Jump starting another car

[Togfather]

I have just got a new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Dynamic Safety in diamond red and I love it.

I am disabled and need height because bending my knees is very painful and this car is so easy to get in and out of.

My daughter has a Jeep and it has a flat battery so I said I would jump start it for her, but I cannot see the battery to attach the jump leads to. My question therefore is: Can I jump start another car using jump leads, and if so, how do I do it?

Many thanks in advance, Tog.

 

[AndyInOz]

The short answer is that you cannot.

The PHEV 12 volt battery is tiny, and cannot deliver enough current to start a car.

Other members of this forum have bought portable lithium batteries so that they can still jump-start other people's cars.

 

[Togfather]

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply.

Best wishes

Tog

 

[DibbyDibbyDJ]

]Can I jump start another car using jump leads, and if so, how do I do it?[/b]

Dont do it.

 

[littlescrote]

Please read the user manual that came with your car to learn how to get the best from it and to prevent damage to it.

 

[Togfather]

Patronising much!

I am not an idiot.

I have already read the manual, in fact i read it before I bought the car. All 594 pages.

There is nothing in there about jump starting another car, which is why I posted the question.

 

[littlescrote]

As you're not an idiot and have read all 594 pages, I'm surprised that you don't remember the NOTE on p 9-03 that says "You cannot rescue another vehicle's discharged battery by connecting jumper cables while using this jumper cable terminal"

You're welcome, pompous much!

 

[Togfather]

Oh yes, well of course the first thing to note is that when someone says they are not an idiot - they often are, and that is definitely so in my case.

I am a member of Mensa, but there is a thin line between genius and insanity - and the older I get (now 69) the more often I cross it.

I am also bipolar, which makes me very snippy at times, so I apologise for the tone of my last reply.

Thank you so much for your time and assistance.

Best wishes

Tog

 

[littlescrote]

No worries Tog me old pal. I'm a curmudgeonly old git and I'm only 48

It wasn't meant in a patronising way, but there is a lot to learn about these vehicles that is different to others that it really is worth reading the manual cover to cover when you first get it, and then again a few months down the line when more of it makes sense. the pdf version is worth having too, as the find function can help to find stuff that is not obvious from the index.

 

[bosi314]

I have just got a new Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV Dynamic Safety in diamond red and I love it.

I am disabled and need height because bending my knees is very painful and this car is so easy to get in and out of.

My daughter has a Jeep and it has a flat battery so I said I would jump start it for her, but I cannot see the battery to attach the jump leads to. My question therefore is: Can I jump start another car using jump leads, and if so, how do I do it?

Many thanks in advance, Tog.

Hello, in fact the note in the manual stating that it is impossible to jumpstart another (regular) car intends to protect the DC-DC converter that is used for charging the 12V battery in Mitsu Outlander. The Outlander can be used for this job with the risk of damaging the above converter. I used the red + and a shock absorber protruding bolt (-) to connect usual cables to jumpstart a Skoda Octavia (petrol engine) of my colleague in bad need knowing that he had a quite new battery in good condition and the drain would be limited just to a few seconds. While the Yuasa 12V battery can be easily replaced (sits in the trunk left), of course the converter would be a bigger issue and I do not recommend jumpstarting other cars with compliance with the Mitsu manual.

 

[littlescrote]

You could trickle charge a car in need of jumping for a while with little risk provided you know their battery is not totally dead but make sure you disconnect when the stater motor of the car being jumped is turned on as that is what pulls the voltage low and increases the current from the jumper to the jumpee.

 

[Polyian]

I carry a portable jump starter which can be used to rescue myself or others...safest way to help. I just have to remember to charge it very few months to keep it ready. It saved me once on my Prius when I had inadvertently left the interior light on overnight.

 

[NightPHEVer]

I agree with Polyian - a portable Lithium jump starter pack is a very useful thing to carry on board (only a bit bigger than a smartphone) to rescue others as well as yourself. You can't jump start another car from a PHEV but you can jump start a PHEV. I managed to flatten my 12v when I inadvertently left the ignition in the 'wrong' postion while I changed a wheel. It would have saved me a Green Flag call-out and much cold, wet and slightly dangerous waiting in the snow if I'd had a jump pack of my own. May as well buy one powerful enough to start a conventional car to help others, but an Outlander PHEV actually only requires a relatively small pack to get it going as the 12v battery doesn't actually need to 'start' the engine, only power up the car's system. It's simple to use on a PHEV too as the connectors are easily accessed in the bonnet.

 

[Polyian]

I agree with Polyian - a portable Lithium jump starter pack is a very useful thing to carry on board (only a bit bigger than a smartphone) to rescue others as well as yourself. You can't jump start another car from a PHEV but you can jump start a PHEV. I managed to flatten my 12v when I inadvertently left the ignition in the 'wrong' postion while I changed a wheel. It would have saved me a Green Flag call-out and much cold, wet and slightly dangerous waiting in the snow if I'd had a jump pack of my own. May as well buy one powerful enough to start a conventional car to help others, but an Outlander PHEV actually only requires a relatively small pack to get it going as the 12v battery doesn't actually need to 'start' the engine, only power up the car's system. It's simple to use on a PHEV too as the connectors are easily accessed in the bonnet.

Yes it can mean the difference between a few minutes and a few hours for getting back on the road. I added a calendar reminder on my iPhone to recharge the Jump Starter Pack every 3 months though it seems to require very little top up at that time.

 

[HeliNurse]

Good advice, can you recommend one??

 

[Zulu67MP]

Good advice, can you recommend one??

I've used a series of NOCO power packs over the years and can't fault them. One thing to remember is that these things contain high-energy lithium cells that are nothing short of fire-bombs in waiting, so high quality electronic control components are essential ... Buy cheap at your peril .

 

[HeliNurse]

Thanks

 

[antonvs]

I agree with Polyian - a portable Lithium jump starter pack is a very useful thing to carry on board (only a bit bigger than a smartphone) to rescue others as well as yourself. You can't jump start another car from a PHEV but you can jump start a PHEV. I managed to flatten my 12v when I inadvertently left the ignition in the 'wrong' postion while I changed a wheel. It would have saved me a Green Flag call-out and much cold, wet and slightly dangerous waiting in the snow if I'd had a jump pack of my own. May as well buy one powerful enough to start a conventional car to help others, but an Outlander PHEV actually only requires a relatively small pack to get it going as the 12v battery doesn't actually need to 'start' the engine, only power up the car's system. It's simple to use on a PHEV too as the connectors are easily accessed in the bonnet.

This post has made interesting reading (along with the whole forum, for that matter) as I wait for our 2025 PHEV Aspire to arrive at our Mitsu dealer.
It was a surprise that in only the time it took to change a tyre was long enough for the systems 12V supply to deplete. Defiantly something to remember.

 

[NightPHEVer]

This post has made interesting reading (along with the whole forum, for that matter) as I wait for our 2025 PHEV Aspire to arrive at our Mitsu dealer.
It was a surprise that in only the time it took to change a tyre was long enough for the systems 12V supply to deplete. Defiantly something to remember.

Hmm, ah yes but at the time I did have the lights, hazards and possibly even the heater still switched on, I'd guess around 15 minutes. By mistake I left the 'power' button in the first 'blue-light' position. ie: without putting my foot on the brake to put the whole car in the 'ready' mode which means the engine will come on if it needs to, and the whole system is operating via the big, main EV battery not just the tiny 12v. My PHEV 12v was so flat even the hazard flashers didn't work. The first 'blue light' power button position is the equivalent of if in a conventional car, leaving the ignition switched on without the engine running, which would also eventually flatten the battery in a conventional car.

My PHEV is a 2014 model and I don't know if the later versions still use the same 3-stage 'power' button option system (orange light, blue light or 'ready' mode). I haven't actually done this since but I do know that the 12v battery in a Ford Kuga PHEV will happily flatten itself in around 4 weeks if the car is not used. Legend has it that the PHEV charges its own 12v battery (from the big EV battery) if it feels the need, the Ford Kuga doesn't. Although the 12v battery in a Kuga is a relatively conventional £150 job while the Outlander PHEV is a relatively expensive £600 job.

I'm not at all sure that a new, 2025 Mitsubishi PHEV shares any of the above features though as it looks very different ot a 2014 PHEV and we don't have new Mitsubishi's in the UK....

 

[Ken Butcher]

Hmm, ah yes but at the time I did have the lights, hazards and possibly even the heater still switched on, I'd guess around 15 minutes. By mistake I left the 'power' button in the first 'blue-light' position. ie: without putting my foot on the brake to put the whole car in the 'ready' mode which means the engine will come on if it needs to, and the whole system is operating via the big, main EV battery not just the tiny 12v. My PHEV 12v was so flat even the hazard flashers didn't work. The first 'blue light' power button position is the equivalent of if in a conventional car, leaving the ignition switched on without the engine running, which would also eventually flatten the battery in a conventional car.

My PHEV is a 2014 model and I don't know if the later versions still use the same 3-stage 'power' button option system (orange light, blue light or 'ready' mode). I haven't actually done this since but I do know that the 12v battery in a Ford Kuga PHEV will happily flatten itself in around 4 weeks if the car is not used. Legend has it that the PHEV charges its own 12v battery (from the big EV battery) if it feels the need, the Ford Kuga doesn't. Although the 12v battery in a Kuga is a relatively conventional £150 job while the Outlander PHEV is a relatively expensive £600 job.

I'm not at all sure that a new, 2025 Mitsubishi PHEV shares any of the above features though as it looks very different ot a 2014 PHEV and we don't have new Mitsubishi's in the UK....

I have been following this thread with interest and have been looking at emergency power packs. But before investing in one, from the pictures on websites it seems that the connecting leads are very short. Long enough, of course, to attach to the terminals of a battery but not long enough to connect to the 'jump start' connection terminals designated in the Outlander handbook. To those that have used one of these power packs, do you connect to the designated under-bonnet terminals using extension leads, or connect direct to the aux battery under the floor?