After reading all the post, I think i will pass.....

I've never had my car battery die that I wasn't in a hurry to be somewhere....30 min would frustrate me!!!

Even better than jumper cables are rechargeable jumpstarters. Jump start your car yourself when noone else is around, or when you don't want to wait for a questionable character to stop by.

I've used the Stanley J5C09 jumpstarter ($70.95 at amazon.com) several times, including once on a battery that, if it wasn't completely dead, was very nearly completely dead ... worked quickly every time.

Even has an on/off switch and a polarity indicator, for usage by folks who would otherwise be skittish.

I have one of these by a different brand. They do work but doesn't work very fast. It is good for a low battery, not a completely dead one. The donor car must be running and you must be sure you have the right end plugged into the right car. Also you have to be sure the lighter plug you are using on the dead battery car is live with the key off. I used it for someone stuck in a parking lot and it took about 15 minutes before it would actually crank.

I got this for my wife to use in case I wasn't around and she need it and told her what 12V outlet to use. Crappy 8 gauge jumpers are a better option.

Get a jump starter with a sealed lead battery. I bought one (just to be safe) several months ago. Shortly after I bought it I left my car ignition on (long story: was annoyed at misbehaving auto sound system). The next day it was flat dead. And I was supposed to be out on a date.

So, I pulled it out, hooked it up to my V-8 Avalanche. Started it up no problem. Very worthwhile investment. Saved my night.

I don't think connecting the actual cigarette lighters together will charge the battery (as the description says). Connecting the outlets that you remove the lighters from might help though.

The only reason something like this even exists is that so many people do not even know how to use jumper cables, much less use them properly. It isn't hard, people, and jumper cables actually work.

Keep a set of jumper cables in your car, learn to use them, and be able to take care of yourself.


DF

True, this is no replacement for "Real" jumper cables and someone that knows how to use them correctly. But it's useful for the less inclined and "might" get you going when you, or someone else, is otherwise dead in the water. I can't count how many times I have been asked in campgrounds for a "Jump". This item, while a bit slow, appears to be perfectly safe for anyone to use. No it's not the "Right" tool, but it's better than no tool at all. Moreover, it's better than the right tool being used wrong, that = smoke & damage!
Sunrader Bob in Beautiful California

Sounds like a fine product but it wouldn't work in any car (like mine) where the cigarette lighter isn't powered until the key is turned.

I have one of these... not sure if it's the same brand or not. The problem with these for newer cars is that most newer cars have no option to turn off the headlights. They're on whether you like it or not. I was trying to jump my neighbor's car and unfortunately, there was no power to the cig lighter without having the key in the on position. So in order to have a connection to the battery, you need to have the key in the on position. Once there, the head lights go on. The battery never charged enough to start the car even after 90 minutes. The headlights were always on a steady dim level. I guess if they had an adapter that you could connect directly to the battery that went to a cig-lighter outlet you could do it that way... but that would defeat the purpose of not using jumper cables, though it would still be much safer.

If gadgets like this worked, nobody would make jumper cables. You have to have enough "bandwidth" to flow the electricity to start a dead car. Even cheap jumper cables aren't enough to jump start my Camry--I had to learn the hard way that thicker cables are the way to go. Save yourself that lesson and go buy some serious jumper cables--I recommend 4 gauge.

pamipa wrote:in order to have a connection to the battery, you need to have the key in the on position. Once there, the head lights go on. The battery never charged enough to start the car even after 90 minutes.

You could always pull out the fuse, but my guess is that if you are using this, you have no idea where to find the fuse for the lights...

Like others say, get jumper cables.

I spent 9 years breathing life into donated crapmobiles for a charity car auction. (Over 14,000 vehicles). I can tell you right now, this item is the equivalent of trying to excavate for a swimming pool using a paper clip.

Hey I finally found a typo! These summaries are always entertaining yet well-written so I'm proud of myself for noticing. Woot! =p ("man-sized bags you’ve got there in the back of *you* truck")

You could push your car home faster than you could charge it with this.

juzijuzi wrote:Probably the best investment I ever made was buying these this past winter. They literally saved my life when I was stranded!

No, they did not literally save your life; if there was a car there to jumpstart yours, and you lacked a cable, you could have just gotten a ride from them to civilization, if you were that close to death.

I have one of these. Multiply these charge time estimates by at least 2. I have NEVER been able to get them to work in less than one hour.

Excuse me sir....

I know we've never met and you were just about to go home after a long day of shopping with the family; nice kids by the way - Do they ever stop fighting and screeming?

Would you mind plugging this thin chinese made cord into your lighter and waiting an hour or two while I charge my car battery?

No really, these are made to charge a car battery.

Yes. I've heard of jumper cables but these were in a two pack.

Sir..... Sir ..... Please stop laughing. I'm serious.

and not just one, but TWO!

Seriously these are good, but I love my AAA so much more...

freelance wrote:This beats jumper cables by a mile. Easy to carry and easy to use.

PEACE

Hey Pal,
I think you had better think YOUR theory back through again!
In using the Cheap, Easy way Out products
will NOT give out a good performance.
Regards
R

DaveWest wrote:12 volts at 14 amps is not much !

Agreed, there don't give enough current to jump start - - I would get a proper set of jumper cables.to keep in the car for emergencies, and if you have a low use vehicle that needs to keep the battery charged up, a proper trickle charger that can leave the device plugged into the wall.

These things are pretty useless.

My 2006 Nissan's 12V socket is inactive unless the key is on "on" or "accessory" (motor does not have to be running, of course). This charging system shouldn't be able to charge the battery unless the same were true, meaning you'd be stealing some of that 15A (possibly a good deal of it) to drive a bunch of other systems in the car (the ones you can't turn off, anyway). Not necessarily true for all makes/models, but worth keeping in mind. Actually, the relay that controls the socket might not even be able to be activated, i.e if the battery is completely dead (as some others have alluded to)...

If you need the peace of mind afforded by a device such as this one, your money is better spent by arbitrarily changing your car's battery after the third year. For most cars, this will cost you about $20 or less per year and it's money well spent. You could also have the specific gravity of the battery's electrolite checked after the second year. Finally, keeping your car in proper tune will tax the battery far less and prolong battery life.

freelance wrote:This beats jumper cables by a mile. Easy to carry and easy to use.

PEACE

Your are Wrong Wrong Wrong!

deafinoneear wrote:Wait, wha? So would I be correct in assuming, then, that if you were stranded on the road and a stranger who didn't happen to own jumper cables pulled up along side of you and offered help, he would just drive off unless he's willing to wait 30 minutes while you *charge your battery*? This is a better option than jumping with jumper cables why?

Because you won't get some spoon who connects the cables backwards and fries your system that's why. These are more like 'jumper cables for dummies'.

Actually, these are nothing like jumper cables.
Jumper Cables can jump start a car with a dead or even bad battery.

These can charge a discharged battery in under an hour.

If you find someone willing to invest that much time to help you, get them to take you to the big Wal store and buy some jumper cables or a new battery. It will take less time.

I would be worried about frying something with this type of getup, why not just offer colored jumper cables with hello kitty clips or something if we really must 'spice up' the 'jumpers'?

;)

This is great for the ladies and less mechanically inclined. A lot of people just don't go under the hood (Watchmen ref). Now the wife and her friends can charge up a battery while they chat. It certainly beats asking a stranger or waiting for AAA. Now I personally could change out the entire battery in a parking lot in less than 15min (try timing yourself), so jumper cables don't bother me. However I have also had a stranger I was helping almost destroy my battery in my face when he connected red to black (frickin' drunk) on his end, so I could see using this myself.

0x58 wrote: Either the circuit is complete, or it is not.

That reminds me of my favorite quote from Star Wars:
"The circuit is now complete.
We I left you, I needed a jump.
But now with the ACDelco Plug-2-Go Car to Car Charging System, I am the master of when and where I get my power.
In fact, I'm plugged into this fully-operational Battle Station right now."

two words for this product: Mickey Mouse

This would be useless for me in any case because my vehicles are both diesels (850CCA batteries) and can barely even be jump started by cables. But even for the tiny little 4-cyl gassers out there... I can't imagine this being very useful. It's a little like trying to fill a stock pot with an eyedropper. The current capacity just isn't there through those tiny little wires at 15A (max, optimistically) sockets; mine is fused at 8A I think.

Also, in response to the recommendations of those sealed jumper box things instead of jumper cables -- they're good, but be careful how you shop. If you drive a diesel or anything else that requires more force and current to start than the average Honda, they might not be strong enough either.

Secondly, I would *never* buy one of those that operated through the cigarette lighter. It simply wouldn't be SAFE to use it to start the engine through that circuitry. There's a reason batteries are designed to deliver 300-600 amps to starters every time the key is turned. They NEED that kind of current. A 15A fused circuit is not a proper connection point for an emergency jump start. For trickle charging... maybe it's okay. But the advantages to just directly clamping to the battery posts are numerous. And attempting to do an actual engine start through the lighter is murder on the car's wiring. Drawing 500A through a 15A wiring (until the fuse goes) produces one thing: heat. And heat produces one thing: fires.

So... when shopping for jumper boxes, if you're going to use the ultra-current "Fast start" mode -- clamping to the battery instead of the lighter port is necessary, not suggested. For trickle charging... I suppose these work as well as a box or a charger would, but the thin wiring just looks suspicious to me for this application.

These things don't work well. Yes, okay, they will *work*, but seriously, you're looking at half an hour here.

If you're going to have to rely on somebody else's car anyway, then get a pair of jumper cables. Seriously, it's not that hard to pop the hood and connect some cabling.

If you don't want to rely on others, then my advice would be to get yourself a jump starter battery if you're worried about this sort of thing. I picked up a Duracell Powerpack 600 about a year ago. The thing is awesome. Perfect for camping since it can output 110AC for a while, built in radio, and it can jump a car quite easily. I leave it in the back of the car, plugged into the extra 12V socket to keep it charged up. Thing works perfectly, and when my friend's car battery died, this thing jumped it right up, no problem. You can find it for about $100 if you look around:

http://www.duracellpower.com/backup-power/power-packs/powerpack-600.aspx

I keep one on my boat and actually had a need for it last year...took a little while, 1+ hours, but managed to start her up. We drank beer and watched hotties, so the hour really flew by!

These are the equivalent of cell phones that only have 4 buttons; useless to 99.99% of people on this earth (or any other parallel for that matter). Good luck getting these to work on a cold, dead battery (below zero); you are not going to want to sit around for an hour while the battery charges enough to crank it.
If someone has a car, they should have jumper cables. Here is a nice little how-to from ehow.com. http://www.ehow.com/video_112636_start-car-with.html

Using jumper cables belongs in the must-know list of vehicle maintenance (also includes learning to check the oil and other fluid levels in the car).

Wow, what a tough crowd! i don't have any problem carrying and using jumper cables. However if my teenage daughter, wife or mother happen to be stranded at school, the grocery store or shopping mall they can easily ask a friend (at school) or someone passing by if they could plug the other end of this in their cigarette lighter while they wait safely inside their car.

In addition... some have mentioned the key position thing. My 07 Nitro does that for the cigarette lighter in the front. However the auxilary power port in the back of the vehicle is always on. So check those if you have them to avoid having headlights or other electrical circuits on.

Sure it may take 30-40 minutes for a fully dead battery, but most of the time it isn't fully dead.

It's easy and safe for those types of circumstances. Of course if I'm available and close enough I will just go and use the jumper cables.

braymeck wrote:Good thought but the outlet doesn't need to be "on" for it to accept a charge...

You are mistaken. If the outlet is "off" it usually means there is a relay between the fuse block and the outlet. If this is the case, the charger won't do anything because there is no physical connection to the battery. IMHO this product is a joke, there's almost no practical use for it, if all you're doing is trickle charging another vehicle you're essentially draining the other vehicles battery in which case a 110V "charge tender" would be more efficient.

iamjakex wrote:I would be worried about frying something with this type of getup, why not just offer colored jumper cables with hello kitty clips or something if we really must 'spice up' the 'jumpers'?

;)

Well, they don't have hello kitty on them, but Michelin does make a set of "smart" jumper cables that are pretty close to spoon-proof. They are a standard set of cables coupled together by an electronic box. The system automatically adjusts polarity, and LED lights turn green when everything is connected correctly. There's also some surge protection built in to reduce the chance of frying your electronics system.


http://www.amazon.com/Michelin-5100-Smart-Jumper-Cables/dp/B002RRZX06

I'd highly recommend these or the aforementioned emergency battery pack over the cig lighter chargers for anyone who is automotively challenged or intimidated by jumping a vehicle with standard cables.

A lot of times, the reason you need a jump isn't because you just have a dead battery, but also a BAD battery. Jumper cables may barely get your car started to get to a store for a new battery, but these things would never work in that case. This is because the current required to get your car started could only come with big cables, not this itty bitty cable. Now if you just left something on in your car on and it went dead or your alternator is not charging, but the battery is good, then these would work, but slowly. Jumper cables from the waffleiron!

juzijuzi wrote:Probably the best investment I ever made was buying these this past winter. They literally saved my life when I was stranded!

DrAzzy wrote:No, they did not literally save your life; if there was a car there to jumpstart yours, and you lacked a cable, you could have just gotten a ride from them to civilization, if you were that close to death.

The Dr. is right, and I bet he knows what "literally" means too. And I bet an investment in real jumper cables would have done an even better job at literally restarting your car. i myself keep a full change of warm clothes (including boots, gloves and rain gear), a flashlight, AND heavy duty cables in my car; of course, you may prefer this item, an LED keychain and a snuggie. up to you.

o and btw i recently upgraded that flashlight to one o' these fine Stanley via Woot selections.

thanks woot!

pamipa wrote:I have one of these... not sure if it's the same brand or not. The problem with these for newer cars is that most newer cars have no option to turn off the headlights. They're on whether you like it or not. I was trying to jump my neighbor's car and unfortunately, there was no power to the cig lighter without having the key in the on position. So in order to have a connection to the battery, you need to have the key in the on position. Once there, the head lights go on. The battery never charged enough to start the car even after 90 minutes. The headlights were always on a steady dim level. I guess if they had an adapter that you could connect directly to the battery that went to a cig-lighter outlet you could do it that way... but that would defeat the purpose of not using jumper cables, though it would still be much safer.

try putting on your parking brake, that will kill most headlights.

works in Canada, where daytime headlights are standard.

pamipa wrote:... The problem with these for newer cars is that most newer cars have no option to turn off the headlights. They're on whether you like it or not.

Actually, if you will look in the owner's manual for the car, many cars have a way to bypass the "always on" headlight feature (often by applying the parking brake). This is a useful thing to know when you are doing a drive thru visit to a Christmas light display as well!
(on my car I can hit the parking brake to the first click and the lights go off... not enough to actually engage the brake, just enough to activate the switch)

Hmmm guess I was writing while Dangerhaus was posting...