When it comes to
transportation in an urban environment, you probably won’t be throwing a saddle
on your horse when you need to “get out of Dodge”. You’ll most likely be
cranking up the four-wheeled urban version instead. There is a simple tool that will be needed to
fix one of the main problems that occurs with a mechanical form of
transportation. This tool is a good set of heavy duty battery booster cables.
Whether it’s an interior
dome light left on, a weak alternator or simply a weak battery, a good set of
heavy duty battery booster cables can often “make your day”. Unless you have a
manual transmission in your vehicle, there’s little else that can help get a
vehicle with a weak battery started (pushing a vehicle with an automatic
transmission doesn't work). Until you do get it started, you won’t be going
anywhere anytime soon.
Don’t waste your money on a
cheap set of booster cables. These could create a possible fire hazard and this
would create additional problems you don’t need. A good heavy duty set of
booster cables aren't that expensive ($20 to $25) and you’ll be glad you had them when and
if they are needed.
Just remember to keep a set of booster cables in your
vehicle.
Got booster cables?
Staying above the water
line!
Riverwalker
Posts
6 comments:
Good advice. When I was much younger and dumber (impossible sez wife :^), I had cheapie battery cables in the trunk of my VW to help OTHERS out - my VW Bug was standard and so light, I could push start it BY MYSELF (which I did on some occasions, lol).
The battery cables did not conduct enough juice. Twice, we switched cables with heavier models and just that did the trick.
I learned from that.
I have learned the same lesson, only in Corvair. I now have a good set of cables but am planning on making a set from welding leads.
...(bears repeating)please, please, please, stay away from the china-mart cheapies...might as well split an extension cord and try it...good cables(or two)bought once, hell mine are over twenty years old...
...good to read ya again RW...
Too often using too small of a cable will not solve the problem. I've seen cheap cables melt before you could jump start the motor.
anon 12:40 - Rode many a mile in my friend's old volkswagen...pretty cramped.
tjbbpgoblll - Corvair? You are giving away your age my friend. Had a friend in college with one...good on gas but used a lot of oil.
Ken - Good to hear from you. Missed your witty comments. Hope everything is well with you and yours.
Regards,
RW
Thanks for the informative post! Some things you just don't think about until you need it.
It’s definitely a good idea to have a good set of jumper cables in your trunk in case of emergency (I too tend to think of them as being for the benefit of someone else, and I’ve used them to help others out who have left a light on, or whatever, and drained their battery). However, what I also keep in my car is a battery booster pack. I have a couple of them and one is smaller and less powerful so that one I don’t carry around with me. Both of them, however, in addition to being a jump start pack, have an air compressor built into them. It’ll take a few minutes to pump up a completely flat tire, but they work really well and have a pressure gauge built into the unit so you can see where you’re at inflation-wise. The bigger one that I carry around in the car also has an AM/FM radio built into it, and more importantly, it has a power inverter built into it with two 110V AC receptacles. So, you could plug your laptop or whatever into it to power it or charge it from the battery in the unit. It has a little compartment that stores the two charging cords that came with it – one to plug into the wall to charge it and a 12V charger that plugs into your cigarette lighter/power point to charge it in the car while you drive.
Jumper cables are a great idea, but this is something to consider also. There’s obviously some advantages to having a booster pack like this – you don’t have to have another vehicle/person to help you jump start your vehicle, you avoid the problem of trying to position another vehicle close enough to jump it, plus you’ve got the added bonus of a battery powered portable air compressor to pump up a low or flat tire. Something to consider throwing in your trunk for a rainy day.
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