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  #1  
Old 12-06-2010, 09:31 PM
Fulcrum525's Avatar
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The science of jump starting a diesel

What I have-The $10 special jumper cables bought during an emergency some years ago.

What I need-BEEFY jumper cables and LOTS of power to supply them



I've jump started a number of cars with my own jumper cables before and they work like a charm every time. HOWEVER when it comes to the occasions when I need to jump start my own car? Forget those things are fricken hopeless. It's something that i've noticed on a few occasions and it happened again tonight. My car started perfectly fine on its own this morning without issue. Now today was pretty darn cold and the car sat in the parking lot for 10 hours without being run. I glowed twice but when I turned the key...barely a crank and I nnew instantly that the battery was dead. The lot attendant tried to help me jump it but the starter just couldn't get enough juice. Mercedes Roadside came out and with a starter battery and a set of monster cables....no surprise she fired right up.

I've got a Sears battery that should still be under warranty. Tomorrow i'm going to shoot over there and get it tested and possibly replaced....think i'll look around for a GOOD set of jumper cables while i'm there.

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  #2  
Old 12-06-2010, 09:34 PM
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Good jumper cables are worth their weight in copper. I jumped the CAT 3208 in my Wanderlodge with the TD a few weeks ago.
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1985 409d 65k--sold 06
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  #3  
Old 12-06-2010, 09:36 PM
Craig
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I've given up on jumper cables. Instead I carry one of those little battery packs. Mine cost under $100, as I recall, and has no problem spinning my 300D with a dead battery. I bought it when I lost an alternator on a trip, now I keep it charged and always carry it.
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  #4  
Old 12-06-2010, 09:36 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kerry View Post
Good jumper cables are worth their weight in copper. I jumped the CAT 3208 in my Wanderlodge with the TD a few weeks ago.

NICE

I first noticed the oddity when my voltage regulator went a few years ago. A gentleman was kind enough to try and help but it just didn't want to crank....when the AAA came out and attached the battery pack....the car started in an instant. At the time I thought that the gentleman who helped me just had a bad charging system or something. Then tonight happened and it kinda hit me like a brick as to what was actually denying starting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig View Post
I've given up on jumper cables. Instead I carry one of those little battery packs. Mine cost under $100, as I recall, and has no problem spinning my 300D with a dead battery. I bought it when I lost an alternator on a trip, now I keep it charged and always carry it.
We've had a few of those over the years but ours have never lasted. They are great to have though.
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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

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  #5  
Old 12-06-2010, 09:37 PM
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I have a set made from welder leads & welder earth clamps. The copper is about 1/2" thick. They never get hot.
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  #6  
Old 12-06-2010, 10:08 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layback40 View Post
I have a set made from welder leads & welder earth clamps. The copper is about 1/2" thick. They never get hot.

Excellent idea!

I have replaced the silly alligator clips with a regular solid copper battery clamp, like you would expect to see on the ends of the batter cables. Through the middle of that is a solid copper post to which I attach the (+) side of the system and ground the other side to whatever looks solid.

The worst vehicle I have had to start this way was an Oliver tractor/tiller that did not use glow plugs. A combination of getting that starting twirling fast and spurts of WD40 is what started it.

A similar clip arrangement on my large battery charger seems to work very well also. They are solid copper spring-loaded round clamps which cover the whople battery post during the charging process. 10 seconds at 100 amps, then 30 minutes at 40 amps, good as new in most cases.
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  #7  
Old 12-06-2010, 10:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kerry View Post
Good jumper cables are worth their weight in copper. I jumped the CAT 3208 in my Wanderlodge with the TD a few weeks ago.
I'm curious as to how you can transfer the required amperage via the cable clamps. Those two or three points of contact are, IMHO, insufficient for handling 200 amps or more.........???
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  #8  
Old 12-06-2010, 10:59 PM
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there are different styles of jumper cable ends. the kind with serrated teeth, and the kind with round jaws and a push out set of serrated teeth. another style has serrated on one side, and round jaw on the other... properly pushed into the clamps, the round style intended for hooking directly to the posts on a battery work best clamped to the connectors we have on our MB's.
I'm not sure where I saw them, but there is a set of 2 gauge jumper cables for sale, I think it was lowes or maybe target... (christmas shopping is mind numbing...)
they should be OK for starting our cars. at the very least, they should be attached and let the jumping car's alternator build up some juice in our weak batteries before attempting to start our massive motors...
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  #9  
Old 12-06-2010, 11:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Carlton View Post
I'm curious as to how you can transfer the required amperage via the cable clamps. Those two or three points of contact are, IMHO, insufficient for handling 200 amps or more.........???
I had my doubts before I did it. Let it charge up for about 5 minutes then turned the key. Batteries were completely dead on the Bird.
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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13
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  #10  
Old 12-06-2010, 11:07 PM
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I've been having the same problems these last couple of days; turn the key and I only heard the dreaded click-click-click of a dead battery, and the warning lights wouldn't even come on, so I went and got this one:


Started right away... even after I cycled the plugs twice due to the cold. It's a keeper.
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  #11  
Old 12-06-2010, 11:08 PM
Craig
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I don't remember what brand my battery pack is, but they do work surprisingly well.
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  #12  
Old 12-06-2010, 11:29 PM
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I had to jump my 240 this morning. I've got good solid cables with good sturdy clamps, and it still took forever.

The problem was the size of the donor battery/charging system. A small 4-cylinder Subaru that uses one those batteries that are barely the size of a lawn mower battery just didn't have the current capacity to help the thing out immediately. What I ended up having to do was use the Subaru (running at a little above idle) for the better part of 25 minutes, maybe 30, as a makeshift battery charger, charging the 240 up through the cables until it finally had absorbed enough of a recharge to help itself get started.

The best cables in the world can't magically make current appear when it isn't there to start with. I've never seen one of those jumper boxes that seemed to have enough current capacity to be worthwhile, but all the "mine works" reports have me reconsidering that. I never wanted one unless it was essentially the same CCA as my battery itself -- which would make it the size and price of a battery itself.

I've often wondered if somebody couldn't engineer a *GOOD* way to make these cars dual-battery systems, like John Deere tractors. I don't want 24 volts, I want two 12v in parallel so that I've got twice the cranking capacity on any given day -- also, some insurance against one of them suddenly developing a weakness. Obviously the chief problem is the physical location of the battery -- trunk placement means huge runs of thick cables (that have to be properly shielded, run the length of the car at great expense) plus the risk of destroying your trunk interior with sulfuric acid. Under the hood... it would take some REALLY creative re-engineering to make room for another battery to sit, safely, where it wouldn't be destroyed by vibrations or by heat. But... I really wish there was some way to do it that actually worked. I'd modify mine in a heartbeat.
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  #13  
Old 12-06-2010, 11:36 PM
Fulcrum525's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bustedbenz View Post
I had to jump my 240 this morning. I've got good solid cables with good sturdy clamps, and it still took forever.

The problem was the size of the donor battery/charging system. A small 4-cylinder Subaru that uses one those batteries that are barely the size of a lawn mower battery just didn't have the current capacity to help the thing out immediately. What I ended up having to do was use the Subaru (running at a little above idle) for the better part of 25 minutes, maybe 30, as a makeshift battery charger, charging the 240 up through the cables until it finally had absorbed enough of a recharge to help itself get started.

The best cables in the world can't magically make current appear when it isn't there to start with. I've never seen one of those jumper boxes that seemed to have enough current capacity to be worthwhile, but all the "mine works" reports have me reconsidering that. I never wanted one unless it was essentially the same CCA as my battery itself -- which would make it the size and price of a battery itself.

I've often wondered if somebody couldn't engineer a *GOOD* way to make these cars dual-battery systems, like John Deere tractors.
That's the other problem I had. First contender was a 4 cylinder Audi...good effort but not enough. The 2nd contender was even worse....tiny little hatchback of some sort (It was very bland, either a Toyota or a Mazda, couldn't tell) Either way I did nearly laugh when I saw the battery that it used....


I believe some of the newer Mercedes have dual battery systems....
__________________
1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."
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  #14  
Old 12-06-2010, 11:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bustedbenz View Post
I had to jump my 240 this morning. I've got good solid cables with good sturdy clamps, and it still took forever.
You really can stop right there.

If the 240 had the correct battery..........less than three years old...........with clean cable clamps, you don't have a problem.

You wish to completely reengineer the vehicle and add significant weight to cure the simple problem of an old battery.

Doesn't make any sense.
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  #15  
Old 12-06-2010, 11:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bustedbenz View Post
I've often wondered if somebody couldn't engineer a *GOOD* way to make these cars dual-battery systems, like John Deere tractors. I don't want 24 volts, I want two 12v in parallel so that I've got twice the cranking capacity on any given day -- also, some insurance against one of them suddenly developing a weakness. Obviously the chief problem is the physical location of the battery -- trunk placement means huge runs of thick cables (that have to be properly shielded, run the length of the car at great expense) plus the risk of destroying your trunk interior with sulfuric acid. Under the hood... it would take some REALLY creative re-engineering to make room for another battery to sit, safely, where it wouldn't be destroyed by vibrations or by heat. But... I really wish there was some way to do it that actually worked. I'd modify mine in a heartbeat.
I had another 49 series in my trunk last winter that I had 00 gauge wire running up to the main battery under the car. Cost like $90. I did notice a difference in cranking power when I had it but the voltage drop was very large due to 17 feet of copper between the batteries. Last night however I took some measurements and a 49 series will just barely fit behind the passenger side head light on the flat part of the fender. It would require a little bit of modification to the air filter I have but I think it is very doable. I will keep looking into it and see how it goes.

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