I remember the very first vehicle I needed to jumpstart in my automotive life: it was carburetted 504 GL sedan with a (then) ‘impressive’ engine of 2.0 liters and (still) ‘impressive’ HP of just over a 100!
I remember that day today, decades later, as if it were only yesterday.
I had followed my dad to pick something (that I cannot now remember) at the local store. As was characteristic with the 504, everything worked perfectly well all through the journey and the vehicle was at its best behavior.
However, after a successful drive, characterized by powerful revs, we were back home and it was time to get out. I opened the front passenger door and successfully jumped down. When my dad attempted the same, ordinary-looking feat, the door simply refused to open!
My initial thoughts were that it was nothing and he’d manage things on his own. However, when I made to go and Pops wasn’t still down, I knew it was about to get serious and my attention would be needed.
Coming back after dropping what it was that we had picked up, I discovered that the driver’s door was jammed shut and nothing that was done was able to relieve it and release the old man.
To cut an otherwise long story short, Pops has to come out of the vehicle over the gear lever, unto the front passenger seat, and out of the front passenger’s door!
Being a large man (then) with a very ‘healthy-looking tummy’, this was quite traumatic for him. However, with much use of the ‘f’ words and a lot of swearing, he was able to get out of the vehicle. At last.
However, when he finally got out of the front passenger door and to freedom again, he forgot to switch off the Watt heavy halogen headlights that were rather short-sighted and ugly. Remember, this was a time before buzzers and lights that automatically kill themselves off after some seconds when the engine has been powered off.
The next day, the 504 was supposed to power on (as it had been doing through the years) and deliver us to school. Only that, when Pops inserted the key into the ignition port (it was curiously situated on the left, in a left-hand drive vehicle) nothing happened. Not even a single light (of the scanty options available then) illuminated the dash.
We all knew that we were in big trouble…even the least of the kids took a cue from the facial expressions of the older folks and started feeling worried (did I mention that the driver’s door that refused to give way the previous evening opened on its own accord without any fuss and on the first try the next day?)
Pops looked over his shoulder and caught a neighbor who owned a W123 trying to leave for work.
“Ter’,” he called out, “get me a battery from Mr. Jones!”
“Yes sir!”
That was it. In less than 2 minutes, I was struggling with an extremely heavy lead-acid battery from Mr. Jones, back to the French-made automobile. In less than 5 minutes, not only where we started off to school, but Mr. Jones was also powering down the freeway, with his immaculately pressed clothes, a neat mustache with a cigarette adorning his lips.
We were not also late for school – even for a second!
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Why You Cannot (And Must Not Jumpstart A Modern Vehicle) Like The Ancient 504!
If you have been paying attention to the introductory paragraphs, you’ll notice something strange and completely ‘unusual’ with the manner Pops and I jumped the old 504 when it needed to be jumped.
We simply yanked off the old battery, put in a better one (from Mr. Jones), powered the vehicle, and replaced the weak battery! From that point, the alternator did the rest of the work and in about thirty (30) minutes of driving or less, the weak battery was charged enough to power the vehicle on its own.
However, there’s a twist to the story: the 504 belongs to a generation well before this time; and perhaps, the only thing remotely related between it and the modern vehicle remains the (oddly positioned) ignition port, the horn that was operated by means of a ‘lever-switch’ and an airconditioner – for models that came with it.
So, with nothing in common to the vehicles of yore, what are the principal reasons why you should never attempt to jump a modern vehicle like the old options?
1. ECU ‘Flash’, Memory Dump, And Relearn
Modern vehicles are powered by an Engine Control Unit (ECU), sometimes called an Engine Control Module (ECM) that essentially, is the brain of the vehicle.
The ECU is the computer that instructs the injectors to pump more fuel in the morning or at cold starts in other to ensure a smooth ride and avoid a stall.
The ECC is the computer that measures the air coming into the system (with the help of the MAF) and instructs the injectors on the exact quantity of fuel to spay either into the cylinders or ports (depending on configuration) to get a perfect mixture for the circumstance.
The ECU is the computer that limits your gear changes in the morning to the third gear (unless you fire down the accelerator or until your engine warms to operating temperature) in order to achieve a quicker warm-up and more efficient running.
This computer is the one responsible for monitoring engine revs and together with your driving style, instructing the transmission when to change gears and how frequently this should happen.
If you have a bad Oxygen Sensor (O2 sensor), it is this same computer that will monitor the output, store the codes and send you a message via the dash that something is wrong with your vehicle. Same thing with a vacuum leak, a bad catalytic converter, and just about any of the numerous codes you get when there’s some trouble with the normal operation of your vehicle.
Something as simple as a service due reminder that usually flashes on the dash and eventually stays steady when your engine is in need of fresh oil and a filter is also handled by the ECU.
Now, this is where it gets interesting… the ECU doesn’t simply handle these tasks; it actively saves up data (mostly for reference purposes/customization needs) with the help of power from the battery. Though taking negligible battery power, yanking off a weak battery will completely distort this work of ‘memorizing’ and saving information, effectively leading to the loss of all working memory saved in its annals.
If you make the mistake of jumping any modern vehicle with the crude 504 style described in the introduction above, you’ll be practically facing a ‘new’ ECU that will need to relearn everything it had stored up in this flash memory; information that is super necessary for the smooth running of the vehicle.
For instance, with time (circa 50 miles or above), the ECU learns about your driving style and optimizes the vehicle transmission shifts in such a manner that best suits that driving style.
Now, yanking off a dead battery (by the way, even a ‘dead’ battery still has enough power to keep the ECU in a good working state provided the battery terminals are not tampered with) or removing a weak one to jump the vehicle the 504 style will wipe all such memory and you’ll need to start at ‘ground zero’ again!
2. Set Memory Will Be Lost
The Peugeot 504 sedan that was mentioned above was a great solid rear-axled sedan that had a pretty bulletproof engine, transmission, and suspension. There were very few vehicles on the road during its time that were made better than it was, at least in regards to engine and tranny engineering: these almost never failed.
However, that was where it ended: the seats were not the best in class when judged even by the standards of the day. Neither was there anything in the interior to excite one; there was basically just a radio with a cassette deck and that was it.
And, of course, there was nothing that needed to have its memory preserved: no memory seats, no garage door openers, no auto lighting preferences etc. The vehicle was all muscle and no brain – end of story.
The modern vehicle, by comparison, is quite different: there are a ton of things that yanking off your battery and putting another in will destabilize – and you know how difficult it is to get the perfect seat, side mirrors, and rear-view mirror combination.
Will you be willing to mess all these up for a quick jump, especially when there are other (and better) alternatives?
3. Greater Chances Of Messing With The Wrong Thing
There are some motorists today that won’t have anything to do with the starter batteries of their vehicles. On the surface, this appears like some sort of overkill, and the behavior itself, not necessary.
However, when looked at closely, there is some merit in the behavior after all; messing around with the starter battery of a vehicle and getting it wrong can be dangerous not only to health but also to the vehicle in question itself, especially if the said vehicle is a modern one.
This is why, you cannot simply attempt to jump a recent model by yanking off the ‘offending’ battery and slapping another fully charged unit into it like the 504 story above.
You may miss the terminals, bridge some connections, allow the wrench in your hands to touch the terminals and any other metal part of the vehicle, effectively causing a breach or worse, frying out the entire fuse box!
Accordingly, thus, if you don’t know what you’re doing, even if it looks like a modern vehicle ‘will be alright’ with this crude method of jumping its battery, it remains a better option to completely avoid it and instead, elect for an option that is foolproof and known to work 100% of the time without any sort of risk either to yourself or the vehicle.
4. Some (Read: European And American) Vehicles Aren’t Simply Designed Like That
The Europeans and Americans are smart: so smart that they make vehicles sometimes in a manner that is so unique and different from anything else known in the automotive world.
One such reality and proof of their ‘genius’ when it comes to auto engineering is the odd placement of starter batteries: under the driver’s seat, in the trunk, under the wheel well of the fore driver side tire (thanks, Ferrari!) and just about any other place that either excites such manufacturers or any other place that they deem appropriate.
The W12 Touareg (and V10 TDI), a Volkswagen (European manufacturer), for instance, has two batteries – and none of these is situated in the hood, which is the regular place for such batteries. The larger starter battery has its position under the driver’s seat and the smaller battery that handles electronics has its home in the trunk, hidden away from sight under the space-saver emergency wheel.
That said, if the modern vehicle you’re attempting to jump has its starter battery in truly ‘creative’ locations, your bet is as good as mine…simply yanking it off and putting on another one won’t work and even if it does, (and you find a way to manage same), be prepared that it will take you an unhealthy amount of time, which in my opinion, isn’t worth it.
The good part? Almost all such vehicles with ‘creative’ starter battery positions have a separate jumper terminal, under the hood.
And, it is via that separate jumper terminal that anything ‘jump’ as relates to an automotive starter battery ought to take place.
Photo Credit: Derwin Edwards via Pexels.
How To Properly Jumpstart A Modern Vehicle
I’ve taken the pains (don’t worry, it was a pleasure doing it) to demonstrate to you that, it doesn’t make sense to jump a modern vehicle in the crude manner we jumped the 504 in the 70s and 80s and this logic holds true even if there are no other options or it is physically possible to achieve same.
The end results, it is crystal clear, aren’t worth even the trial in the first place, and likely, the experiment is going to end in some sort of regret, irrespective of your skill or the skill of the person handling the job.
So, if yanking off the automotive starter battery in order to get something working there and ensure mobility isn’t an option in this day and time on modern cars, what is?
How do you jump a modern vehicle successfully?
There are two major methods, basically.
1. The Jumper Cable Route
Jumpers have been with us for some time; almost as long as I can recall. However, with a handy battery alternative close by, they weren’t really taken seriously. They were simply ‘one of the many fancy things the shop brings to make you poorer’.
However, that was when there was an alternative; without an alternative (as the reality of the modern car dictates), revisiting the concept of a jumper cable for your modern ride becomes more of a necessary evil than what you can seek to keep avoiding.
Essentially, what happens is that either you (or the ‘donor’ vehicle) keeps the jumper cable in the trunk, and when in need of a boost, it is connected from the battery that is still strong and kicking and whilst the vehicle is running, the cable is connected between both batteries: positive to positive and negative to negative.
In the alternative, you could connect both positives together and after connecting the negative to the battery that is great and running fine, you connect the other terminal to any unpainted part of the chassis to form a ‘ground’. In this manner, the up-and-running battery helps boosts the weaker one and ensures that it picks up and maintains a crank.
If you don’t know what a jumper cable looks like, here’s one on Amazon.
2. The Portable Jumper Alternative
Away from the challenges and uncertainty of having a jumper cable in the vehicle at all times, waiting for when you actually need it, there is another alternative: simply slamming a portable jumper in the glove box or the trunk (the size of a traditional power bank) and using same to jump your vehicle when the need arises.
Coming from the long progress starter batteries have made over the years, the portable jumper today is a testament to the fact that the auto world has come a long way and it can only get better.
Starting with humongous units that needed to be charged every two or three months max (whether used or not) and often, too large to fit into the glove box and always needing to be carried along in the trunk (if one needed to move them around), the portable jumper has evolved today to truly portable dimensions, with the best options presenting themselves around the size and weight of a recent iPhone model.
However, the reduction in size and weight isn’t the only thing that has improved, over the years: portable jumpers today are powered by lithium-ion batteries (as against the old lead acid option of yore).
That isn’t all: over and beyond the reality of being powered by lithium-ion batteries as against the large, prone-to-leak lead acid battery options, portable jumpers today are safer and pose no risk whatsoever to the users or the vehicles that they are used on.
For instance, most of the models available in the market today from reputable manufacturers are designed in such a manner that they are largely proofed from the elements, are safe from reverse polarity mistakes are completely immune to such accidents as sparks (by means of smart standard spark protection).
Which Of The Methods Of Jumping A Modern Vehicle Is Best?
Left with only two methods for safely jumping a weak or dead starter battery today, the jumper cable route and the portable jumper route, the portable jumper route is clearly the best option, without any iota of doubts or hesitation.
However, as usual, I’m not asking you to take my word for it: why is it so? Why is the portable jumper the preferred method of jumping a vehicle and actually adjudged the very best?
The answer to the question lies immediately below.
Why Is Using A Portable Jumper To Jumpstart A Modern Vehicle The Best Option?
There are a plethora of reasons why the portable jumper is the preferred option to the jumper cable in the business of jumping a dead (or nearly dead starter battery).
However, enumerated below are the most cogent and compelling reasons to choose a portable jumper over mere jumper cables for your vehicle jumping needs.
1. Inherent Safety Of Portable Jumpers
When dealing with batteries generally (and especially, starter batteries in vehicles), safety is of the utmost importance, especially when you understand that the bulk of starter batteries in ICEs are still made of lead acid and that acid is generally very corrosive.
The fear of getting something wrong and damaging the sensitive parts of a vehicle is what makes many motorists not to even bother with the hoods of their vehicles at all and specifically, avoid the battery as if it were a plague.
To overcome that fear and ensure that motorists can easily handle such a sensitive part of their vehicles like the starter battery, almost all portable jumpers today come with the following foolproof safety measures that ensure a complete idiot-proof reality of operation:
a. Reverse Polarity Protection
Using standard jumper cables for the business of jumping is simply that: jumper cables and jumping. No thanks to an extremely dumb reality, these cables are only as good as the judgment, skill, or attention of the user and nothing more.
Want to jump a modern vehicle with the battery of another one and don’t know the procedure or aren’t paying attention? You’re likely to fry the fuse box of both vehicles and while at it, even compromise both starter batteries in the process!
To avoid such sad stories and ensure that working with the starter battery of a vehicle is as safe as possible for you, the motorist, the battery itself, and the vehicle that needs to be jumped, portable jumpers have a pretty common protection about them called the ‘reverse polarity protection’ and this comes standard on almost all major portable jumpers today.
What this feature does is that it renders the jumper ineffective when the cables are connected in the wrong fashion.
What this further means is that should you, in error, connect the negative cable to the positive terminal of the battery, no power will flow from the jumper to the battery and instead, you’ll hear a light beeping sound – indicating that you got something wrong.
On some models, an error will pop up on a small display. Irrespective of how the error is displayed, the end object remains the same: you’ll need to correct the mistake to get the unit to work as intended but while you are yet to do so, no damage or consequences happen.
b. Spark Proof Protection
The spark-proof protection is also one of the protections almost all modern portable jumpers come standard with. This protection works to make certain that the spark that may arise, when a circuit is complete, doesn’t happen.
While the spark itself is pretty harmless, the subsequent reaction of persons who have to deal with it when it happens is often unpredictable and that is when things like silly, completely avoidable accidents happen.
Let’s take an example: a middle-aged woman gets stuck on the freeway after a short detour and break. She decides to crank her vehicle afterward and the car simply won’t start.
Frustrated, she luckily remembers that she has a cute, little portable jumper in the glove box, and on inspection, it still has a charge, one powerful enough to boost her dead battery.
As she hooks one of the clamps of the portable jumper to the battery and attempts to hook the second one, she is faced with a bright red spark – right in her face!
As if her woes aren’t enough, the brand-new iPhone she had been using to communicate to the world about her challenges, out of the shock of the spark, slips off her fingers and falls hard on the asphalt!
She, now, in addition to having a dead starter battery and being stranded by the roadside, now also has an iPhone with a completely shattered display, an iPhone that is barely a week old!
Talk of adding a problem unto an already existing problem!
Now, this is exactly what the spark-proof protection, common on portable jumpers today seeks to (and actively) avoids.
c. IP 67/68 Protection
Before phones went waterproof, many users lost their expensive devices to either the pool, rain, or plain old water, sitting in a bucket, basin, or tub.
What you may not have bothered to factor in is the reality that, over and beyond the reality of loss by water (and the elements generally) of these smartphones, there were other things that were lost in a like manner – chief amongst which are devices that are battery powered like a portable jumper.
However, be that as it may, not all of them were ‘lost’ in the strict sense; many only posed a serious risk of injury or grievous bodily harm due to exposure to the elements.
Let me give you an example: you need to jump a battery and all you plan to use are some good old cables; unfortunately, it is drizzling/raining and you don’t have a ton of experience on how to jump a vehicle in the rain, drizzle or snow.
What do you do? Mistakenly allow your hand to touch where it ought not to touch and get some nasty shock?!
This is exactly what the portable jumper aims to avoid. With an IP 67 protection rating (for most of the devices) and 68 (for a few others), they can be used either in the rain, drizzle, or snow without the fear of a sad shock or the challenge of compromising same with a slight weather change.
2. Convenience (Especially In Emergencies)
Like accidents, no one prays for emergencies; however, they happen when they will and nothing you can do will stop them from occurring.
This is why, when your starter battery decides to die on you, it often chooses the day when you are likely to be super busy and a location where you’re likely not to get any help (soon).
If such were to happen to you (and all you have is a jumper cable in the trunk), how are you going to wriggle your way out, especially since there won’t be anyone or vehicle to use their battery in order to jump yours? Remember, the traditional jumper cable relies on the presence of another battery to be able to carry out its task.
Without a second (good battery), a bare jumper cable is completely useless on its own.
This is where the superiority of the portable jumper shows itself over and above the traditional cables. If you’re stranded, instead of waiting for help and sweating your life out while praying and hoping that an angel (in the form of another motorist) actually passes that route, all you need to do is simply remove the unit from either the glove box or trunk, connect same and power things up, giving your weak or dead battery another lease on life.
Remember, the portable jumper comes with its own battery and does not need any other assistance to help you jump. All you have to do is to make certain that this battery is charged properly prior and actively kept in a state of charge (which for models like the Noco GB 50, is an impressive 6 months – or charging twice in a whole year).
3. Ancillary Options
On a good day, I hate a device that has too many options – and I don’t pretend about it at all. I have also argued (successfully, too) that the more the number of options a device has, the more it is open for trouble, in the long term. Sooner than later, something inevitably breaks down and compromises the entire unit.
However, there are no laws without exceptions: for portable jumpers, there are some bare minimums that are very important, chief amongst these very important options is a flashlight and a power bank.
These are two options that you would be grateful to have in a vehicle any day or time, especially if you experience a breakdown in the middle of nowhere, post 1900 hrs.
Curiously too, these are the ‘add-on’ options that have distinguished the traditional jumper cable from the newer portable jumper and this is what makes me rate the portable jumper over and above the traditional jumper cables.
Stranded and without help in the middle of nowhere, especially at night, you’ll always be grateful that you have a flashlight that can easily power your surroundings and make life a little easier for you.
You’ll also be grateful that should the need arise, you can easily use the strobe/SOS function on the flashlight to attract attention and seek help – all of which is completely impossible with a standard jumper cable.
Finally, you’ll also be grateful that stranded, you have the option to charge your smartphone, call for help or go online and request roadside assistance.
What beats that?
What Portable Jump Starter Is Best For A Modern Vehicle?
The portable jump starter that is best for a modern vehicle is the Noco GB 50 a small portable jumper that brilliantly does all that it is designed to do extremely well.
However, you don’t need to take my word for it. Let me show you plainly why this jumper is the best for a modern vehicle today.
Why Is The Noco GB50 Best For A Modern Vehicle?
I have always said that it is he who alleges that proves; this is settled law in most jurisdictions. And, when you come to think of it, it makes perfect sense too.
If I allege that the Noco GB 50 is the best jumper for a modern vehicle, are you supposed to take my word, hook, line, and sinker, or I’m supposed to offer proof to justify my position?
Well, as always, I choose the latter. And below is why I have constantly held that this jumper series is the best for any modern vehicle today.
1. Safety Options
Remember the spark proof, water splash, and reverse polarity protections mentioned earlier in the article as evidence that the traditional jumper cables are inferior to the modern portable jumpers? Good news: the Noco GB 50 comes, from the factory, with all these safety options.
The net implication is that when in use, this portable jumper will not produce any sparks at the point of connection, will also not cause any harm if connected wrongly, and importantly, can withstand light drizzle and rain when you need to jump-start in unfavorable weather.
This certainly provides a measure of assurance for users who are generally afraid that they’ll mess something up when their vehicles need a boost.
If you’re such a user, then, you’re in awesome luck!
2. An Impressive Size
Usually, when something is large in size, it is hailed as generally desirable or ‘making sense’. This logic holds true in houses as it is in cars (at least, generally).
However, there are exceptions to this general rule: there are other things that are considered practical and more desirable if and when they are small or petit and a portable jumper is one of these.
The reason for this is simple and straightforward: the size of a portable jumper does not in any way affect how it functions nor is it an indication of quality. Rather it is simply what it is: size and that is where it all stops.
Curiously however, a smaller jumper is rather appreciated for the singular reason of it being able to easily fit into either the glove box or the trunk.
That is why, an ‘impressive size’ for a portable jumper is the size that can easily be carried, used and stored in the vehicle, especially in the center consoles of cars or the glove box of same.
This is where the Noco GB 50 truly excels as the best option for a modern vehicle as it fits nicely into the center consoles, glove boxes, and trunks of almost all modern vehicles and while at it, is easy enough to move around and use even by kids.
3. Presence Of Smart, Practical Options
There are devices that are often clogged with functions. Unfortunately, many of such functions wind up being completely useless or simply manageable, like some pain that must be borne.
In the professional review world, we refer to such functions and the features they add up as ‘dead weight’.
Luckily, the Noco GB 50 is utilitarian, almost spartan in nature. Beyond the standard jumper features and cables, only the flashlight and power bank reality remain – all of which are practical and make sense in the real world of work and use.
The deployment of these options (or aptly, lack of options) means there are fewer things that can potentially go wrong. Fewer things that can potentially go wrong mean you have a unit that will last longer than most models in the market today with a plethora of options on them.
The best part? You are not also charged for the features that if and when added, will bloat the overall price of the device without adding any meaningful thing to you as a user.
A WIN-WIN situation for you.
4. A Perfect Price Point
Awesome as a product may be, if it is not priced properly, it is likely to do poorly in the market.
Classical economics makes exceptions, however: Giffen goods and luxurious items being the notorious exceptions. However, a jumper is neither a Giffen good nor is it classed as a luxury: it thus falls squarely under the economic laws of demand and supply in classical microeconomic theory.
What does this mean? Priced on the higher spectrum, fewer folks are going to be able to afford it and as a result, will either look elsewhere or simply brace the consequences of doing without it at all!
It gets interesting here however: the folks at Noco are not just geniuses at engineering; they are also marketing wizards – making sure that their products are priced in such a manner that it makes sense for everyone to have.
Beyond the super-sensible pricing of the Noco GB50, if one is still not comfortable with the pricepoint of a unit, there is always an option either a step ahead or below (that often means, more or less expenses, respectively).
For a modern car that needs a portable jumper? There are fewer options that compare.
5. A Long Charge Holding Reality
Like smartphones, portable jumpers are largely needed and used away from the socket. Because of their strategic function too, it serves to have them always ready with a charge – for when the challenge calls for their deployment.
In a perfect world with little or no worries, this won’t be a challenge: like smartphones, you’ll simply need to keep the units in a state of charge constantly and that would be that.
Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world and importantly, portable jumpers are not smartphones.
In reality, your portable jumper is likely going to be either kept in the trunk or glove box and unlike your smartphone, completely forgotten as the challenges of day-to-day living begin to manifest themselves in your life (only to be remembered on a day of reckoning when you need it to instantly bail you out of whatever battery predicament you may be in).
This is why, it makes perfect sense to opt for an option that will, as much as possible, hold a charge for as long as can be.
The logic here is that, even when life happens to you and you absolutely forget to get your device charged, you won’t be left stranded when your starter battery fails (and at the time you need it the most).
This is where the Noco GB 50 truly distinguishes itself: powered with a lithium-ion battery that is capable of holding a charge for a whole year, you are guaranteed that, come what may, you’ll always have some juice left enough to ensure a crank, no matter the situation.
When you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere, does any thought appear more pleasing than this?
Photo Credit: Andrew Neel via Pexels.
Are There Any Alternatives To The Noco GB 50 Portable Jumper?
The world as we know it today is beautiful because it largely runs by alternatives and mostly gets its motivation via the same. If you don’t love an option or you believe you’ll be better served by another, there’s always the beauty of making the switch.
So, what if you’re not in love with the suggested Noco GB50 model we have here?
There are three (3) express scenarios I can imagine what will make you appreciate something else. Now, let me address the scenarios directly:
1. If You (Genuinely) Need More Power
Not everyone’s power needs are the same…while some of us are happy to drive regular vehicles that the Noco GB 50 serves in an awesome manner, not everyone falls in this category.
There are folks who have serious business/hobby trucks and then, there are those who have those monster V12s and W16 engines that make the capable GB 50 look like a cute, little toy.
If the above is you, then, by all means, you should get something bigger or more impressive.
For all such ‘serious’ applications, the Noco GB 150 or GBX 155 will serve awesomely. However, if your application needs all the power it can get, then, the top of the line, the Noco Boost Max, the GB 250 is what you should pay close attention to.
2. If You Need Something Cheaper
Money, today, isn’t the easiest of things to get; factor in the inflation that is in constant pursuit of the income you earn and you’ll agree with me that, you need to calculate how you spend your income and take serious measures to ensure that if you can save, you should.
If the above summarizes your reality, then, by all means, you should be considering an alternative to the main option offered here.
However, that isn’t the only reason why you should, at least, under this head. There are a growing number of vehicle users who are reluctant to simply take the submissions of reviewers online, hook, line, and sinker. If at all such persons attempt this, they make certain that they ‘test the waters with one foot only.’
If this is you – and you fancy the idea of testing the ‘waters’ with ‘only a foot’ and not both feet; prefer to save as much as you can, when the opportunity presents itself or both, then, this is certainly for you.
The Yaber Car Jump Starter and the Buture Portable Car Jumper are all excellent options that retail well cheaper than the Noco GB 50. Both can comfortably jump gasoline engines up to 6.0 liters and their diesel-powered cousins up to 5.0 liters – all very impressive feats and ranges.
3. If You Desire A Unit With More Options And Maybe, A Compressor
For some users, the thought of buying a unit that is stripped up and almost utilitarian in rendering is something that they cannot bear: they want what they buy or use to be as ‘loaded’ as can be (the equivalent of ‘full option’), all the time.
For all such, the option expressly recommended above will not offer any appeal. If any at all, it would be quite minimal, at best.
If this is you, you are better served by an option that will be able to keep your interest and importantly, ensure that you don’t develop buyer remorse down the line.
If the paragraphs above resonate with you as a person, then, the Lokithor JA301 Portable Jump Starter will be something that you’ll instantly fall in love with. Possessing impressive power to the tune of an impressive 2000 Amps, this jumper comes standard with an air compressor, a digital display, can inflate tires up to a record 150 PSI, and most impressively, has a battery that is capable of an ultra-long standby time of 30 whole months (or two and a half years!)
Wrap Up
Jumping a modern vehicle isn’t Nuclear Physics – neither does it need a ‘quantum brain’ to follow up.
However, one thing is clear: you cannot do it in the crude manner it was done on older vehicles without messing with something or the proper operation of the vehicle, all thanks to a plethora of sensors, memories, and a modern, memory-inspired ECU.
This leaves you with only two options: the traditional jumper cables and the modern, portable jumpers.
Personally, for the reason of convenience, I prefer a battery portable jumper to the traditional jumper (as the article above clearly shows).
And, if you own a regular vehicle (like most of the motoring world), nothing beats a Noco GB50 portable jumper, either sitting majestically in your glove box waiting for deployment or lounging in your trunk and waiting for when duty will call.