Jumper Cables damage electrical system?
03-10-2013, 12:12 AM
#11
Member
After my brother in law jumped someone with his 08' SantaFe, some service required, warning lights came on until dealer reset them. Wasn't there to see how he did it tho.
03-10-2013, 08:42 AM
#14
Senior Member
I was a private contractor for roadside assistance for about 6 months as a night job. I used the 2 guage ones from auto zone 20ft long and jump started over 100 cars / trucks with my truck never an issue. Hook the dead car up first pos first the ground then on my truck pos and ground cable to frame. The cars we did the most are 2010 and up BMWs for some reason their batteries suck. With alot of newer cars they have jump points but most are ****ty and to get a better connection go directly to the battery. Jump boxes are a waste of money if your jumping more than a couple cars a day.
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=125337_0_0_
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=125337_0_0_
Good jumper cables, properly connected (pos to pos, neg to neg), shouldn't cause any problem to either car.
03-10-2013, 09:56 AM
#15
What about when you try to jump a car with a huge drain. I'm talking about the kind that are really dead, and you start your truck to give it extra boost. And when they try to start their car it causes a brown out on your truck. With all the electronics on our trucks it seems like that brown out could cause the damage.
03-10-2013, 10:21 AM
#16
Senior Member
So I just re-read the section of my manual (2012 F-150 Owners Guide, 2nd Printing) pertaining to jump-starting. The procedure it specifies is the time-honored one I imagine we all know, with only two new elements:
o "Turn the heater fan on in both vehicles to protect from any electrical surges. Turn all other accessories off." -- OK, that's something new to me. I guess the fan motor would safely absorb any surges that might otherwise damage electronic systems.
o "Do not disconnect the battery of the disabled vehicle as this could damage the vehicle’s electrical system." -- This warning doesn't make sense to me. Yes you can damage the electrical system of a car by running it without its battery connected because the battery is part of the voltage regulation system, but why would anyone disconnect the battery of a disabled car before starting it?
Aside from the above there's nothing in the manual that indicates that jump-starting an F150 can be hazardous to its electronics.
o "Turn the heater fan on in both vehicles to protect from any electrical surges. Turn all other accessories off." -- OK, that's something new to me. I guess the fan motor would safely absorb any surges that might otherwise damage electronic systems.
o "Do not disconnect the battery of the disabled vehicle as this could damage the vehicle’s electrical system." -- This warning doesn't make sense to me. Yes you can damage the electrical system of a car by running it without its battery connected because the battery is part of the voltage regulation system, but why would anyone disconnect the battery of a disabled car before starting it?
Aside from the above there's nothing in the manual that indicates that jump-starting an F150 can be hazardous to its electronics.