Car Battery Jump Starter Selection Guide

In the article <What Are Car Battery Jump Starters>, we delve into what car emergency jump starters are and their application scenarios and methods. How can we find a suitable car emergency jump starter among the products currently on sale? Below, we offer a detailed purchasing guide.

Firstly, it’s essential to understand the common functions and specification parameters of car emergency jump starters.

1. Output Voltage of Car Emergency Jump Starters.

   Before choosing a car emergency jump starter, it’s crucial to know the starting voltage required by your car’s engine, which is the output voltage of the onboard battery jump starter. Household passenger cars and motorcycles typically use a 12V voltage system, while large buses and trucks opt for a 24V system. Car emergency jump starters on the market usually come with a standard 12V or a 12V/24V switchable function. For family car users, a 12V system will suffice. For large buses, trucks, or special vehicles like road rescue vehicles, a 12V/24V switchable system emergency jump starter is necessary.

2. Battery Cells of Car Emergency Jump Starters.

   Since it’s termed a jump starter, such products are designed with an integrated battery inside. Essentially, this product is a type of battery. The battery cell is its most crucial component. The prevalent battery types include lead-acid batteries and lithium batteries, with lithium batteries encompassing lithium polymer, ternary, and lithium iron phosphate batteries. With such a variety of batteries, how do we choose, or how do we select the appropriate built-in battery for the emergency jump starter? What are the differences between them, or what are their respective advantages and disadvantages? Let’s focus on the characteristics of these batteries.

   Lead-Acid Batteries:

   Before the maturity of lithium battery technology, lead-acid batteries were widely used in various energy storage devices due to their affordability and mature manufacturing technology, such as automotive onboard batteries and generator energy storage batteries. The advantage of this type of product is its mature manufacturing process and the stability of the electrode materials, which contribute to the product’s overall stable performance and strong adaptability to the working environment (can operate in temperatures from -40°C to 70°C). Similarly, due to the good stability of the battery’s electrode materials, the overall safety performance of the battery is also high, and it is not prone to explosion. Additionally, the characteristics of lead-acid materials allow for the recycling of positive and negative electrode materials, making lead-acid batteries repairable and reducing environmental pollution. However, everything has its pros and cons. Lead-acid batteries also have disadvantages. The use of heavy metals in the electrode materials results in low energy density and larger volume and weight. The use of heavy metals like lead and strong acids like sulfuric acid leads to environmental pollution from their waste. With the advancement of lithium battery technology and the reduction of material costs, new emergency jump starters generally opt for lithium batteries.

   Lithium Batteries:

   Lithium polymer batteries, ternary lithium batteries, and lithium iron phosphate batteries are collectively known as lithium batteries. They are applied in different fields due to their unique characteristics.

   Lithium Polymer Battery: Customizable shape, thinner, and lighter. High energy density, larger battery capacity, and relatively higher cost. Widely used in electronic products such as laptops, iPads, mobile phones, etc. A few brand manufacturers use them in car emergency jump starters.

   Ternary Lithium Battery: Small power batteries, generally adopting the 18650 cylindrical structure, high energy density, small volume, high activity, and prone to spontaneous combustion. Of course, due to the development of modern battery technology, the stability of ternary batteries is still guaranteed. Small power batteries are mainly used in portable energy storage devices, electric tools, portable car emergency jump starters, etc. High-power ternary lithium batteries are also widely used as power sources for electric vehicles.

   Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery (LiFePQ4): These batteries have a lower energy density (only 60~70% of ternary lithium battery), larger volume, but a long cycle life of the battery cell, and the comprehensive cycle life of the battery pack can reach up to 2000 times. Due to the stable characteristics of the electrode materials, lithium iron phosphate batteries have very good stability. Many countries currently require the use of this type of battery for household or industrial energy storage products, even mandatorily. They are widely used in electric energy storage equipment, passenger electric cars, and large electric buses etc.

3. Battery Cell Capacity.

   Battery capacity refers to the amount of electrical energy that the battery can store. This indicator can demonstrate how long our emergency jump starter can work continuously. Generally, the larger the battery capacity, the longer the emergency jump starter can work continuously, and the more starting attempts it can support. However, an excessively large battery also leads to a heavier emergency jump starter. For ordinary small cars, a battery capacity of 15000mAh is adequate. If considering powering outdoor laptops, mobile phones, and other electronic devices, then increase the capacity accordingly. Modern digital electronic products commonly incorporate batteries. We will have the opportunity to delve deeper into lithium batteries separately.

4. Starting Current and Peak Current of Car Emergency Power Sources.

   The starting current and peak current are two critical parameters of the emergency jump starter. They directly determine whether the product we choose can help us start our car. Starting Current: Refers to the current provided by the emergency jump starter to start the car engine. Peak Current: Refers to the instantaneous maximum current provided by the emergency power source to start the car engine, usually 1.5~2 times the starting current.

   

5. Safety Feature Assurance.

   Since it is an electronic device, the safety of the product is also a key factor we consider, especially those with batteries. An excellent portable emergency jump starter usually incorporates more electrical protection designs during its design. For example, reverse connection protection, high-temperature protection, overvoltage and overcurrent protection, overcharge and over-discharge protection, etc. Of course, the design of so many protective measures will also increase the corresponding cost. But for the protection of oneself and family, this is still strongly recommended to consider.

6. Operating Temperature Range and Width.

   Any electronic product has certain requirements for the environmental temperature in which it is used and works. For example, in high-latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere, the temperature can reach -20°C in winter. Therefore, when purchasing products, pay special attention to the product manual, the width of the use and working environment designed by the manufacturer, and whether it meets the temperature range of your activity area.

7. Other Accessory Functions.

   Additionally, as designers deepen their understanding of users and usage scenarios, they provide more integrated functions to make the product more convenient and easier to use. For example, providing USB charging ports, USB 5V/9V output ports, high-brightness lighting lamps, SOS distress signal lamps, and even designing electronic air pumps for users.

So, do you now know how to choose the emergency jump starter you need?

FAQs

1. Can you start a car with just a jump starter?

   Yes, but please note that the voltage and current of the emergency jump starter you choose must match the starting voltage and current of your car’s engine. Moreover, the emergency jump starter needs sufficient energy.

2. Why won’t my car stay running after a jump?

   One possibility is that the emergency jump starter is in a low voltage state, or the battery of the emergency jump starter is damaged and cannot work normally. Normally, if the emergency jump starter is just not enough voltage, the indicator light of the emergency jump starter will alarm. Also, check whether the positive and negative clamps of the emergency power source are correctly connected to the positive and negative poles of the engine’s onboard starter.

3. How powerful does a jump starter have to be to start my car?

   Typically, for ordinary passenger cars with an engine displacement of 3L or less, a starting current of 600A~800A is required. We can choose an emergency jump starter with a starting current of 800A and a peak current of 1500A. If it is above 3L, the car engine starting current needs 800A~1000A, and we need to choose an emergency jump starter with a starting current of 1000A and a peak current of 2000A. For specific detailed parameters, please refer to the emergency jump starter manual.

4. What happens if you keep jumping a dead battery?

   If it is just for emergency use to start the car engine, this is no problem. But if the onboard starter is indeed broken, and you need to use the emergency jump starter to start every time, it is recommended that you find the nearest repair shop and ask the maintenance engineer to replace the onboard starter.

5. Which car jump starter is best?

   This is a matter of choice. Since the emergency jump starter has a built-in battery, it is a safety product. When choosing, try to select well-known brand manufacturers, or manufacturers with after-sales technical support and product quality services nearby. Also, it is recommended to purchase from the local AMAZON website. We recommend better manufacturers on the AMAZON platform such as ASTROAI, NOCO, etc.