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engine cranking requirements

jgilbs

Elite Explorer
Joined
October 29, 2002
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City, State
Naperville, IL(home)/Iowa City, IA(school)
Year, Model & Trim Level
92 Eddie Bauer
I was going to add an auxiliary battery to be used in emergencies soley for starting the vehicle. does anyone know the power requirement required to start the truck (power used by fuel pump, ignition, PCM, starter etc) so I can choose the smallest battery that will work.
 



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those things are crap. you have to make sure they stay charged and they take a while to charge up the battery IF the jumpstart thing itself has anycharge. I want something thats basically i dont have to do anything to it until i need it. I'd use a solenoid to keep it charged off of the charging system, but disconnected when the truck is off (but i would still charge it via the shoreline just like the normal battery) so it should be worry free until i need it to start the car. i saw batteries at napa for like $10, and it gave me the idea, especially if i can do it so cheap. also, with a secondarybattery it would be isolated from the primary battery, and thus it wouldnt be charging it. this means that all of its current would go towards starting the engine whereas the portable jumpstart things use all of their current charging the battery which takes time.
 






jgilbs said:
those things are crap. you have to make sure they stay charged and they take a while to charge up the battery IF the jumpstart thing itself has anycharge. I want something thats basically i dont have to do anything to it until i need it. I'd use a solenoid to keep it charged off of the charging system, but disconnected when the truck is off (but i would still charge it via the shoreline just like the normal battery) so it should be worry free until i need it to start the car. i saw batteries at napa for like $10, and it gave me the idea, especially if i can do it so cheap. also, with a secondarybattery it would be isolated from the primary battery, and thus it wouldnt be charging it. this means that all of its current would go towards starting the engine whereas the portable jumpstart things use all of their current charging the battery which takes time.

I guess it depends what portable jump-start thing you have, mine started a 5.2L V8 at -20F when the truck had a totally dead battery after sitting out all night-- no need to wait for it to charge the dead battery. Maybe you should find out what size battery is in the portable jump starters and start there.

It's true that you have to keep the thing charged, but I've found that mine holds its charge for a long time and has the advantage that you can bring it inside in cold weather so it has full power when you go to start your vehicle. Some of them also have an emergency light and even a small inverter so you can use them for emergency power. I think I paid about $60 for mine at BJ's.
 






This is the kind I have (I have this one and some similar)..

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=40615

It has started many vehicles (I think I jump started the X 6 times on a single charge).. The only time it could not start the truck is when the truck battery had a shorted cell.

It has a 24 ah (amp hour) battery in it (my smaller jumper box has a 20 ah battery) . You could put in a 12V 24 Ah battery on an isolator and use that. I like having the jumper box so if somone needs a jump I just grab the box, hook it up and start the truck/car.

~Mark
 






well with my car its just as easy to jump someone else. i have a heavy duty disconnect on my front bumper that is fused and wired to my battery(http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=263-115) and i also have the connector on the end of a pair of jumper cables so all i do is pull up next to or behind the disabled vehicle(they are really long cables), connect the clamps to the disabled vehicle, start my high idle and plug the other end into my truck. works great. i just want a spare battery in case for some reason i drain my battery and i dont have access to a shoreline(i have an onboard battery charger)
 






If you really want that, why not look at the space just in front of the fuel tank. I believe that there is enough room there to mount a second battery. Unless you need to save weight, I'd install the largest battery there which is feasible. Install an isolator, and both batteries will be charging at all times. Good luck,
Don
 






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