'BEST' jump start technique out of the 4 methods I typed out below?

[apollo18]

hey all i know this thread has been reopened many times and my apologies. I had an in depth question regarding a scenario of jump starting and also what the best technique is

back in the day i would always do the following: - lets refer to this as method A
1.Donor vehicle running
2.red to red
3. black donor to black on dead vehicle / black on ground of dead vehicle if the cable can reach
4. rev donor at 2k rpm
5. get someone to crank dead, and usually would be good to go


however after reading and hearing about alternator issues for some people i did some research and tried a new method: - lets refer to this as method B
1. Donor vehicle OFF
2. red to red
3. black donor to black on dead vehicle / black on ground of dead vehicle if the cable can reach
4. wait 5 mins for dead to kinda charge up
5. crank/start dead while donor is STILL off


however i also now recently read up about the following: - lets refer to this one as Method C
1. Donor vehicle OFF
2. red to red
3. black donor to black on dead vehicle / black on ground of dead vehicle if the cable can reach
4. start up the donor vehicle
6. wait 5 mins for dead to kinda charge up
6. turn off donor vehicle
5. crank/start dead while donor is STILL off

and also read about the last one below which we can refer to as Method D

1. Donor vehicle RUNNING
2. red to red
3. black donor to black on dead vehicle / black on ground of dead vehicle if the cable can reach
5. wait 5 mins for dead to kinda charge up
6. turn off donor vehicle
7. crank dead while donor is STILL off


now my question is, out of method C and D - is there any reason to use method D over C? is it just safety? or is there no plausible reason why one would be better then the other? the only difference is whether is running when the connections are made


lastly which method out of the the above 4 is the 'best' as in the safest and would protect alternator/electronics of donor the most? I assume method B however idk if it can start as many cars as method C or D

hoping for a knowledgable discussion! thank you

 

[Rand]

E: use jump box and dont risk your car electronics.

 

[Elkins45]

Method C for me. I don’t want my alternator and electrical system subjected to the starting load of the other vehicle. Let the battery handle it, since that’s its job. But E above is best if you can.

 

[bullwinkle]

And if necessary, TWO jump boxes-I use a gel battery based JNC-660 in combination with a lithium jump starter.

 

[Astro14]

I used to use method A, donor vehicle running. But alternators were simpler, electronics simpler, and batteries smaller back then.

Now, it’s jump box. Hands down.

But if I have to, method C. Don’t hook up a dead battery to a running alternator.

 

[supton]

I've always done D, car running, hook up, watch up to the running car (careful not to touch cables), then connect to dead battery. Wiggle cables, watch for sparks. In the bad old days, wait a few minutes, try cranking--usually, it took like 5 to get enough charge (I only buy the cheapest cables I can find).

Today... that reminds me, I should check the charge on my jump pack. Getting to where there isn't much of a good reason not to use that instead.

 

[eljefino]

I hook them up with the cars off then start the donor and wait five, then give the donor a rev while the victim attempts to crank. I figure the rev not only gives more amps it gives each diode in my alternator less time to get slapped around.

All the arcing and sparking of connecting imbalanced batteries isn't great when a car's running, so I do it off.

I now carry a jump box so I don't submit my $$$ prius to electrical drama.

 

[Bluestream]

Method E:
Hook up cables to doner vehicle, with engine running
Take cable ends and swiftly strike together, let sparks fly to make sure connection is good
Hook cables to dead vehicle. if cables are too short, touch both steel bumpers together to make ground
(like we did back in the old days)

 

[BrendanC]

option A for me. have a massive anderson plug hanging down that my jumper cables plug into. the other side of the anderson plug is lugged into 2 group 34 AGM’s with a supplementary xspower agm and a 370amp alternator. no waiting for things to charge, connect the jumper cables and start the other vehicle. i have jump started this way on this setup countless times with nothing negative to speak of. really depends on if your vehicle has a “smart” charging system with a current meter.

 

[Kira]

Are Anderson plugs dedicated to battery applications, like arrays?

 

[BrendanC]

Are Anderson plugs dedicated to battery applications, like arrays?

anderson plugs are great for low voltage high current situations. i almost mounted welding lead quick connects and i still may transition to that as my anderson plug that is mounted is starting to crack.

 

[apollo18]

Method C for me. I don’t want my alternator and electrical system subjected to the starting load of the other vehicle. Let the battery handle it, since that’s its job. But E above is best if you can.

thanks for the reply! my only question is sometimes C sounds better and sometimes D sounds better

in C for example, when i start up the donor vehicle when its at step 4, at that moment wouldn't the alternator sense that another battery is connected / a voltage drop? since my battery would be connected to the dead vehicle and wouldn't this cause a rev up of the alternator or the parts inside which could technically damage them if they are already weak?
but i also like method c since everything is off when its all connected so maybe that is better for the alt / electronics?

vs

in method d, the donor is already running, so my only issue with d is that right when you connect the jumpers to the dead vehicle, i assume the alternator would sense a voltage drop or like a perceived lower battery charge and start revving higher which once again could be bad? or maybe the benefit could be that since the engine is already on, then when i connect the dead car to the donor vehicle, the alternator would just increase its rev's the same way as if i turned on the ac or the defroster in the donor car?

i hope that all makes sense which puts me in a pickle. maybe i don't understand alts, or dc, or parallel vs series enough so hoping for someone to chime in!

thx

 

[JHZR2]

I used to use method A, donor vehicle running. But alternators were simpler, electronics simpler, and batteries smaller back then.

Now, it’s jump box. Hands down.

But if I have to, method C. Don’t hook up a dead battery to a running alternator.

Agree. Ive seen A done, I’d do C in an emergency.

But I’d propose E:

Go like method c u til it’s time to crank the dead car.
Turn off donor car.
Disconnect battery on donor car.
Allowmdonor battery to start dead csr.
Disconnect donor from dead car.
Re-attach battery.

There isn’t a ton of inductance in the cables, but there can be a lot of current flowing, so the di/dt can make a voltage spike that I don’t want my donor vehicle exposed to.

 

[atikovi]

Do people even use jumper cables any more? I though they are as popular as film cameras or cassette players. A jump box costs not much more than a good set of cables, and good luck finding a donor in the middle of the night in pouring rain at a deserted parking lot.

 

[apollo18]

Do people even use jumper cables any more? I though they are as popular as film cameras or cassette players. A jump box costs not much more than a good set of cables, and good luck finding a donor in the middle of the night in pouring rain at a deserted parking lot.

Fair enough I like cables since I know I can always find or can give soemone a hand vs a forgot to charge jump pack

 

[atikovi]

Fair enough I like cables since I know I can always find or can give soemone a hand vs a forgot to charge jump pack

HAHA, just the opposite for me. Hate begging for a jump from strangers if there are even any other people around when my battery is dead. Would you want your wife or daughter flagging down strangers for help? Seems risky and dangerous. My conventional jump pack is always plugged in when not in use, and my lithium pack is still fully charged after sitting 6 months.

 

[apollo18]

HAHA, just the opposite for me. Hate begging for a jump from strangers if there are even any other people around when my battery is dead. Would you want your wife or daughter flagging down strangers for help? Seems risky and dangerous. My conventional jump pack is always plugged in when not in use, and my lithium pack is still fully charged after sitting 6 months.

Fair enough but that’s where i would come in handy. I would be the mobile jump starter for them ahaha

 

[KE7JFF]

All of them have their place. When I did roadside, a common one on factory AGM batteries mainly in BMW and Mercedes vehicles where I had to attach both the jump pack and the jumper cables from my tow truck as the AGM battery just was being dumb.

I found out from an BMW dealer tech that I towed, he said that started to be a problem when BMW started to put batteries in the trunk then ran a line to the front still for the jump point but the line was put not right at the battery but rather into the PDC so the battery is not getting the most amperage.

That said, when I learned how to jump 6V positive ground cars like a Model T with a 12V source, you should use a jump pack or another 12V with the engine off. Before I get yelled at, it’s common with 12V conversions on old time cars to leave the 6V starter installed, it just spins faster!

 

[Donald]

E: use jump box and dont risk your car electronics.

This this the best. Maybe second best. Best would be a 2 battery PSD pickup. But a jump pack is probably the best especially if the car needing the jump is a stranger's car. Hopefully give him or her the jump pack with quick instructions. No liability.

At the boat club I was a member of, when a boat came to the gas dock we would hand the boat owner the fill nozzle and then stay at the gas pump. No chance of us putting gas in the water tank or a rod holder and the liability involved. Similar for jumping a stranger's car.

 

[BHopkins]

This is an interesting question to me.

I haven't had to be on either the donor or recipient end of a jump start for so long, that I can't even recall the last time. At least 25 years? I still carry cables in my cars, but neither set have ever been used. I know auto electronics have changed significantly during that time, and there has been a lot of discussion about the risk to the donor car, when jump starting.

Because it has been so long since I have had to have a car jump started, or help someone else, I've never been all that keen on jump starters, as they seem to be an item that would sit in my car and degrade over time, requiring periodic recharging, and wondering if it will be ready, if it is ever needed.

However, after now reading through this discussion, if I ever do need to jump start someone, I hope I remember method C, described here. It seems to be the most likely to protect the cars involved, without having to have an if/then flow diagram to decide which is best.