Battery Jump Packs

ianmc
The pack is a expensive job which has 400amp leads/ surge protection/ four different voltage outputs/ was connected to + post on the battery and to the engine block with the - and wriggled and jiggled quite a bit but I beleive it is a diesel thing as it will spin any petrol engine we have tried it on .
Thanks for the reply

Tim
Yeah I think most people are experiencing the same thing with diesels.
I beleive it was connected properly( + to + ) / (- to engine block for earth ) and yes it was fully charged . I keeping mine as it will be good to run the lights off / charge video camera batteries etc etc and I won't be relying on it as a jump starter pack for the vehicle battery . Thanks for the reply

Mick
Thanks for the reply , would you please post a follow up on the correct way to connect them up to see if I am doing it right
Thanks

Here we go Kenny! Positive lead to positive on the battery. Negative lead to a good earth (eg Chassis or motor) preferably away from the battery as sparks can cause an explosion if near a battery. I started an Isuzu 4 tonner today with mine. One of the batteries (they run a 24 volt system) was dead and the truck was in a spot which was impossible to reach with normal jump leads. Bingo first go! Make sure there is a good connection between the leads and the battery and chassis. Using normal jump leads I've completed the circuit by connecting the negative lead to a wheel nut as it's right away from the battery. I realise that the leads on the jump start pack are too short for that. By the way, the short leads contribute to their success. The shorter the lead, the better the current flow (less resistance). It's not unlike water flowing through a hose - the longer the hose, the less the flow of water (higher resistance). Cheers!

Macca
Youv'e hit the nail on the head / dual batteries would be the safest way to go .

Macca the usual dual battery system in a 4wd uses a second battery which is a deep cycle battery suitable for running a fridge but not for cranking a motor. The jump start packs have batteries which release a lot of power quickly. Your second battery won't do this - unless you use a cranking battery which in turn is not suitable for running a fridge, lights etc as it doesn't like being flattened.

totally agree. And this will also be a problem for people trying to jumpstart diesels off another vehicle. The solution is to make your own leads with heavy duty cable and clamps from Jaycar...

Playrough
Yeah one of the pluses for buying this pack was that it had short leads and were rated to 400amp and also had voltage spike protection .
I have been caught before trying to start a diesel with cheap jumper leads , I now carry 400amp jumper leads with me and have started 6cyl diesel troopy no worries . Thanks for your reply

yep, but often supposedly 400amp leads are far from it - thick outer plastic with bugger all wire core...and even if the cable is sufficient, the clamps often are not (had one set of supercheap ones start to arc weld to the battery terminals on me!)

If you want to transfer all 550CCA from one battery to another, make your own jumperleads...

yup I have jump started numerous utes on minesites and if they are stone cold first thing in the morning with a dead flat battery they are difficult to start

Yeah I'm sure it is a diesel issue any way thanks for your replys