Jumper Lead Question

Easiest way is try them.
Mine are made out of heavy duty welding cables and will start a truck or a bus no probs.

They will get hot if not enuf grunt

It depends how flat the paj's battery is... if it just wont crank quick enough, then probably yes, but if its dead flat, then no jumper leads could do it. It does also depend on the car/battery/alternator which is being used to jump it too...

Richard.
The answer depends on technique, The usual mad rush people are in they connect the leads and then immediately start cranking, but if you connect up, then run the dona car at fast idle for about 5 minutes the Paj will start using some of its own battery and some from the other vehicle. Works every time. Eric.

Unless the battery is too buggered even much lighter ones will assist in starting a dead vehicle. It is just that the lighter the gauge of the jumpers the longer you will have to run the donor vehicle to put sufficient charge into the discharged battery. Never give up if you think the leads are too light - however if the leads get too hot whilst you are doing the charging then the receptor battery is too buggered, give up in this case.

PeterD

I have also been told to turn the lights on with the car that has the flat battery so that when you connect the leads that the power will go straight to the lights and not the computer as to not spike it. Then when hooked up turn the lights back off and proceed. How true this is I wouldnt have a clue or just some thing someone made up. I know when I worked for Toyota and we had to jump the Lexcen's (commodores) we did fry a few computers but never tried the lights on first way. I have seen jumper leads with those anti spike thingys on them but not in heavy duty. Regards Steve M

Hi.
My experience would suggest no problems, connections OK let the donor vehicle run for a short while, when you hook up most times you will hear the alternator cut in, check the voltage, idiot lights if in doubt.Wait a bit and crank up.
Along time ago doing Army National Service two of us were given the task or shifting two paddocks about (50 acres) of old Puddlejumper trucks, flat head Ford V8s and straight 6 Chevys.and the odd Bedford water truck as well, half tonners to 5 ton,we had to move them about half a mile down the track to another paddock,we were given a set of jumper leads, a container of petrol and air compressor, along with a brand new Landrover, any thing we could not get to go was to be left, no towing.
After a couple of days there was only a handful left, neither of us were mechanics, both country guys, i guess why we were there at that time of the year because of farm commitments we could not attend Annual Camp. Have often wondered when those trucks had been last shifted, looking at the ground under them it looked like it could have been a couple of years or so. Perhaps the Powers That Be had them shifted annually, I guess by now they have all been shifted to the East as scrap the Japs got them anyway.
I have started a lot of vehicles trucks/tractors over the years, weight of jumper leads not a big factor, first leads I had ,I had made from welding cable,not really required as I think most of the resistance is in the clamps, a little time and patience works better. Good idea about turning on the lights, normally do that to check the connections are OK first.
In saying that when I got back to NZ my old Jap Import Landcruiser would not fire up, hooked up the leads a dull click again, cranked up the gen hooked up the same result, hell those battery's weren't that old to be so dead, left the gen charging and come back to town, woke up in the night DUH Homer Simpson's Wise, can't start a 24v system with 12v eh