NOCO Boost

Finally had a reason to use the NOCO Boost. My Outback has been sitting for a few months for some maintenance and repairs. Went out to unlock it and no response. Battery could barely keep the dash lights on. Turn the key and it doesn’t even try to start. Everything goes dark.

So I pull out the NOCO, which has been sitting in the back seat of the Taco for at least a year without being charged. I hook it up to the Outback and - it starts right up. Somewhat impressive that it holds a charge for that long and can start a car with a virtually dead battery.

I was skeptical of ditching the jumper cables and relying on the NOCO, but this definitely (no pun intended) boosted my confidence. And (as others on the forum have mentioned) much easier than messing with jumper cables.

 

I have the GB40 and as long as it’s charged it works great, however after a few years I have to stay on top of charging it. Especially if I know we’ll be going out without anybody else.

 

I should get some jumper cables in addition to my

$100 NOCO GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Jump Starter Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines

NOCO GB40. The old saying is "one is none, two is one". NOCO GB40 is still a complicated block of circuits that can go bad. A pair of thick wires likely has a lower occurrence of failure.

 

I have to same NOCO. I haven't used it yet for my own vehicles, but I have boosted a few strangers and has worked great.

With the complexity of modern vehicles I have moved away from jumper cables. Too easy to make a small mistake (or have a wiring issue on the other vehicle) and a boost turns into an expensive repair. Booster pack makes that risk much lower.

 

One place the NOCO doesn’t work well is newer hybrids. The 12V battery may be buried in the trunk or somewhere else you can’t (easily) get to and the nice “jumping points under the hood are spread out too wide for the NOCO clamps to reach.

 

No argument "safer". Sometimes "new and complex" goes bad. I would still grab the NOCO first, though.

 

NOCO is good and safer though - it has a safety built in in case you attach incorrectly and swap positive and negative.

 

Can you not just get extension cable between the actual points on the body and the NOCO? Still not exactly "old style jumper cables".

 

Sure, you could rig something up, but out of the box it is an issue.

 

I have one. I know the leads are stubby. But ... if you keep standard jumper cables as an emergency backup, they can also be the "extensions".

 

There is just something about the concept of “ jump-starting a hybrid vehicle” that has oxymoron written all over it. I think my old-school jumper cables are strong enough to tow most hybrids….

OK - now I have a reason to carry both!

 

The RAV4 Prime weighs more than my Tacoma with camper…

 

These little lithium jump packs are pretty damn handy and pack a good punch for their size!

 

I keep a

$100 Noco GB40 1000A UltraSafe Car Battery Jump Starter, 12V Jump Starter Battery Pack, Battery Booster, Jump Box, Portable Charger and Jumper Cables for 6.0L Gasoline and 3.0L Diesel Engines

Noco GB40 in the truck too. Haven't needed it thankfully.

 

I have had 2. An "InstaBoost" purchased from Lowes probably in 2018. Used it once to help some young girls who clearly spent more on clothes than batteries. But I also did not charge it regularly and after more than a year not charged battery capacity dropped to about 1%. I am taking better care charging my NOCO.

 

I brought the GB40 in and plugged it in. Almost flat after 2 years of sitting in the truck.

 

Now I just have to remember to put it back in the truck after it's charged.

 

It sucks getting old.

 

Dang - four more days till I can start a Friday Thread: How often should I charge my NOCO?