This silly thing works! (Flashlight jump starter.)

[HFV_Junkyardin]

Yesterday I posted about a flash light/ jump box/ cell phone charger that I picked up at Walmart. Today I gave it a try. I didn’t have any cars with dead batteries to try it, but I have a motorcycle with a 7 year old battery that’s been sitting in an unheated garage for over a month. It’s batter was properly dead.
I hooked up the cables. They have 2 lights on them a green one to let you know you have it on right, and a red light to tell you it’s been disconnected, or that you have the leads on backwards. That kind of a neat feature. The only flaw in the design is that the leads are too short so you can’t use the flashlight to see the battery while you’re connecting them. I suppose you could clamp them on, then plug them into the light.
Anyway, it worked. Even with the cold bike taking a while to fire up. Now starting a 800cc bike isn’t a totally proof of concept, but I have more faith in it than I did.
I can’t find it on Amazon, so here’s the Walmart.com link. The only comparable products I can find are 80-120 bucks so I’d say this one for 30 is a worth while investment. http://www.walmart.com/ip/Gopower-7200mah-Emergency-Car-Jumpstarter-W-flas/217458263

[SilentbutnotreallyDeadly]

@hfv

Ours came with a torch too. It has jump started the Perkins diesel tractor and the 4.2 litre diesel Patrol...amongst others.

[facw]

@hfv I got one of these several years ago and have used it successfully for a jump on one occasion:

Pretty amazing how small that was compared to the old battery powered jump starters, and battery tech continues to improve.

[Nauraushaun]

I've got one that I've used heaps of times, it's sick.
Once I got back from a long holiday and the battery was actually dead, but I had a day or two away in the countryside planned. I was pretty sure if I drove the car long enough, the battery would stay charged, and thanks to the jumper pack I could afford to test my theory.
I ended up jumping it like 5 times. The battery never held enough charge to start it. It was dead dead. But at least I knew for sure

[bootstrap]

I have a similar usb jump pack. It has jumped my neighbors cars more than my own. Still worth it.

[Nauraushaun]

I've got one that I've used heaps of times, it's sick.
Once I got back from a long holiday and the battery was actually dead, but I had a day or two away in the countryside planned. I was pretty sure if I drove the car long enough, the battery would stay charged, and thanks to the jumper pack I could afford to test my theory.
I ended up jumping it like 5 times. The battery never held charge. It was dead dead.

[HFV_Junkyardin]

@nauraushaun when I bought my Galant Vr-4 it’s battery was like that. DEAD DEAD. For the first week or so that I drove it I had to keep my foot on the gas at stop lights because if I let it idle it would die. The charging system just couldn’t keep up with the battery that wouldn’t hold a charge. I got real scared that the alternator was shot, but I figured changing the battery first made more sense, thankfully that did the trick.

[HFV_Junkyardin]

@hfv update. I’ve now used this to start my 328i, and my wife’s Honda Fit during that February cold snap with temps under -10. It worked every time.