Keeping a top-rated battery booster is a great way to ensure peace of mind while on the road and away from home. Suppose you break down or return to your car to realise the lights were left on – if you have a dead battery without a mains power supply or a helpful fellow motorist willing to give you a jump-start, you could be in for a long walk.
By keeping a car battery booster stowed away in your boot, you can drive safely in the knowledge that an auxiliary power supply is always available, meaning you can get to wherever you need to be and the walking can be left to the hitchhikers.
Battery boosters vary depending on the amount of power needed to restart the car. Most cars with small to medium-sized engines require only a few Amps to jump back into life – but what if your car has a large engine?
Battery boosters for large engines
To jump-start a large engine, you’ll need a booster with a little more kick. Bigger engines often require more power to turn over and so your jump starter will need to suffice the extra demand by delivering more amperage. So long as your battery booster is rated to jump-start the capacity of your car’s engine and is fully charged up, the process shouldn’t differ from jump-starting a regular-sized engine.
While regular battery boosters that pack small to medium amperage are commonplace and easy to find, boosters fit to restart larger engines can be trickier to locate. To save you some time, we’ve put together a list of our favourite jump starters for large engines for you to check out.
Editor’s choice
Rrp: $374.95
Rrp: $374.95
We especially like this model as it’s essentially a beefed-up power pack, capable of charging a range of different devices. Smartphone or tablet run out of juice on the go? The GB150 features USB charging ports for such an eventuality, as well as a 500-lumen LED torch with blink and strobe modes in case you need to catch someone’s attention in a hurry. While quite expensive, this NOCO model can jump-start a large engine 80 times before the need to recharge, so it’s the only power pack you’ll ever need.
If you’re taken by this NOCO product, check out our guide to NOCO to see what else it has to offer.
Pros
- Compact yet powerful
- Multi-use power pack
Cons
- Expensive
| Amperage: | 3000 |
| Engine capacity: | Petrol and diesel up to 10 litres |
| Dimensions: | 42.8 x 23.4 x 10.2cm |
| Weight: | 3.4 KG |
| USB Ports: | Two |
| Light: | Yes |
Best for compact
What distinguishes this model from the GB150, however, is its size. The GB150 is already a relatively compact device given its capabilities, but this example is even thinner and more compact, making it the perfect choice for car boots without a lot of room. For the safety of yourself and your battery, the clamps on this Gooloo booster are spark and reverse-polarity protected.
Pros
- Compact
- Great value
Cons
- Short cables
| Amperage: | 4000A |
| Engine capacity: | Petrol and diesel up to 10 litres |
| Dimensions: | 26 x 13 x 11cm |
| Weight: | 1.74 KG |
| USB Ports: | Two |
| Light: | Yes |
Great buy
Pros
- High power output
- Strong and sturdy
Cons
- Bulky unit
| Amperage: | 4000A |
| Engine capacity: | Petrol and diesel up to 10 litres |
| Dimensions: | 26.1 x 16.9 x 12.8cm |
| Weight: | 1.94 KG |
| USB Ports: | One |
| Light: | Yes |
Best for medium to large engines
It may only jump-start petrol engines as big as six litres, but for many motorists driving large engines, this will still suffice, and for nearly half the price of the Autogen example. This battery jump starter also features two USB sockets to extend its utility to charging phones while compact enough to easily slip into any glove box with ease.
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Pros
- Affordable solution
- Competent power pack
Cons
- Ineffective on the really big engines
| Amperage: | 13,000mAh |
| Engine capacity: | Six-litre petrol engines/three-litre diesel |
| Dimensions: | 192 x 130 x 95cm |
| Weight: | 0.836 KG |
| USB Ports: | Two |
| Light: | Yes |
Best multi-use battery booster
The CS Free is tough and built to last, capable of charging in ambient temperatures as cold as -20 ˚C to +50 ˚C. If you want a single product to take care of your car’s battery, we recommend making it this one. Check out our guide to CTEK to see more.
Pros
- Multi-use battery management tool
- Easy to use
Cons
- Other jump starters may work quicker
| Amperage: | 13,000mAh |
| Engine capacity: | Multi |
| Dimensions: | 24.89 x 9.91 x 7.87cm |
| Weight: | 1.36 KG |
| USB Ports: | Two |
| Light: | No |
FAQs
How do I know if I need to change my battery?
If your battery is fully charged but your engine still struggles to start, your car’s electrical components are bereft of power or there’s a warning on your dashboard, it might be time for a new car battery. Your battery may have simply come to the end of its service life, or it may have leaked – either way, you should replace it as soon as possible to get back on the road.
Can a small engine jump-start a large engine safely?
So long as your jump leads have been applied correctly, a small car should have no problem jump-starting a bigger engine. We recommend leaving the jump leads on a little longer than you usually would and with the engine running to ensure enough power has been transferred over
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