Jump You: Jumping a Non-Prius with a Portable Starter

I've jumped about a dozen cars, and I've been jumped about 4 times.

if you ever jump someone, be sure to never let them crank over while you're connected. you're 12v is designed for that kind of stress. (just in case it hasn't been said)

any substantial 12v source is enough to start the prius... it actually starts around 10.5 to 11volts...

 

i keep hearing about people wanting to jump the prius by the 12v lighter socket. This won't work if you're car is too dead to at least boot up.... in other words.. low.. but not dead.

the stock prius disconnects the 12v lines while turned off. you'll have to get a 12v mod for the plug you desire to use.

 

I think this must be the one Kevin has (also, after you open the page, click on the product manual link for more info, e.g., the manual says you can recharge it by plugging it into the cig lighter):

Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Looks pretty good to me. Wonder where Kevin stores it in the Prius.

 

Well before I got my '08 Prius a little over a month ago, I carried
This portable starter/generator/compressor/inverter in my '04 Crewcab.

I began carrying it because I was worried about running MY battery down. I used a 375W inverter with the onboard power outlets to keep everything charged and kept the Wagan Tech as a jumpbox/spare.

I work out of my vehicle and between needing the laptop, gps and cellphone to stay charged, I always worried about running the battery down. As a matter of fact, I DID run it down several times but, this particular unit did not have enough "umph" in it to turn over that V8. Come to find out the battery in the unit was bad. One call to the company and they sent a brand new Wagan Tech to my door...no questions asked!

Anyway, I still carry it in the passenger front floorboard and it stays charged with the cigarette lighter charger that the unit comes with. I no longer use the inverter because I am convinced if I plug it into the outlet on the Prius one time, it will fry!

Now instead of worrying about running the battery down in the Prius, especially when sitting for long periods of time listening to the radio, charging the GPS, laptop and cellphone, I plug those units into the Wagan Tech itself. That gives me a little more piece of mind.

I still worry about running the battery down on the Prius while listening to the radio but, I do not have all the other "draw" from the GPS, laptop, cell charger with the other inverter I carry with me.

It does cost a little more than some of these other portable starters but, it also does several other things those do not.

Maybe this can help someone. I can vouch the Wagan Tech I have and have had nothing but a good experience with the company.

Sorry...I ramble too darn much!:tsk:

 

I took some pictures of how I have my Jump starter stored. As you can see it's off about 30 deg from vertical, but it matches the slope of the back seat. With the quick release on the strap, it's fast to access. Then I just loosen the strap to re-latch, then tighten as the last step to putting it away.

As for the model # at Harbor Freight. There were two different part numbers that had the same features (39954 & 08884). If it's on sale, they often have both out. so you want to check you have the right p/n, or else it may not be the sale price.
PriusChat Forums - Aces's Album: Jump Starter shown as stowed

 

Thanks Kevin. Online they seem to carry only the 39954 model, which looks fine to me.

 

* * News Flash * *
After posting about the two models at Harbor Freight. I see that the retail stores have the p/n: 39954 on sale thru Tuesday, 5/27/08. go to http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/tabviewer/start.do, click on the buy now & save circular, and go to page 8. it's $54.99. If you want to see the manual for this, it's here: http://www.harborfreight.com/manuals/39000-39999/39954.PDF

If you see this too late for the sale, check their circulars periodically. these go on sale fairly often. But you have to look at the specs carefully. they sell ones w/o the compressor in the same size unit. if you're not sure, you can post or PM me.
-Kevin

 

I've just put the first 400 miles on my 08 Prius and I must say I love it. Brilliant vehicle. But now I'm getting to the fine print and this battery thing is kinda surprising. Seems like the genius folks at Toyota could have figured this out a little better....So here's my questions:

1/. Can I use my BMW motorcycle gel-cell charger to charge the Prius battery at home using the under-hood terminal? Or would it be better to charge the battery directly in the trunk?

2/. As I sometimes leave my car in the long-term commercial parking lot at the airport for a month or more, will a portable jump-start battery pack hold it's charge for that long?

3/. Failing that, will the parking lot's jump-start equipment damage my oh-so-sensitive Prius?

Thanks in advance.

 

A couple of years ago we had gone to see Annie in San Diego - my daughter is a big BIG Annie fan. We were delayed leaving the theater and when we got out to the car, we realized we had parked in the lot where the cast had parked. Out walks the dog trainer with Sandy and the canine understudy, and soon enough, out walks Annie and all of the orphans, and their moms. They had rented a minivan and after talking with my daughter who was just SO EXCITED to meet them all and take pictures, they realized that their van had a dead battery.

Our 2005 Prius was just 3 days old at the time.

My dh of course offered a jump, but the problem was, he couldn't even find the battery or where you'd jump from. And no wonder. We did have jumper cables in the car from our emergency kit and used those to jump the young stars' van from someone else's vehicle. It was embarrassing though! But my daughter still tells the story of how Daddy gave Annie's minivan a jump.

 

I have 4 of these portable jump starters. And the sears guy is right, you need to keep them charged. If you do not, they will naturally discharge, and in winter that means they will freeze and no longer hold a charge! I know because I charge mine up every 1-2 months in the winter and it works fine, but my two jamoke kids did not bother to charge theirs up last winter, and neither one of theirs still work this summer.

you can ignore them in the summer--letting them discharge when it is not freezing out is not a problem.

I have never found one that is "designed" to be charged from a 12 volt battery. They are designed to be charged from the 110 V power line. Most of these, when they are turned on, do have a direct connection between the internal battery and the two jump-start leads. And it is just a small sealed lead-acid battery inside most of them. So you could recharge it by simply connecting the jump start leads to a charged 12v battery. They only problem with that is that you do not know how fast it is charging, and you can overheat the sealed battery inside causing it to vent. And they vent hydrogen gas! So, unless someone finds one with the proper current limiting circuitry that will shut down to a trickle charge when the battery is full, it is probably just not safe enough to try to leave the thing connected to a 12v source inside of your car--even for a short period of time.