I once narrated the story of my father’s old, carbureted Peugeot 504.
Amongst the many anomalies that plagued that vehicle (even by the standards of its day), it still managed to be fun to drive and importantly, allowed very strange things (by today’s standards) to happen to it without any consequences.
One such anomaly was the rather strange ability of the sedan to withstand its starter battery being taken out without any consequences.
Powered by a four-speed manual tranny, all you needed to do was give the vehicle a little push (especially downhill), engage its second gear, clutch it, and release the same abruptly while gassing it frantically.
Viola! A hitherto completely dead vehicle would roar to life in the most majestic manners possible, its exhaust outputting V6-level growls.
That was the easiest method, however. If that wasn’t practical (you were alone or were facing uphill, for instance), the next best option remained to use another starter battery and power the same.
With this method, you didn’t need to figure out or observe any protocols: simply take out your weak battery, replace it with a properly functioning one, crank, get the engine to life, replace with your own battery, and fire on – allowing the alternator to do its thing, while you gas the vehicle like hell.
Life was good then and if you followed any of the procedures as outlined above, you’d be fine irrespective of whether your vehicle was a Peugeout, a Volvo, a Mercedes, or a Toyota.
Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on which side of the fence you are on), times have changed. And with these changes, there’s a stark reality starring us all in the face: irrespective of the marque you drive today, you can’t simply yank out a dead (or weak) battery and replace same with another without consequences.
At the very least, you must first master how to safely jump start a modern vehicle which essentially bores down to two time-trusted and modern vehicle-friendly methods: the old jumper cable and the new portable jump starter methods.
Now, assuming you are of the new stock and desire to have your vehicle jumped by means of a portable jumper because of the many advantages this offers, then, you might as well pay attention and learn how to do it correctly.
If you have a Noco-manufactured portable jumper (or any other portable jumper for that matter), the lines below will guide you on how to properly boost a starter battery using the portable jumper in question.
Let me show you how.
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The Two Options Open To You When You Need To Boost A Starter Battery
Like most of the things the modern world affords us all, jumping a vehicle has different ways it is carried out, all to the same end: ensuring that a weak or bad starter battery gets enough juice to crank an engine by turning the starter motor.
The first option is the more traditional approach necessitating the use of a jumper cable and requiring another battery which needs to be better than the one needing a jump.
To get your weak or dead battery jumped this way, you’ll, first of all, need jumper cables from a place like Amazon before proceeding (assuming you have not, already). Right after that, all that remains is to simply connect the batteries terminal to terminal (starting with the positive first and making certain that you keep your wrenches and tools out of the way of other metal parts of the vehicle).
The second option is the one that concerns us directly here: jumping a starter battery by means of a portable jumper, without the need for any other external battery.
This is the option you should opt for, given the fact that it is super convenient and does not need a second party or their vehicle to achieve success with it.
So, how do you go about safely jumping your vehicle with a portable jumper, Noco or not?
How To Correctly Boost A Starter Battery Using A Portable Jump Starter
Using a portable jumper to start a dead/weak car battery is incredibly easy: all you need to do is simply connect the cables to the jumper, attach them to the weak battery’s terminals, and fire things off.
However, there is a sequence of doing things in order to minimize the risk of frying things up or worse, getting voltage to the wrong places.
This is the exact sequence that covers how to boost a starter battery using a portable jump starter.
- Connect the cables to the jumper (if they are detachable or can be detached).
- Connect the battery clamps of the cables to the battery terminals, starting with the positive first.
- Power on the jumper and wait for at least, 30 seconds.
- If the vehicle’s battery is completely dead, you will need to use the manual bypass button to boost things up.
- Crank your vehicle.
- Once the vehicle starts, power off the portable jumper and disconnect the cables starting with the negative terminal first.
- Store away your jumper and its cables and be on your way.
It is as simple as the above and everyone can easily do it when and if the need arises. However, as indicated above, proper care must be taken to ensure that the correct order of both clamping and unclamping the battery is religiously followed.
With that out of the way, why should you consider a Noco jumper in the midst of at least, a dozen other models? The reasons are as legion as they are interesting. However, to keep things tidy and in perspective, I’ll focus on the five (5) most important ones.
Why You Should Consider A Noco Jumper, Over And Above Other Brand Of Jumpers
In the open market, there are at least, several dozen of portable jumper brands to choose from. As a matter of fact, if you’re in the market for portable jumpers, you’re likely to be overwhelmed with interesting options from known brands to cheap unknown import knockoffs.
The prices and options for these will also vary – as widely as their variety.
In the best of times, you’re likely to be thoroughly confused. However, in the midst of that confusion (and indecision) that is bound to occur, a product stands out – tall and over all the other options: Noco.
However, the question arises: why trust Noco? Why should you consider Noco over and above all other options in the market in the quest for an awesome portable jumper?
Here are some of the reasons:
1. Noco Is An Old Company With A Name To Protect
With age, comes many good things – with some of the benefits spanning well into other realities.
For Noco, this age dates back to 1914 when the company was founded. With a history that dates back over a century, the company is extremely cautious of the type of products it pushes to the market and where it puts its name.
The reason is straightforward and clear: more than a century of hard work, passion, and dedication won’t be ruined by a whim or the prospect of some quick profit.
This is where most of the unknown companies cut corners and try to be ‘smart’. With nothing to lose, they shamelessly chase the money even to the detriment of their own consumers, clients, and customers.
For a company with a carefully guarded name and reputation to lose such as Noco? That won’t simply happen!
2. The Noco Company Is Cutting Edge In Research And Development
Any company can with a dint of luck and an alignment of the stars, rise to be old and claim its age as an asset or advantage.
This is what is common today and often, seen.
With that in mind, the age of Noco (or any other old(er) ) company, taken in isolation, doesn’t mean anything in itself; there are many companies today that are older than most of their peers but unfortunately, instead of using their age to advantage, are instead weighed down severely by it, making it almost impossible for such companies to experience true progress.
Some of these companies have seen relatively smaller and younger companies (with better vision and smarter dynamics) take up their spaces and because of the vision of such smaller/smaller companies, are now offering something better and more dynamic to the consuming public.
However, the case of Noco is entirely different: the company, with age in its annals, has judiciously deployed the same and has consistently led its market, innovating and bringing new dimensions to already existing products that before now, have not even been thought of.
For instance, over and beyond the portable jumper world (which the company leads and clearly revolutionized – with its cutting-edge tech), Noco is also a leader in the smart battery charger segment with their Noco Genius being a best seller capable of rejuvenating even completely dead or compromised battery cells!
An old(er) company with such a profile counts for something – beyond just age (that could only be an increment of years and nothing else).
3. Noco Is Properly Niched As A Company (And It Respects This Reality)
There’s an advantage in going niche and catering to a particular segment of society, exclusively. The advantage of this reality or going this route is that you are better acquainted with the field and in that position, are better suited to best serve such an audience.
This is where many companies fail, completely. They are in the beauty niche, electronics, cleaning, security, and just about any other niche that promises a quick profit.
Noco, in its wisdom, chose the completely opposite route to this: the company focuses exclusively on automotive consumer electronics to the exclusion of every other niche.
Beyond this, the Noco company has a clear focus on the auto industry with a particular bias towards the charging and electrical systems. This has given rise to a plethora of hyper-targeted products like the Boost, Boost Max, Genius Pro, Boost X, etc – all geared towards vehicle batteries and their maintenance.
Now, if you’re to make the decision of choosing between two companies and you discover that while one focuses in a hyper manner on a particular niche as Noco does, and the other simply makes everything under the skies, which company will you opt for at the end of the day?
There, you have your answer.
Alternatives To The Noco (And Situations Where They Make The Greatest Sense)
The Noco company makes awesome products, no doubt. To argue this is to debate the reality that there’s energy in sun rays or that photosynthesis is a myth.
However, smart as the company is in its product line/offering, there are still alternatives that are likely to make more sense to you, depending on your particular circumstances/needs in motoring or needs in general.
1. If You’re A DIY Weekend Technician
Today, many vehicles are running at their best without the help of professional mechanics or the dealership – all thanks to a unique army of folks who can handle anything on a vehicle on their own from an engine overhaul to caliper rebuilds and everything else in between.
These folks are called Shade Tree Mechanics, DIYers, or Weekend Warriors – depending on your choice of diction.
Now, if you’re one of them and particularly hate trips to the dealership (for any reason but the purchase of a new vehicle or a warranty claim), then, you’ll love this alternative. It is called the Lokithor Jumper With Air Compressor.
The sweet spot about the lokithor jumper (with air compressor) above is that besides being a jumper and air compressor all built into one, it is light and ultra-portable for the tasks it performs.
At an impressive 3.3 lb, this ultra-light and super-portable unit can easily jump an 8L gas vehicle and a 6L diesel-powered motor while ensuring pressure up to 150 PSI.
The icing on the cake? The unit has a digital screen that shows you all that is going on and lets you store it for a whopping 30 months in standby mode!
That’s two and a half years. Can you beat that?
2. If You Want Something Cheaper
Sometimes, money could be a challenge; there’s no shame in that. This is especially true now that inflation appears to eat up income to the point where your money appears to practically ‘vanish’ even before it gets to you!
If you’re on a tight budget, it makes absolute sense to keep things on the low and buy only options that you can afford, conveniently while saving money for other challenges of life along the way.
If this is you, then, the options mentioned above, the GB 50 and the Lokithor alternatives won’t still make sense: you need to pay ‘premium’ dollars for either option you decide on.
However, if you look closely, an option like the Avapow Jump Starter is a steal – factoring in what it has to offer: the ability to jump impressive 8.0-liters gasoline engines and 6.5 liters diesel – all with a lithium compact offering and importantly, a USB 3.0 reality that is up to the times.
If you’re cash-strapped at the moment or simply want to save some bucks, the AVAPOW 2000A Portable Jumper is certainly what you should take a close and very interested look at.
3. If You Prefer Something With An Ultra Fast Charging Reality
There are many legitimate reasons for wanting your devices to charge up faster than it is customary for that device class: you simply want your things snappy, you’re in a hurry, you forgot to charge them up prior to the last discharge and only discovered that you need them at the present, etc.
Whatever your reasons for preferring a portable jumper with the ability to receive a boost in the fastest possible fashion, you’ll be amazed to have the Noco GBX 55 in your motoring life.
Designed by the legendary company, Noco, already mentioned above, the GBX 55 has (almost) all the fine details of the GB 50 – and then some more (that will make you grin from ear to ear 🙂 )
One such feature is the ‘turbo chargeable’ feature of the unit, AKA fast charging. The GBX 55 is capable of recharging itself from a completely flat state to 100% charge in just 1.2 hours!
As if that isn’t badass enough, the jumper can, with just 5 minutes of charge, offer enough power to go on a jump-starting spree!
Does it ever get better than that? If this is what makes you tick, by all means, consider taking a close and ultra-interested look at the Noco GBX 55 on Amazon directly.
Summary And Wrap Up
Boosting a battery is a simple procedure that can be done by the automotive novice (and expert alike) without much thought to it or even effort for that matter.
However, to be done right, there are some basics that must be adhered to; basics that this article sufficiently covers.
While some of these basics are advisory, some of them are safety-related and thus, mandatory.
For instance, I strongly believe that the Noco GB 50 is the best portable jumper for your jumping needs – if they are not special or extreme. However, that does not mean that others won’t do or serve you. If you choose another model or brand, you should be fine, overall, provided you make certain that the option picked is well-made and durable.
However, the safety measures shared in this article, especially under the heading: ‘How To Correctly Boost A Starter Battery Using A Portable Jump Starter’ are not advisory. They must be followed to the letter if you’re to ensure maximum safety yourself and protect your vehicle during (and after) the jumping process.