Jump Starting The Cars Partially Dead Battery and related info

Grumpy

The Grumpy Grease Monkey mechanical engineer.
Staff member
I was over at a friends home helping him start a car he has not started in several years,
a 1967 pontiac le mans with a 389 pontiac engine he had previously installed when the original 350 had thrown a connecting rod, after almost 200K miles.
the battery was obviously not charged so he had used a HF battery charger over night,
this one (ITS COMPLETE JUNK, IN MY OPINION DON,T BUY ONE)
https://www.harborfreight.com/10250-amp-12v-manual-charger-with-engine-start-60581.html




too hopefully recharge the battery in the car,
but I found with a multi meter that the existing battery ,
was not charged after all night and most likely in need of replacement
(this has zero to do with the battery charger being used)
he did not have decent jumper cables , a multi meter showed the corroded connections on the cheap set,
he did have were useless, even ignoring the 10 ga wire.
I had a decent set and we jumped the car and got it started with the old battery,
and the alternator was putting out the required 14.5 volts,
but even after running for 20 minutes the old existing battery was dead.

obviously If you are in a similar situation, you need the car to have fresh fuel,in the tank,
spark at the plugs, the timing correct, and you need to verify fuels reaching the carb,
, basically verify the basics, maybe do a compression test,
basic tune-up, etc
if its a more modern car you can pull trouble codes and check injectors etc.
new spark plugs a new fuel filter and the starter must spin the engine fast and easily,
anyway, He decided to get a new battery from walmart,
and after it was installed we got the car fired up ,
without my having to jump start the car.
after letting the car idle and a short local drive the new walmart battery was fully charged.
I suggested he get a decent battery charger, for his garage,
as the HF battery charger he had tried to use was putting out an intermittent 11 volts,
but something internally was over heating and shutting it off after about 4 minutes

btw you can get a functional decent quality multi-meter for $30-$60, from H
F ,
https://www.harborfreight.com/11-function-digital-multimeter-with-audible-continuity-61593.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-1-digital-multimeter-98674.html

if your buying jumper cables Id strongly suggest you select 1GA or 2GA copper cables
and look for good quality clamps, the typical 8 ga or 4 ga jumper cables you see at discount stores for $25-$30 are not worth the price.




https://www.amazon.com/EPAuto-Boost...s&qid=1564060156&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

https://best.offers.com/best-jumper...MI18altZLQ4wIVEp6fCh0B_wCvEAAYASAAEgIaiPD_BwE


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017O8JZP6?aaxitk=CRtcCpN8PWyC2zzOk9-vAw&pd_rd_i=B017O8JZP6&pf_rd_p=9420597b-7dad-4cbd-a28d-7d676ac67378&hsa_cr_id=3694502320801&sb-ci-n=productDescription&sb-ci-v=Energizer 1-Gauge 800A Heavy Duty Jumper Battery Cables 25 Ft Booster Jump Start - 25' Allows You to Boost Battery from Behind a Vehicle!&sb-ci-a=B017O8JZP6
at $60 these may look expensive but they should last for decades if well cared for, making them a bargain.


https://www.autoguide.com/top-10-best-portable-car-jump-starters


related threads
(yes actually reading through the linked info helps)


http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/battery-charger-for-the-shop.928/#post-55878

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/battery-or-alternator.10003/#post-43220

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/ctek-7002-smart-battery-charger.15354/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...tery-chargers-consumer-reports-in-2018.14954/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...oven-facts-if-your-in-doubt.13051/#post-84890

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-isolating-ignition-problems.2828/#post-75619

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/multi-meters.3110/#post-71867

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...tor-putting-out-low-voltage.12221/#post-59512

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...rical-glitches-in-newer-cars.5492/#post-50908
 
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I recently had the battery in my 1996 corvette fail to accept a recharge,
its a walmart everstart I purchased back in jan 2017.
the corvette was dead when I went to start the corvette,
even with the trickle charger attached.
it had a 5 year warrantee, (they no longer offered)
so the replacement battery was discounted to about 1/2 the current listed price.
keep in mind my corvette spends a great deal of its time parked,
and on an auto charge battery maintenance trickle charger
so I got about 4 years out of the old battery which is not all that bad,
batteries that walmart sells that fit the corvette battery compartment ,
range from 550 cold crank amps ( CCA) to 700 CCA

c8343287-43f2-4573-899d-3fd73049be26_1.24995ef52e6d94fd1a0660e1b5b0df4e.jpeg

https://www.walmart.com/ip/EverStar...attery-Group-Size-75-12-Volt-600-CCA/16795238



related threads and links
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...sumer-reports-in-2018.14954/page-2#post-98828

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/battery-charger-for-the-shop.928/#post-55689

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/battery-life.11172/#post-50085

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/trickle-charger.10294/page-2#post-41758
 
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yeah, please let us know how its working out.
 
Pull the battery out and pull the caps off, keep a good watch on the fluid in the battery! Set it up right! I have a battery in my Harley that is on its 3rd year, motorcycle batteries rarely last more than 18 months! I keep it on a floating charger all the time unless I am riding everyday!
 
Are you responding to Grumpy or me ?
You, your battery is smaller, like a motorcycle battery. If I remember, your battery lays on its side, correct? I bet the cranking amps are similar to mine, mine are 650 CCA. When I am riding everyday it’s okay, but I don’t let it sit 2-3 days before pulling it pop the caps and set up my bench and put it on a floating charger. Mine has caps that can come off. I don’t remember if yours does! Just a suggestion, it works for me! When I bought this bike, I sold the Harley battery, they are only good for about a year.
 
No caps to remove on my battery. These batteries can be stored for long periods without
needing a charge. Assuming there is not a small load draining the battery.

I have disconnected the battery for the winter and put the charger on every couple of
weeks until it's fully charged. Then I remove the charger until next time.

https://eu.odysseybattery.com/support/literature/

(B) How long can the battery be stored?
ODYSSEY batteries should be fully charged
prior to storage. Fully charged ODYSSEY
batteries can be stored for up to 24 months
at 77ºF (25ºC). Battery voltage naturally
decreases with time and with increased
temperature. The battery voltage should be
checked periodically. If the battery voltage
drops to 12.0 volts (35% SOC) it should be
recharged immediately to avoid permanent
battery damage. The following can be used
as a rough approximation for the potential
storage times at different temperatures.
upload_2021-1-18_10-16-46.png

Specifications

PHCA 520A
CCA 170A
20hr Rate-Ah 16Ah
Reserve Capacity 24 minutes
Dimensions (mm) 184.7 x 79.0 x 191.8
Dimensions (in) 7.27 x 3.11 x 7.55
Weight (kg) 7.0
Weight (lbs) 15.4


upload_2021-1-18_10-8-23.png
 
I was recently ask to help jump start a dead car battery, on some neighbors car ,as she had tried repeatedly to do so and failed to get any improvements. now to be fair , most people just assume that all battery cables are very similar, and many people have no idea how to correctly use a set to jump a car,
now in this case she had a cheap set of ALUMINUM cable jumper cables and I had a multimeter I used to check if her cars battery was dead as a first step in finding out why the car would not start after she had tried to jump start it.
when I saw the cheap aluminum battery cables, on the jumper cables I at first
assumed , the issue was they were not working, which proved to be correct, as there was no measurable electrical conductivity between the cables end clamps as the aluminium cable was deteriorated into mostly a white powder, so I go my battery cables out that I had made from(0 ) gauge welding cables and copper clamps, but before I connected those I measured her cars battery voltage and ask her to test by turning on her head lights, this simple test showed there was zero voltage , reaching the headlights, but the battery was fully charged, I used the multimeter to find the battery cable connectors in her car were both marginally loose and badly corroded, after driving to the local auto parts vendor , and buying and installing new battery cable ends on both cables her car started up without issues

yes there are much better jumper cables available,

but for the price these are reasonably priced for a set that won't be used frequently yet still be functional
(link below)


yes you have other and cheaper options on battery cable terminal ends,

and no these won't fit every car,
and yeah you need a bit more than,
minimal skills to correctly install these correctly


back in the 1950-through maybe-2000 cars did not generally have the easily damage electronics, the video above is valid,
as electrical surges do damage cars and yes it gets very expensive and not all damage is immediate or obvious.
(btw never ARC,MIG,TIG weld on a car without disconnecting the battery terminals) as electrical surges do damage cars








Wire-Cable-Guide-e1613783320384-1024x526.png


yes corrosion preventative spray helps reduce battery terminal corrosion issues
 
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