Jump Start - Antigravity Batteries (XP-10) diesel

jschopen · 05-26-2015, 09:42 PM

Hello all.....

I purchased a jump starter (XP-10) from Antigravity Batteries vender a couple of weeks ago at the Overland Expo in Flagstaff, AZ. I was hoping to use this device when I find myself in a difficult situation. Last week I found that opportunity to try it, on my 2006 Sportsmobile and wasn't able to have any luck. The vehicle is a E350 Ford Econoline with 6 liter diesel engine. The operating batteries are dual 12V (in series) that are standard for this year van. If anyone else has had any had prior experiences with using the Antigravity XP-10, I would very much appreciate your input.

FYI....Antigravity Batteries claims that this device (XP-10) will jump start a diesel.

.....Jeff

boywonder · 05-26-2015, 09:45 PM

I don't think your two starting batteries are wired in series.........parallel wiring will have roughly twice the "cold cranking amps"......

Determine the cold cranking amp rating of your van batteries (add the CCA rating of the two van batteries together) and compare that to your anti-gravity thingy........odds are quite high that the van batteries have more CCA. If not, you may have a cable size issue with your new gizmo.

**BroncoHauler** · 05-26-2015, 10:01 PM

the XP-10 will start a diesel, but that doesn't mean it will start any and all diesels. Diesel trucks require monster amounts of current to be able to start.

Please see this thread, especially about halfway down where I posted a table from Antigravity that shows their upcoming Max 36 battery. Now if the vendor stated or implied that the XP-10 would start a 6.0L, I'd call them up and get your money back.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=13720&hilit=+antigravity&star t=15

Herb

P.S. Was the XP-10 fully charged, or did you assume it was fully charged when you bought it?

jschopen · 05-26-2015, 10:28 PM

Thanks for the input..... I spoke with a Antigravity Rep about my situation and he thought that given the current battery setup (parallel) not series (thanks boywonder) for the correction, the distance to the starter was to great for the device to work correctly. I was hoping someone found a work-around for this possibility.

FYI...I did put it on the charger over night, but that didn't seem to help.

Its looking like I may need to return the item. If anyone knows of any other jump starter that they have luck with, please let me know.

....Thanks Jeff

**daveb** · 05-26-2015, 10:28 PM

How long did you leave the battery connected before you tried to start the engine?

Having two dead batteries pulls amperage from the jump batteries and then you're adding the load of the starter plus everything the engine requires to start. That's some major juice. I could be wrong but even with the capability of supplementing a jump start from the house battery system (if your van is configured to do so), it's best to leave any external jump batteries connected for a little while so the other batteries have time to equalize a bit before turning the key and attempting to crank over the engine. That's assuming that there isn't a short in the system or a bad battery is in the loop. I have one of those smaller antigravity batteries and that is how I have to use it to crank over a LT-1 V-8 engine. I've had to leave it for 5 minutes in some cases before the engine can crank over. I suspect it's not good on a diesel to let it hard crank as well so care should be taken anyway. I agree with Herb, the XP-10 might be more suited for small diesel engines or used to supplement weak (not dead) batteries.

Viva · 05-26-2015, 10:37 PM

I used an XP-1 (smaller than the XP-10) to start a V-10 and it zipped right to life. Then tried it again and it worked a second time.

I realize the V-10 is gas and you have a diesel, plus this was an XP-1, but I just figured you might like to hear another experience since there may not be that many people actively using them yet.

A couple of notes: I'm not sure how much of a "proper" test this was (not my area of expertise), but what we did (it was a friend's rig) was disconnect the starting battery (since it was fine we couldn't leave it connected) and hook up the clamps of the XP-1, then started the engine. Then did it again. The weather was fairly benign (high 50's) and there was no particular reason for the engine not to start.

Based on that (I have a V-10 also) I also bought an Anti-Gravity (XP-1) at Expo. Nice side bonus that it will charge my laptop too. I have a few other small battery packs, but none of them will charge the laptop due to not having the right connections.

I hope you are able to figure yours out.

Viva

PS: What would happen if you removed the batteries from the system by just hooking up the XP-10 to the cables (removing them from the batteries). Would that be a good thing since the dead batteries would not be "dragging" down the XP-10 in addition to the starting load? Or is that inadvisable or unworkable (maybe the engine would not run long enough for you to hook them back up, or there would be another problem?) I have to admit I found it slightly weird to do the test that way, but then I couldn't really think of any other way since we didn't have a dead battery. (We didn't leave the engine running, but only just started it.)

jschopen · 05-26-2015, 11:13 PM

Some more good ideas.....

I'll try (daveb) suggestion, leaving it attached for awhile before attempting to start the vehicle. In regards to detaching the cable from the dead batteries and connecting directly. I did try this approach and didn't seem to make any different.

Please let me know, if there any other thoughts out there and I'll provide my outcome, once I've exhaust all options.

Thanks!
....Jeff

**daveb** · 05-26-2015, 11:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jschopen

If anyone knows of any other jump starter that they have luck with, please let me know.

....Thanks Jeff

I once carried a 10 amp car charger that had a 50amp boost jump feature that I powered off my inverter as something to help others get started rather than using cables off my van. Guess you could do the same to get yourself started provided you have a house battery and big enough inverter.
I quit hauling it because I have solar and can self jump from the house battery system. I use the Antigravity battery as a power supply or to jump smaller vehicles if needed.

**BroncoHauler** · 05-27-2015, 05:34 AM

If I had known Antigravity Batteries was @ ExPo, it would have been tempting to go to talk to them, especially about the Max36. Were they at least offering good deals @ ExPo ($137 on Amazon for an XP-10)? I've wanted to pick up an XP-10 myself, but I have a 7.3L in one of my vehicles so I've been holding out for the Max 36. I think the XP-10 would be just fine for my other vehicles though (2.0L diesel, 351 gasser).

Herb

Viva · 05-27-2015, 11:12 AM

The one I bought is about $7 cheaper on Amazon Prime. That said, it was fun to meet the AG folks and chat with them, and I finally bought one instead of just letting it sit in my "save for later" on Amazon