Lithium battery jumpers

1817 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by IanRTL, Jan 13, 2016

jMoMo

Discussion Starter · Jan 10, 2016

The alternator in my 2007 Ridgeline at 83K miles (I think) appears to have died I will have to replace it in the next day or two.

I had been having dead battery problems recently. I guess I now know why.

Because of that, I bought one of those new/fancy lithium battery jumper packs. Specifically, the Noco GB40. Tonight I had to use it for the second time.

When my dashboard lit up and things went crazy, I immediately pulled over and turned my engine off to prevent any damage. After checking things out and trying to crank the engine, I found the battery was dead and unable to turn the engine at all.

So, I hooked up my new battery pack and was able to start. It felt weak and took more than one rotation, but it cranked and fired up.

This pack is stated to work on a 6C engine up to 4L, and ours (2006-2012) is a 3.5.

Noco has a larger 2000 Watt unit and based on my experience I'd advise going with that over the 1000W GB40. It wasn't very cold outside (50F) and it felt like the battery could just barely crank it.

Note that I was able to help jump someone's car with it just a few days ago and that worked out great. It cranked that engine fast. It's battery may not have been as dead as mine though, and it was certainly a smaller engine. It's hard to say. It was a random guy at the gas station who had left his lights on.

My question is: Does anyone else have any reports on lithium jumpers which would be good for the Ridgeline? Any success/failure stories?

I hear that these things don't work well in cold weather. That has me worried, but I figure if I'm out in the cold and really desperate to jump it, I can stick the battery under my shirt for 30 minutes to warm it up.

Also, on the subject, I just found this helpful article. Good old Consumer Reports. I should get a subscription:

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/jump-starters/buying-guide.htm

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speedlever

· #2 · Jan 10, 2016 (Edited)

I don't know about lithium jump starters. Here are a couple of threads about jump starters:

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69242

http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45394

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IanRTL

· #3 · Jan 12, 2016

I was given one for Xmas as a gift. I don't remember the brand or specs off hand, but I've been wanting one for awhile. They're extremely convenient to have for a variety of purposes. If your battery was that far discharged, it's not surprising the truck was slow to crank. The jump starter appears to have done its job, though.

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Ian Brantford

· #4 · Jan 13, 2016

Gosh, I wish that I had read that CR article before buying another jump starter, the Noco GB 30, to replace the RAVPower that I gave away in August. Noco is near the bottom of their test results.

Though they do name a winner (Antigravity Batteries XP-10), it is disconcerting that with both vehicle battery and jump starter at low temperatures (0F), none of the starters were able to do the job. This is the most important use case, so it kind of negates the value of buying them. I get the same result from a much larger battery pack that I bought years ago -- no go in the cold.

My family and I all have fairly recent batteries and have not needed a boost since I bought a couple of jump starters last year. I mainly use mine for charging a cell phone without worrying about turning off the engine or not being able to take the phone and battery with me if needed.

The takeaway is: don't depend on these jump starters in winter.

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IanRTL

· #5 · Jan 13, 2016

Ian Brantford said:
Gosh, I wish that I had read that CR article before buying another jump starter, the Noco GB 30, to replace the RAVPower that I gave away in August. Noco is near the bottom of their test results.

Though they do name a winner (Antigravity Batteries XP-10), it is disconcerting that with both vehicle battery and jump starter at low temperatures (0F), none of the starters were able to do the job. This is the most important use case, so it kind of negates the value of buying them. I get the same result from a much larger battery pack that I bought years ago -- no go in the cold.

My family and I all have fairly recent batteries and have not needed a boost since I bought a couple of jump starters last year. I mainly use mine for charging a cell phone without worrying about turning off the engine or not being able to take the phone and battery with me if needed.

The takeaway is: don't depend on these jump starters in winter.

I see these as a first line of defense. If they aren't able to do the job to jump the vehicle in very cold situations, at least there will be enough juice left in them to ensure your cell phone is charged to call AAA. They state that they shouldn't be subjected to temps above and below a certain range, but I still keep mine in the truck anyways.

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IanRTL

· #6 · Jan 13, 2016

Well, shoot. I have the Pilot Instaboost one. It appears that it didn't perform all that well in CR's testing in general. I don't know how they got a price of $100, though. It is $59.99 at Costco. In the limited time I've had it so far, I've liked it. For its price, it has great features. I haven't had to use it for jump starting yet, but I know it's there in case I do. It says the temp limit is 120 degrees for it. I usually leave my windows down about an inch so the inside of the truck doesn't get blazing hot in the summer. I'll likely keep it in its storage pouch in the glove box anyways.

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