Hi all,

New to posting, I have been coming here for a few months to learn tips and tricks.

Last weekend I took my 2006 GX 470 camping and my buddy was trying to find some scores on the radio and left my key in the 'on' position and the battery drained and was unable to start. A kind fellow had a jump box but it didn't work. Hooked up jumper cables and started just fine.

Couple questions:

1. I wanted to pick up a jump box for emergencies but am not sure what to get. Does anyone use a jump box that works? Is the reason it didn't work in my case that the amps were too low to jump the electronic starter?

2. By leaving the key in the "on" position did it do damage to my electronic starter?

3. I like the e-starter but am afraid that I could be stuck in the future. Would it make sense to carry a spare starter or are they pretty reliable?

Thanks!

 

The jumpstarters that plug into the cig lighter work by charging your battery for 10 minutes or so, then you turn the key to start. So if it didn't work, either it wasn't charged enough, or your battery was too far dead, or you didn't leave it connected long enough for it to recharge your battery.

No, doesn't work like that. And there's nothing "electronic" about the starter, it's just a plain old starter that is turned on and off by a relay from the computer rather than the actual turning of the key.

It does not make sense to bring a backup starter because the starter is ridiculously difficult to replace. It's not like most vehicles where it can be accessed from under the car. On our Toyota 4.7's, the starter is under the intake manifold which means the top of the engine has to come apart to replace it.

There's nothing magical about our starters. The computer just cranks the starter until it senses that the engine is running. The reason Toyota chose to do this is for increased reliability; many people ruin starters and flywheels/pressure-plates by cranking them for too long after the engine starts. Reliability should be the same or better than the starter on any other vehicle, so it's not something to worry about.

 

I have this jumper box. It is jump and carry 300:
It has jumped my gx and another friends gx without a problem. It's has a small form factor and is relatively light. They make a bigger unit that is about twice the price, but for size of our engines it seems to be more than adequate.

 

I carry this anytime I'm off road or camping.

It's about the size of an iPhone 6 Plus and will jump most V8's on a full charge. It's also handy to charge your cell phone or other electronic devices while off grid. I use it pretty heavily in the winter while at work jump starting cars to pull in and work on and other than having to replace the cables with an updated version, it's held up well.

 

That's a pretty neat unit, they can pack a lot of power into a small form factor these days!

I've got an older version of this power pack, FAR less portable, but has an integrated air compressor, LED light, AC plug ins, etc. It's pretty clunky to carry with you, something like BlackCat has would be far better for what I use it for.