Tag: jump-starting
18 Posts
Oct 26, 2012
Today: A Case for Idiot-Proof Jumper Cables
Jonathan was helping his coworker jump start her car, but he hooked up the cables the wrong way and now her radio is fried. Tom and Ray are full of hope for Jonathan--they hope he has good insurance, and they hope that the coworker he was helping out is cute, because this is going to cost him.
Dec 01, 2009
Today: A most unusual and risky way to jump-start a car.
We had a dead battery and called for a jump-start. The service agent could not jump-start the battery with his cables. He then proceeded to turn another battery over and lay it on top of my battery. Is this a...
Oct 01, 2008
Do jumper cables pose a risk to modern car electronics?
My wife heard a report on a local radio station warning people not to use jumper cables on modern cars. The guy said they could cause "unstable voltage" and damage on-board computer operations. I own a 2005 Subaru and a 2007 Ford...
Sep 01, 2008
Can a hybrid jump-start another car?
Can you use a hybrid vehicle to jump-start another car? Recently when my girlfriend was visiting me in Cleveland from D.C., her car wouldn't start. The first thing I tried was jump-starting it from my hybrid. Before I knew...
Jul 01, 2007
Roni went to jump start a car... and the battery was AWOL. What's going on?
The other night, I came out of a function that was 99 percent women and 1 percent men (a quilt show, to answer your question). In the parking lot, two women asked if I had jumper cables, since their rental Chevy wouldn't...
Jul 01, 2007
Find out why you might want to take a pass on one, new type of jumper cable.
My wife, who must be obeyed, has brought home a device to replace her car's regular emergency-jumper cables (which are still in pristine condition). The device she purchased connects from her car's cigarette lighter to the cigarette lighter of a...
Apr 01, 2007
Is revving the engine a good idea during a jump-start? Find out.
My boyfriend insists on revving the engine when he's performing a jump-start. He revs the good car when he starts it up, and then revs the bad car when he starts it up. Is there any reason for doing this...
Apr 01, 2002
Am I right to avoid battery chargers & jumpers that plug in to my car's cigarette lighter?
I continue to see ads for battery chargers and battery jumpers that operate through cars' cigarette lighters instead of the battery terminals I have never tried one because I'm concerned that too many amps would be flowing through the lighter...
Jan 01, 2002
Am I a jerk for refusing to jump-start another vehicle?
Following the advice of my mechanic I recently refused to give someone a jump-start for fear of racking up another bill for a new alternator Was I a bad Samaritan or was I justified in leaving this guy stranded --...
Dec 01, 2001
Using a 50 cent piece to hotwire a car?
In the s and ' s I spent a fair amount of time in Ford V- s with my friend Herb Johnson When one of these Fords wouldn't start because of a low battery combined with a Minnesota winter morning...
