Load testing jumpstarters?

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:40 pm

My 8year old portable jumpstarter is..well, eight years old. It can still jumpstart a car with a dying battery but if the car's battery is completely gone, it can't provide enough power to start it. By age alone it is probably at end of life, but I wanted to see if it still had any cranking power. Can Sears/Autozone/PepBoys test these? Is there a DIY solution?

Thanks!

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 2:59 pm

Steven Carter wrote:

My 8year old portable jumpstarter is..well, eight years old. It can still jumpstart a car with a dying battery but if the car's battery is completely gone, it can't provide enough power to start it. By age alone it is probably at end of life, but I wanted to see if it still had any cranking power. Can Sears/Autozone/PepBoys test these? Is there a DIY solution?

Thanks!

If you can break open the case and these take the same style batteries as a UPS, then batteries plus should be able to help you. They had replacement batteries for my UPS and got me back up and running.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:04 pm

That's a good thought. This was a cheap-o Vector model bought at PepBoys (the horror, Cline!) and I am pretty surprised it lasted this long. OTOH, it didn't seem designed to last this long, nor does it appear to be constructed to allow battery replacement. I will look closer and see.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 4:33 pm

Keep in mind that "shelf life" is an issue with any battery. This includes AGM's used in jump starters.

BretLuter · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 9:58 pm

yeah, it'll likely have a UPS style sealed battery inside and if you can crack it open without destroying the case, you should be able to find a replacement battery and/or have the current one tested.

I've got like 3 of these things, I had a ~$100 Schumacher brand that worked well for a couple of years, then bought an el-cheapo Prestone branded one that worked great for a long time (it still has some life left in it, just not quite strong enough to start a car with a completely dead battery), I bought another Prestone branded box when the original one started getting weak, and it was a complete POS from day one! The original one was yellow, the "new" one is red, other than that they are identical in appearance.

I found that replacement batteries for these are about as expensive as buying a new box- YMMV.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Tue Jan 24, 2012 10:50 pm

BretLuter wrote:

I found that replacement batteries for these are about as expensive as buying a new box- YMMV.

agreed, replacement batteries can get pricy based on what you buy. Almost easier to buy a new unit. The upside on replacement batteries is at least you know what you're buying.

Steven Carter · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 12:21 am

my question was really related to testing current draw on my 8-year old jumpstarter. It is rated at 490 CCA, but I assume it is less given its age...the question is how much less? It seems reasonable that I could replace an existing car battery with the jump starter and then follow the standard procedure for battery load testing. Or am I missing something? I may take it by Autozone et al when I get some time to have it checked.

The internal battery cannot be replaced without destroying the case, so that option is out.

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 7:27 am

Steven Carter wrote:

my question was really related to testing current draw on my 8-year old jumpstarter. It is rated at 490 CCA, but I assume it is less given its age...the question is how much less? It seems reasonable that I could replace an existing car battery with the jump starter and then follow the standard procedure for battery load testing. Or am I missing something? I may take it by Autozone et al when I get some time to have it checked.

The internal battery cannot be replaced without destroying the case, so that option is out.

Steven,

Any 8 year old battery is well past its prime. Assume that if it works at all you got a bonus. A load test may kill it. The last normal car battery I got load tested due to "it seems weak" never was able to start the car again. Fortunately we were in the Autozone parking lot with the intention of buying a new battery unless the old one tested fine. :lol:

Dick

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Jan 25, 2012 9:17 am

When picking a new jump starter keep in mind that they use sealed lead acid batteries essentially the same as those in the attached link but probably lower quality than Panasonics.

If you want "capacity" you need size and weight.

The panasonic link will give you some basic info regarding the sizes and capacities. However, they don't include the common CCA number used for automotive batteries. The Pegasus link for a battery similar to my Panasonic shows 180 CCA.

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/produ ... ?RecID=115

http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/bat ... -vrla.aspx

The size for my race car is a nominal 17 to 20 Ah (depending on the supplier).

http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/inc ... 1220AP.pdf

I've had good luck with the Panasonic but still replace them every few years (my car does not have an alternator so the battery has to be at its best for both starting and running the engine).

Finally, are you sure about the 490 CCA rating? That is a "car battery" capacity which will require a battery larger than the typical jump starter unless you use a Lithium ferrous such as a Ballistic Battery for a lot more money:

https://www.pegasusautoracing.com/produ ... RecID=9405

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Load testing jumpstarters?

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