4 degrees F, it’s best to store the device at normal temperatures whenever possible. Jump starters can also have problems in very cold conditions, especially if both the jump starter and car battery are well below freezing. The only downside is you’ve got to be more careful about making the right connections, as described above. That’s why many models include a manual override mode (also called a bypass, boost or force-start mode), which bypasses all of the electrical safeguards and makes the process similar to using jumper cables. Otherwise, the jump starter won’t work in its normal way. All of the jump starter’s electrical safeguards require that the battery has a minimal charge of about 0.2 volts. Is the jump starter adequately charged? Are the battery terminals clean, without a coating of dirt, grease or the white powdery residue from a corroded terminal? Are the device’s clamps tightly secured on the terminals?Īnother common problem is that the car battery is too discharged for the device to recognize it. There are various reasons why any jump starter won’t be able to get your car’s engine running. Extra amps can also serve you well if you need to jump someone else’s vehicle. So, getting a jump starter with more capacity, which includes all of our other picks, gives you extra insurance for larger or older engines, diesels or for use in colder conditions. In normal conditions, most passenger vehicles with gas engines, including full-size SUVs and trucks, can be started with about 350 to 500 cranking amps, which even our value pick, the Gooloo GE1200 delivers (along with 1200 peak amps). The peak amps for most jump starters range from about 500 to 2000, with some even going up to 4000 or 5000. Unfortunately, many brands don’t provide that figure, so as a general guide you have to compare peak amps, which is a higher but less precise number. The higher the number, the more powerful the jump starter. In simple terms, this tells you how many amps the device can output over the short period of time needed to start an engine. The best gauge for determining which jump starter is right for your vehicle is its cranking or starting amps rating. Read Less Read MoreĪ jump starter’s packaging typically shows the maximum engine sizes that the device is capable of starting, although that’s under ideal conditions. Here are the five that beat out the rest. Using our new research methodology, we evaluated the merits of each in a variety of important areas including price, power, ease of use, safety features, user reviews and more. To put together this guide, we looked at dozens of portable jump starters from a variety of manufacturers, some better known than others. They can let you run other 12-volt accessories, such as a tire inflator. Many will also charge your smartphone, laptop or other tech devices. Compact, affordable, and easy to use, the latest lithium-ion chargers are small enough to fit in a glove compartment or under the seat, yet can start your car without jumper cables or waiting for help.Īll of the jump starters we looked at include sophisticated safeguards that protect against electrical malfunctions and even warn you if the cables are connected incorrectly. The best time to think about shopping for a portable jump starter is not when you’re stuck by the side of the road with a dead battery.
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