Emergency Ready: How to Jump-Start Your Car in Under Two Minutes

Few things about the driving experience are as frustrating as a dead battery. You insert the key, turn it, and get nothing but a click. Now what do you do? Historically, drivers have relied on good Samaritans with jumper cables. If none could be found, a tow was the only other solution.

If you are still depending on jumper cables and car-to-car jump-starting, how would you like to change that? How would you like to have the capability to jump-start your car, solo, in under two minutes? It is very possible with a portable jump starter.

Portable Jump Starter: What It Is

A portable jump starter is a small, easily transported device that provides the necessary current to start a car with a dead battery. The cheapest and most basic units are little more than battery packs. You hook a basic unit up to your car the same way you would jumper cables: the positive cable goes to the positive terminal on your battery while the negative cable is attached to a grounded piece of metal on the frame.

More advanced portable jump starters, like those produced by Clore Automotive, include extra features. You get things like reverse polarity protection, on-board USB ports for charging mobile devices, and even LED lights for illuminating the engine compartment.

It Represents Your Independence

The reasons for investing in a portable jump starter differ from one consumer to the next. Even mechanics and fleet managers have their reasons. Independence is at the top of the list. When you have access to a portable jump starter, you do not have to rely on anyone else to help you get your car going. You don’t need a good Samaritan, jumper cables, or even a rescue vehicle.

Imagine a consumer whose dead car is parked in a tightly packed public garage, nose-in. Even with a rescue vehicle and jumper cables, it might not be possible to get close enough to make the connection. But with a portable jump starter, it doesn’t matter. If the consumer can get to the front of the car, a portable jump started will do the trick.

To the professional mechanic, a portable jump starter represents independence in the sense that he does not have to use his truck. He simply carries the portable unit from truck to stranded car and works his magic. There is no vehicle repositioning, no cables to unpack and unwind, and so forth. In under a minute, he can have that car running again.

Car Safety: The Added Bonus

It is true that a portable jump starter can bypass a dead battery to get a car running and under two minutes. For that reason alone, it is worth the investment. But there is a bonus: your car’s safety. What do I mean by that?

Modern cars are essentially computers on wheels. They are packed with sensitive electronics that do not play well with unregulated power spikes. That’s what makes car-to-car jump-starting with cables such risky business. If you don’t do things perfectly, you could fry your car’s sensitive electronics.

Portable jump starters are designed with built-in safety features to prevent this sort of thing. For example, reverse polarity protection stops a unit from working if the cables are connected improperly. If the jump starter produces no current, it cannot fry sensitive electronics.

You can continue relying on the old way of doing things next time you are looking at a dead car battery. Or you could jump-start your car in under two minutes with a portable jump starter. I know which one I prefer.