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Recommend me some good jumper cables

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Mumbly00

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Oct 31, 2013
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163
I've had some jumper cables for several years now, I think I got them from the in laws. they just ride along in the trunk I've never needed them. We needed them today at work. Connected them and the truck wouldn't start. Let it go for 15 minutes and still nothing. My boss just texted me saying his jumper cables worked right away......... So I'm in need of some good jumpers.

Thx
 
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ladrones

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Jan 25, 2013
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NM
Home made 1/0 exane twenty footers with heavy duty clamps is about the best you can get.
 
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blackedout12v

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Dec 4, 2014
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the lowest gauge wal-mart sells arent to bad.jump started a cummins diesel with them, good price also. by no means the best u can get,but up to the task for automotive use
 
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bwringer

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Jan 1, 2013
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Indianapolis
I had to scour the very earth to find a set that were actually made with real copper wire, not that copper coated aluminum "CCA" fake ********.

Look for "100% copper" or "all copper wire". At least 20 feet long. 4 gauge is plenty big for cars and light trucks.

The set I have are no longer made, unfortunately.
 
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Bigblue&Goldie

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Mar 12, 2009
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AZ
Make your own. Go to a welding supply shop and get some 2AWG and some heavy duty clamps. The welding cable will be 100% copper and more flexible than conventional jumper cables.

As far as yours not working, I had my Bronco go so dead that a Cummins with 2 batteries wasn't able to jump it until I jumped the relay with a screwdriver.
 
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kblazer87

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Aug 15, 2005
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Location
Southeast Indiana
All of mine are diehard sets from Sears.
20 foot platinum 2 gauge and 16 foot 4 gauge sets for the garage and my truck, respectively, and 3 each 14 foot 4 gauge sets for wife's car and the kids cars.
All of them are full copper wire as well.
Have had them for many years and still in perfect shape.
 
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CNGsaves

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Sep 26, 2012
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KS and OK
Couple years ago, there was $10 Black Friday coupon for Lowe's and they also had sale on heavy gauge Kobalt jumper cables around $20 so I got very heavy duty set for $10 or so. They come in nice round plastic zip-up case which I like. I'd watch for sales and add on coupon codes (Slick Deals, Retail Me Not, Harbor Freight if you're pushy :D, or Lowe's moving coupons from Post Office).

These are by far best store bought jumper cables I've had in many years. What I especially like about them are small protruding clamps that work well on the tiny sidepost terminals.
 
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Scsmith42

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Nov 20, 2014
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132
Location
New Hill, NC
I made mine from 2/0 welding cable. They are 25' long and work well for jumping tractors, dozers, and other diesel powered equipment here on the farm. Heavy to carry around though...


Scott
 
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Danglerb

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Sep 6, 2007
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SoCal
Amazingly bad cheap cables will start a car or truck, IF the battery isn't bad. If the battery is bad you need a boost source with enough juice to start the car with the added load of the dead bad battery. Most of the time I will just go ahead and pull the bad battery and replace it instead of "try to get it started" and maybe damage the alternator or some other part of the electrical system.
 
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bwringer

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exmaxima1 said:
Coleman makes decent products:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00002243Z/?tag=atomicindus08-20
Click to expand...

The specs don't say that they're 100% copper wire, which is a red flag on its own, but one of the reviews mentions that they're fake ("CCA", copper coated aluminum).

Here's a page that talks about the problems of using CCA in communications (low current) applications. It can actually work OK for high-frequency signals due to skin effects, but not for low-frequency or power applications (I guess use in jumper cables would be no-frequency?):
https://sewelldirect.com/articles/cca-facts.aspx

http://caraudiomag.com/articles/copper-wire-vs-copper-clad-aluminum-wire-wire-warnings

If you Google around a bit, you'll find that CCA also brings its own set of problems with corrosion.

If you are stuck buying CCA fakes instead of real copper for some reason, bear in mind that you'll need to get a gauge or two bigger in order to carry the same amount of current.
 
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exmaxima1

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Jun 25, 2011
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Location
Midwest
bwringer said:
If you Google around a bit, you'll find that CCA also brings its own set of problems with corrosion.

If you are stuck buying CCA fakes instead of real copper for some reason, bear in mind that you'll need to get a gauge or two bigger in order to carry the same amount of current.
Click to expand...

Copper clad aluminum (CCA) has been around for many years. I use it in the manufacture of high-end automotive subwoofers due to it's lower moving mass and lately it has become the industry norm for power cables and speaker wire.

The copper cladding is typically less than 10% of the total conductor area, yet it still affords many of the benefits of pure copper, such as ease of soldering. Main benefit for power cable is lower cost. As far as resistance, it is 2 wire sizes "thinner", or less conductive than pure copper. So 4 gauge CCA is same as 6 gauge copper.

Not really an issue for jumper cables.
 
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firebox40dash5

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Mar 19, 2012
Messages
4,185
I hate to recommend Sears after my last experience there, but I bought their Diehard Platinum "kit" and have been impressed with it. 20' of either 2 or 4ga. (I Forget which) for like $40, with good clamps. I was going to DIY with welding cable, but ****, I can hardly get 4 decent clamps for what they cost me. I had a half decent set of Coleman cables I got off Amazon, but these bloe them away as far as the insulation staying flexible in the cold. They are HEAVY bastids, but they don't stay all coiled up below 40 degrees like the Colemans did.
 
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westom

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Aug 16, 2009
Messages
221
colin39 said:
I just fitted surge protectors to them , just to save ecu's.
Click to expand...
Long before solving something, first learn what the problem is. Protectors on that cable cannot provide desired protection. Furthermore, the destructive transient is called load dump. It involves an alternator, connection to battery, and protection that should already exist in each car.

Learn about load dump rather than become enthralled by a bogus expression: "surge protector".

One number defines jumper cable quality - thickness. Brand names, thickness of insulation, etc are irrelevant. Second consideration is quality of its clamps.
 
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7echo

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Feb 16, 2008
Messages
433
Location
coastal Georgia
Like some of the other guys mentioned the home made ones are the best. Welding cable and HD clamps. Long enough that you do not have to maneuver the vehicles to reach. I think mine are 30', but may be 25'. You should see the look on peoples face when you tell them 'get them out of the back of the truck there' and they start to lift them...
 
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