Jump Leads (Petrol only?)

cormie

Hi,
I bought some Jump leads in Lidl the other day http://www.lidl.ie/ie/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20091015.p.16mm_Jump_Leads

Anyway, I just picked them up without really looking at them and now I see it says:

"For 12-24V battery. These battery leads may only be used for supplying power to petrol motors with a cc up to 2500cm3 (They are NOT suitable for diesel motors)"

Now I've bought 2 sets of jump leads before and never even knew there was a difference, in fact, I'd be pretty sure the jump leads I have used on my vans are pretty much the same as these and not for Diesel only.

Should I double check them all and not use them if they are Petrol only? How does it make a difference anyway? I always thought jump leads were jump leads.



Any feedback appreciated

weeder

the cables might not be able to carry the extra juice it takes to turn over a diesel

kmart6

Eh how would it make a diff what the car is? Surely if it works on petrol powered car batteries it should work on diesels no?!

macnab

weeder wrote: »

the cables might not be able to carry the extra juice it takes to turn over a diesel

Correct.

cormie

If that's the reason, surely there's no harm in trying?

What ones are for diesel specifically so ?

ARGINITE

If that's the reason, surely there's no harm in trying?

It could cause the plastic on the cables to melt, resulting in a nasty short.

unkel

cormie wrote: »

surely there's no harm in trying?

No harm. It will probably work too. But they mightn't last you very long. And it could burn / melt.

cormie wrote: »

What ones are for diesel specifically so ?

There are cheap skinny ones (like the ones you bought) and there are heavy duty, more expensive ones. The latter are suitable for more powerful jobbies like cars / vans with diesel or big petrol engines.

cormie

Ah right, the other two I have are heavy duty in each 2.4d transit. This set was for a 1.7d astra van. So it should probably be ok? I hope

Anan1

kmart6 wrote: »

Eh how would it make a diff what the car is? Surely if it works on petrol powered car batteries it should work on diesels no?!

Diesel engines have a far higher compression ratio than petrol, making them much harder to turn over.

cormie

Does this mean Diesels have a different battery to petrol? If the battery is the same and it's just charging one from another as long as you left it long enough to charge the dead battery without trying to start the engine, would it be ok? As in, would trying to start the engine when there's not enough juice in the dead battery put a higher load on the cables to get more juice thus risking damage to the cables?

ARGINITE

Does this mean Diesels have a different battery to petrol?

Yes diesels use a different battery to petrol, different in the sense that they can deliver a greater charge [Amp/Hrs] without causing any undesired effects to the battery [basically just bigger].

If the battery is the same and it's just charging one from another as long as you left it long enough to charge the dead battery without trying to start the engine, would it be ok? As in, would trying to start the engine when there's not enough juice in the dead battery put a higher load on the cables to get more juice thus risking damage to the cables?

You are right in your assumption that not turning over the engine and just using the jump leads to charge the batter will draw a lot less current. This way could take a long time though.

cormie

Thanks for all the info folks. So they should be fine anyway. If I have the time I can just let it charge a bit before attempting to start the engine, if not, fingers crossed As long as the battery wont blow up or anything!

weeder

if you had 2 sets you could always connect 2 sets at once, bit of a pain but ive seen it done ONCE to get someone out of a jam, not somthing i would recommend doing regularly