Need jumper cable recommendations

[Dean2]

I was not getting notices of the posts on this thread. I cannot believe this is still going on 8 pages later. It REALLY is not that friggin complicated. Anyone that thinks having the boosting vehicle running duuring hook up is a good idea is going to get a nasty surprise one day, even if you get away with it many times before. Even in the days before computers we never had the boost vehicle running during hookup. Use good cables, and hook them up in the well known order. They even make polarity controlled cables, just like polarity controlled booster boxes. If you can keep it regularly charged a Nocoo boost box is a good tool, but for starting a dead vehicle in -40, particularly a diesel, I would still rather have cables.

 

[Truck Fun]

I ended up with a Schumacher jump box SL1612. Had good reviews and I could get one locally at O'Reilly. Has a 1-year warranty so I can return it easily if there are any issues. Tried it today and it did start our old F250 6.2L with an extremely low/dead battery. However as soon as I removed the box the engine died; so most likely the battery was too low/dead. Jump-started it with my Ram and then drove the truck about 35 miles to recharge the battery. The truck battery hasn't been the same since the brutal cold we had this winter.

 

[Dean2]

I ended up with a Schumacher jump box SL1612. Had good reviews and I could get one locally at O'Reilly. Has a 1-year warranty so I can return it easily if there are any issues. Tried it today and it did start our old F250 6.2L with an extremely low/dead battery. However as soon as I removed the box the engine died; so most likely the battery was too low/dead. Jump-started it with my Ram and then drove the truck about 35 miles to recharge the battery. The truck battery hasn't been the same since the brutal cold we had this winter.

A good smart charger, like a Noco, will do a lot better job of reconditioning that battery to the extent possible and getting as much charge into as it can. Driving the truck no matter how far, will not be as good. Your point about having to boost the truck with the Dodge to keep it running demonstrates well why I have a preference for cables over jump boxes.

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