Jump starting another car
 

Hey I know there is a post about jumping your rx8 already but what happens when you jump start someone elses car with an RX8 as the donor car? What can I expect trouble wise if any

gosh, its a car, not a space shuttle. it wont do any damage.

Its still a car. Just because it has a Wankel engine doesnt mean you have to be afraid of it. Red to red and black to black... same as jumping any car.

Thanks; my dad flipped out when I said I jump started my friends car and I read another thread about problems with jump starting the rx8 itself

it says somewhere in the manual that the car shouldn't be jumped star as this could result in ecu damage. but this is only a "could" that depends in certain other variables, I jumped started my car twice went I needed a new battery and the car suffered no problems.

I see I see. maybe I should download that manual. I never got one when I bought it -___- what variables would that be btw?

The main fuse would blow before any damage could be done.

I'm not sure, but it would depend on the unit voltage that is discharged into the system I suspect. As mentioned above, perhaps the fuse would burn due to overload before it reaches the rest of the system.

Back in the 60s and 70s, when electronic ignition systems were first introduced, there was a folklore that you could blow the system by jump starting another car. I don't know if that ever happened, or if it happened as part of a general fry from someone hooking up the cables backwards. I have a feeling that "You'll blow the ECU jumping another car" is the current incarnation of that legend.

The only problem I've got with using the RX-8 as the donor car is that the battery is buried. You need to take off the engine cover, then wrestle the battery cover off.

Ken

Best way to boost anything is to disconnect the donor battery positive cable...and then hook up the positive lead of the cable to the batterys...and the negative cable to a good ground on both ends....

I wouldn't do it with a set of normal cables. Use a cable set with reverse and surge protection built in. Amazon is selling the Michelin 5100 Smart Jumper Cable for $16. It won't work on completely dead batteries, but there's no way you should try to jump in that condition. The risk is wiping out $2k worth of electronics on your car.

Yes, I would never use the 8 to jimp another car.

I have used my 8 to jump another 8 on one occasion and did it the right way.

But under normal conditions I would not. back in the day I had an 82' 280ZX Turbo and I used it to jump start my friends RAM Charger and it fried my ECU, the car never started again and I had two shops look at it first unsuccessfully before taking it to the dealer and paying out the ass for a replacement ECU because I could not find one anywhere for that car.

I'm not sure what or how it happened but it did.

That's the safest way for the donor car...although you'll lose all of your radio settings and (on the 8) you'll have to reset whatever it is that needs the steering wheel turned from side to side. Next best (and the usual advice) is to have the donor car off.

That won't work if the battery in the dead car is down too far. Leaving the donor car running sometimes will work...although that puts the donor's alternator at risk. Sometimes it's necessary to leave the donor car running for a few minutes with the cables hooked up, to get some charge on the dead battery.

Setting that last item down reminded me of a time I successfully started a run-down car without jumper cables, just some hook-up wire, by letting the donor charge the dead battery for 5 or 10 minutes.

Ken