Battery Packs

[Magfan2]

Gave the Gooloo at Christmas - now there is one in all 6 immediate family vehicles. No use or reports of use so far.

 

[RamDiver]

That’s the one I got after reading your review, haven’t needed to use it yet.

Cool.

My Gooloo has lived in the truck all winter, other than a couple of short dips to -35°C (-25.6°F). I checked the SOC several times, but it only needed 1 small recharge.

It seems to do a bit better at holding a charge than the NOCO GB40 I have.

I've only used the NOCO on the lawn tractor 2 or 3 times.
I have yet to use either jump pack on a vehicle. It must be because of living in a rural area.
I recall jumping many vehicles with former vehicles when I lived in the city.

.

 

[hdog33]

I've got 3 NOCO's that have been proven to be very reliable and durable. They spend their time bouncing around 4 wheelers, snowmobiles, and my vehicles. Nice to have that ability to keep electronics charged too.

 

[Sherman Bird]

I’ve had a NOCO GB150 for about 5-6 years now. It fits into one of the floor bins in the back. It has always worked for a low battery, usually after I’ve listened to the radio for a long period of time, the voltage gets too low. Even on my 2018 Limited 2500 Cummins truck, which had 2 batteries, it would not turn over once the voltage got too low.
Only once did the jump pack not work starting a CAT extendable forklift. When you connect the jump pack, it shows the voltage, usually reading in the low 11 volt range. In the case of the CAT battery, it only showed like 10.2 volts. I thought that was odd. Normally it doesn’t take too long to restore the battery enough and it starts, but in this case, it wouldn’t work. I left it on maybe 20 minutes. It turned out that a cell in the battery was bad. Replaced battery, problem resolved.
These jump packs are really convenient and I will always keep one with me. No more trying to get close enough so the jumper cables reach! And untangling them!

My 2004 Lexus RX330 has a set of Lexus cables. stowed in the rear well, along with the spare tire tools. It has it's own bag, and the cables are very high quality. I'm still likely to use my jump box, which is barely larger that the iPhone 14. This box will start anything not diesel.

The demonstration given by my instructor at GM's training facility, during an advanced electronics course, was a real eye-opener as to how risky it is to use cables, IF the correct protocol isn't followed and/or if one of the vehicles has a dead rectifier bridge/open or shorted cell, etc.

Using a jumper box is WAY safer.

 

[Sherman Bird]

I have a Noco in each vehicle. I check them every 6 months or so. You can charge them right from the outlet in your pickup while you are driving, though 110 is faster..

Ah! Yes! Electromotive pressure! (voltage) It is one of the times in physics where "More is better" applies. (to charging speed!)

 

[turkeybird56]

Ah! Yes! Electromotive pressure! (voltage) It is one of the times in physics where "More is better" applies. (to charging speed!)

YUP, have a Lithium charger, and will do all except large Diesel. I carry when I travel from home and transfer to and carry in Motorcycle when traveling.

 

[dimulec]

I purchased this piece of unknown hardware from Amazon like 2 years ago before going for a pretty long trip. Charged it at that time. Had to use twice on my old car a year after charging and it totally saved my day. As far as I know, lithium batteries self-discharge pretty quick to about 85% and then can hold this charge for a very long time. Btw, this think was extremely cheap. Like $30. Don't remember the exact amount.

 

[SampleNHold]

I have a 2025 Tungsten 1500 and have needed a jump starter many times. We tow this behind our motorhome and it seems that often (not always) the RAM's battery is dead when we pull into the campsite. Got a Noco GBX55 and use it often. Since last July I have probably used it about 10-12 times. Also had to use it after using the car wash and opening the doors often to climb on the running boards and wipe it dry.

It takes just about 20 minutes to recharge after a jump. Bought it on Amazon, case sold separately. Keep it under the rear seat.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WZKRHZZ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

 

[Sherman Bird]

You think that your battery reaches a full charge after you jump it when it is dead? Nope! It will get to a point of surface charge to make you THINK it got recharged, but it didn't. Proper specific gravity (about 1260, depending on temperature) of the electrolyte can only be accomplished by a 8-10 hour 3-5 amp trickle charge. That's one thing a surface charge can't accomplish. Your capacity might reach 65-75%, on a very good day. You might be able to use the toaster on it, too, with satisfactory, momentary results, but the capacity can't get there without a trickle charge.
Remember, An alternator's job is to maintain the state of charge... NOT to fully charge a deep cycle discharged battery.

 

[Tominator223]

I still got cables in everything . Guess Im one of the few who still has hope for humanity. lol. But at least after reading this post I’ll know which pack to buy now

 

[turkeybird56]

I still got cables in everything . Guess Im one of the few who still has hope for humanity. lol. But at least after reading this post I’ll know which pack to buy now

Nothing wrong with having cables in a pinch

 

[Ken226]

I bought my Noco stuff, 2x GB50 jump boxes and a Genius2 charger in July of 2024.
I've used the charger alot, but only ever used the jump boxes to jump start other peoples cars.

Except occasionally, i use it as a power source for other stuff, with the safety override. Connected to the the battery terminals of a friends Mercedez, so we could swap in a new battery without losing the memory seat, memory mirror, radio stations, and various other calibrations.

Also used it to power my trailer, via alligator clips attached to little flat blade screwdrivers pressed into the 7 pin plug. And recently connected to the battery terminals of the wife's 22' Durango, to operate the electric only lift gate, since the battery had been swapped to Napa for a new one, which was on a bench with the Genius2 charger connected to it.

And as a power source for a few other projects, during assembly and testing. Like the trailer test-box I made, shown in the trailer tongue scale thread, in the 4th gen towing sub-forum, and some 3d printed, DeWalt battery powered under hood work lights I designed and built.

edit: I'll put pics of the work light in that tongue scale thread. I forgot about those things until now.

 

[Sherman Bird]

I still got cables in everything . Guess Im one of the few who still has hope for humanity. lol. But at least after reading this post I’ll know which pack to buy now

Humanity aside, I've had to repair several vehicles where the owner (my customer) was a Good Samaritan and gave jump starts to folks stranded in say, the grocery store parking lot with ice cream melting, milk going bad, etc.

After the dopamine wore off the doing a good deed, and their own vehicles suddenly having weird malfunctions, and they brought the car in, and they find out that the jump start cause the body control module to fail in a spectacularly strange way (windshield wipers would not shut off, at all, even with the key removed!) in one case. This repair cost my customer close to a grand. After I told him the whole thing about cables, and the wisdom of the jumper box, he became a believer.
On one car, my customer brought the car in because the low beam headlights didn't work. That just COULDN'T be both bulbs burned out, she exclaimed. The other symptom was that EVERY light on the dash was lit up.

My query to her revealed that she had given a jump start to a stranded person at the Kroger's, nearby, and that the troubles started immediately.

I found her charging system to be charging 21 volts! And, both low beam bulbs WERE burned out.
The ground wire on the instrument cluster had melted!
A new alternator, both low beam bulbs and a shunt ground installed onto the IPC cured her problem. Her bill was about 800 dollars. For a good deed!

Although I DO have a set of cables, I insist on the small jump boxes I own. The cables require a 20-30 minute window to use PROPERLY. In today's world, 30 minutes means death to many people!

Pax Vobiscum!

 

[Adamcr68]

Nothing wrong with having cables in a pinch

I kept my cables too, but now they are just for my truck as a backup, if my jump box won’t work for someone I am trying to help, I’ll recommend they call tow truck.

 

[Wild one]

Humanity aside, I've had to repair several vehicles where the owner (my customer) was a Good Samaritan and gave jump starts to folks stranded in say, the grocery store parking lot with ice cream melting, milk going bad, etc.

After the dopamine wore off the doing a good deed, and their own vehicles suddenly having weird malfunctions, and they brought the car in, and they find out that the jump start cause the body control module to fail in a spectacularly strange way (windshield wipers would not shut off, at all, even with the key removed!) in one case. This repair cost my customer close to a grand. After I told him the whole thing about cables, and the wisdom of the jumper box, he became a believer.
On one car, my customer brought the car in because the low beam headlights didn't work. That just COULDN'T be both bulbs burned out, she exclaimed. The other symptom was that EVERY light on the dash was lit up.

My query to her revealed that she had given a jump start to a stranded person at the Kroger's, nearby, and that the troubles started immediately.

I found her charging system to be charging 21 volts! And, both low beam bulbs WERE burned out.
The ground wire on the instrument cluster had melted!
A new alternator, both low beam bulbs and a shunt ground installed onto the IPC cured her problem. Her bill was about 800 dollars. For a good deed!

Although I DO have a set of cables, I insist on the small jump boxes I own. The cables require a 20-30 minute window to use PROPERLY. In today's world, 30 minutes means death to many people!

Pax Vobiscum!

The days of driving a boost vehicle up till the front bumpers touched and using a piece of barbed wire scrounged out of the ditch to boost another vehicle are long gone

 

[RamDiver]

I remember pushing an early '80s full-sized GMC van, with another van, up the road during morning rush hour. I only had to go about 2 1/2 blocks, no big deal.

Back when bumpers weren't just decorative accents.

.

 

[n3v3rl8]

Sadly, when traveling during the covid lock down I had an issue where I was stranded on the side of the interstate. Nobody, including the police would stop to provide any assistance much less just check to see if I was ok. I used my cell phone to google an answer of what to try and I was able to road side reset my vehicle and get back to moving. When I came home from this particular trip I realized the days of getting assistance from anyone had died so I now have full tool kits and jump packs in all the vehicles.

 

[joesstripclub]

I still got cables in everything . Guess Im one of the few who still has hope for humanity. lol. But at least after reading this post I’ll know which pack to buy now

I had a buddy's car go dead when he went into Target last month. Working out of town and forgot to bring my jump pack with me. Offered to try to jump his car, which was a couple year old Acura SUV. My car couldn't get it jumped even leaving cables connected for 20 minutes. Finally called a tow truck and the guy tried his jump pack and it fired up after a couple tries. I'm just not sure cables are enough to jump the modern electrical systems in some cars.

 

[Rado]

Although I DO have a set of cables, I insist on the small jump boxes I own. The cables require a 20-30 minute window to use PROPERLY. In today's world, 30 minutes means death to many people!

I interesting read ! I am curious about the 20/30 minute window you mentioned !
How different is it using cables today vs. years ago ?
Thanks

 

[cutterman]

I had a buddy's car go dead when he went into Target last month. Working out of town and forgot to bring my jump pack with me. Offered to try to jump his car, which was a couple year old Acura SUV. My car couldn't get it jumped even leaving cables connected for 20 minutes. Finally called a tow truck and the guy tried his jump pack and it fired up after a couple tries. I'm just not sure cables are enough to jump the modern electrical systems in some cars.

It's usually due to improper contact of the cables. You have to insure 4 points of contact are clean and tight where as with a jump box you only have to insure 2 are and it's usually easy for them to dig into the lead.

I personally use the AVAPOW 8000A jump box. Not the one with the tire inflator built in. I use it all the time to jump large diesels that usually run on 8D batteries. It does take a while to charge the unit up from 50%. I've never timed it but I usually just leave it plugged in overnight and it's good in the morning. I figured for the price it would last for a few emergency uses but it's got way more jumps on it than I care to admit and it's still going strong.