8 gauge is good. There are some jumper cables out there with thin cable that heats up quite a bit during a jump. Thicker is better.

These could have come in handy the other day.

A guy flags me down and asks for a jump. I say okay and pull over in front of his car. I hook up the positive lead to my battery and he looks competent enough, so I hand him the other end of the cables. He connects them to his battery. Then I connect the negative lead to my alternator (*see why below).

And then oddly enough, I notice smoke coming out of my battery. I go to pull the negative lead off and it is super hot, even through the insulation. He had not bothered to check the polarity when he had a connected the cables. I'm lucky he didn't blow out my electrical system.

*And you should always connect the negative terminal last and connect it to something solid, unpainted metal, away from your battery. Why? Because the last connection will always make a spark and your battery is filled with explosive gases. It's unlikely to explode, but if it does, you'll be deaf from the sound of the explosion and blind from the battery acid. Just Google for some horror stories if you don't believe me.

I always hear people around me complaining about how they never want to jump-start anyone who has a dead battery, because they're "afraid it would damage my car". Which just means they don't know how to properly use them. Between the surge protector and the foolproof polarity, maybe I'll pick up a couple pairs and toss them their way so that they really have no excuse to not be good samaritans.

stevesds wrote:Does this come with at least a cheap bag to store the cables in so my kids won't find them under the seat and start clamping each other yelling "CLEAR!" ?

This post should have come with a warning! I was drinking water and now it is all over my desk! ROFL!!!

Safety and all about jumper cables at eHow

csimmon1 wrote:Info!

Info about the Cables starts at 12:40 so you don't have to listen, they don't demonstrate it at all.

these are good for color blind people

Product review at Canadian Driver

and a forum at candlepowerforums.com

connecting jumper cables

CaptainWes wrote:These are great for women drivers and others who have no knowledge whatsoever of a car's inner workings during an emergency.

This woman driver could have used a set of these back when I owned a positive-ground British car and needed to jump it from a negative-ground American car. It took me five minutes to convince the (male) owner of the American car to let me connect the cables hot-to-ground to keep the polarity right.

If I'd had a set of these, I could have just handed them to him, smiled sweetly, and let him save me instead of spending five minutes trying to educate him about auto electrical systems. It would have saved his ego and my blood pressure...

I would've bought it if it was a jump rope...

what i dont like is there aluminum clad not all copper.so these are ok for the price but not something to use all the time. price is fair nothing to jump up and down about. if there a big lot im guessing you'll find them on a shelf there or very soon.

any discussion about the wire gauge is not relevant.. this is ALUMINUM wire.

Well this is just great. Now I have to buy a car.

Most women are afraid of things with wires that attach to cars.

Newbie Driver Friendly

Despite the fact that these might have come in handy, oh say, YESTERDAY, would they have jumped my 08 Saab from my husbands 06 Saab? I know how to buy and change a battery, I just don't know much about their size. Our cars are the 4 cylinder turbo. Any idea if this would work for me?

doc606 wrote:any discussion about the wire gauge is not relevant.. this is ALUMINUM wire.

Electrons see a conductor and a thicker gauge metal, regardless of the type of metal, makes a huge difference in carrying capacity.

robin731 wrote:This woman driver could have used a set of these back when I owned a positive-ground British car and needed to jump it from a negative-ground American car. It took me five minutes to convince the (male) owner of the American car to let me connect the cables hot-to-ground to keep the polarity right.

If I'd had a set of these, I could have just handed them to him, smiled sweetly, and let him save me instead of spending five minutes trying to educate him about auto electrical systems. It would have saved his ego and my blood pressure...

And I was just about to write something like "What happened to the old you put plus to plus, minus to minus. One does not need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out." Then I was going to go on to say if you need lights on jumper cables to tell you its' okay to use them, you should not be driving! THEN.... I read Robin's comment and realized that I probably would have blown something up had I listened to my own, so Hooray for Robin for pointing her situation out. Lesson here, Don't buy British cars unless you really do know what your doing!

Even more reason not to buy it. Copper wire is a much better conductor than aluminum.

Don't scrimp on jumper cables. Think about it. When you need to use jumper cables, you really need them to work. Do yourself a favor and get some good 4 gauge or 2 gauge copper jumper cables. And get at least 12 foot ones.

doc606 wrote:any discussion about the wire gauge is not relevant.. this is ALUMINUM wire.

Some pros and cons: Hot Or Not: Michelin Smart Jumper Cables

so I do NOT own ANY jumper cables. I am nearing the purchase of a 95 camry (smaller car) is there any reason I should or should not get these instead of a regular pair?

Booster cables - what is the difference in use between copper clad aluminum and 100 copper wire?

stevesds wrote:Does this come with at least a cheap bag to store the cables in so my kids won't find them under the seat and start clamping each other yelling "CLEAR!" ?

Cue video of John Lithgow saying, "Ah'm a-goin' HOME!"

(And then, Peter Weller jumpstarting the Thermopod.)

These are probably both to be found on youtube, but seeing as how I'm lazy and beset with migraine, I'll let someone else have the glory.

doc606 wrote:any discussion about the wire gauge is not relevant.. this is ALUMINUM wire.

Of course it matters, its just that the amperage capacity of copper is better than aluminum for the same gage. An 8 gage Al wire could be used for a 40 amp circuit in residential wiring, while an 8 gage Cu wire can carry a 50 amp circuit.

I prefer my 2 gage cables without the protection, but these would be plenty adequate for any situation where the dead battery could hold enough of a charge to turn the starter quickly enough.

erick99 wrote:Electrons see a conductor and a thicker gauge metal, regardless of the type of metal, makes a huge difference in carrying capacity.

Not So..... if copper has three times the conductivity of aluminum, a copper wire one third the size of one made of aluminum will carry the same amount of electrons, per unit of time.

quantamm wrote:These could have come in handy the other day.


And then oddly enough, I notice smoke coming out of my battery. I go to pull the negative lead off and it is super hot, even through the insulation. He had not bothered to check the polarity when he had a connected the cables. I'm lucky he didn't blow out my electrical system.

*And you should always connect the negative terminal last and connect it to something solid, unpainted metal, away from your battery. Why? Because the last connection will always make a spark and your battery is filled with explosive gases. It's unlikely to explode, but if it does, you'll be deaf from the sound of the explosion and blind from the battery acid. Just Google for some horror stories if you don't believe me.

I believe you. Hey, give the guy a break, though. He was just unlucky -- missing a 50-50 chance of getting it right. YOU were the lucky one, alright -- getting away with only a good scare, evidently.

I'm from Minnesota. If you don't have minimum 6AWG all copper jumper cables in your vehicle, and know how to use them, you should just move south. C'mon, red to red, black to black, what kind of spoon do you have to be not to get it?

This product is for QVC shoppers. 'Nuff said.

what? are these made to jump rope, or jump a car? look about as thick as a pencil :-/

showcaller wrote:Lesson here, Don't buy British cars unless you really do know what your doing!

Quality post.

CaptainWes wrote:These are great for women drivers and others who have no knowledge whatsoever of a car's inner workings during an emergency.

My ex-boyfriend said something incredibly similar on several occasions... right before I had to fix his car because he couldn't.

I hope you enjoy growing old with your cats.

;)

doc606 wrote:Not So..... if copper has three times the conductivity of aluminum, a copper wire one third the size of one made of aluminum will carry the same amount of electrons, per unit of time.

I think you are misinterpreting his post - he is only saying that, given any type of metal, a thicker wire will be more conductive than a thinner one. He is not comparing types of metal.

Your original post implied that gauge is irrelevant if the wire is aluminum.

mildly geeky edit: If you double the diameter of a wire, it will have 4 times the cross-sectional area, so it will be 4 times as conductive.

2005 NEC ala Google Books

"An 8 AWG Type THHN aluminum or copper-clad aluminum conductor has an ampacity of 45 amperes."

A little on the weak side for jumping but not too bad. That's probably why the directions say to start the car for 30 seconds before turning the disabled one. That lets it charge up the weak battery at a lower draw. The battery acts as an energy cache.

Nifty idea. I might buy it if they were 2 or 4 gauge like good jumper cables should be.

If you can never remember which one goes where, remember this:

Plus to plus will start the bus.

And always connect the red wire to the positive terminal because red is HOT.

doc606 wrote:any discussion about the wire gauge is not relevant.. this is ALUMINUM wire.

You know all those power lines above your head? The ones that carry power to homes and business everywhere. Guess what they're made out of. Aluminium.

Gauge is still important.

Spiky wrote:I'm from Minnesota. If you don't have minimum 6AWG all copper jumper cables in your vehicle, and know how to use them, you should just move south. C'mon, red to red, black to black, what kind of spoon do you have to be not to get it?

This product is for QVC shoppers. 'Nuff said.

Red to red, black to black??? No ground? That's risking a spark which will ignite the battery!

From eHow: "Connect the other end of the black jumper cable to a good ground-an unpainted bolt or bracket on the engine-on the car with the dead battery. This will help any possible spark to burn away from battery gas."

If you need this, you already have AAA.

Okay, let me set the record straight here. Positive terminal to positive terminal. Negative terminal of good battery to bare metal on the dead car as far away from the battery as possible. I repeat, DON'T ground directly to the negative terminal on the dead battery unless you absolutely have to, as the spark when you complete the circuit could ignite the hydrogen.

You don't need these cables, you just need to learn basic things. Your car's a tool, you should know how to use it properly.

Spiky wrote:I'm from Minnesota. If you don't have minimum 6AWG all copper jumper cables in your vehicle, and know how to use them, you should just move south. C'mon, red to red, black to black, what kind of spoon do you have to be not to get it?

This product is for QVC shoppers. 'Nuff said.

When I lived in Minnesota, I was constantly lusting after the propane-fired engine block heater kit at the auto parts store.

Of course, when I lived in Minnesota, I owned a Sunbeam Minx, with electrical system by The Prince of Darkness. The Brits were so resigned to enduring the handiwork of Lord Lucas that they actually included a crank-starter with the car. I kid you not -- there was a fitting at the front of the crankshaft, and a hole at the bottom of the grille, and an actual crank that could be used to turn over the engine while the "driver" (person sitting behind the wheel wishing the engine would start) sat there praying.

Many's the time it took jumper cables AND a helper cranking at the front of the car, to eventually get that @#$%@#$%@#$% started.

Ah, memories...

The real problem with aluminum is more in the fact that Al tends to "creep" away from other metal so when you torque the wiring down in say... a circuit breaker the Al wants to "creep" away from the torque leaving a potentially loose connection and possibility of short circuiting, not something you want happening in your walls somewhere... in this application? probably fine if you needed jumper cables you only use once every 3 years in an emergency and are completely clueless under your hood.