Car Battery Dead?

How often did you forget to turn off the interior lights? For how long did you not drive only to find out your car would not start? I lost count. My family, coworkers, strangers, and I all had that happen before, and when it did:

• Was a jump start cable available?
• Was anyone available to lend their car to power yours up with?
• Did you know how to jump start a car?
• Did you have a AAA membership, and did you have time to wait for a technician to arrive and help?

Dead car battery /NOCO

My dad bought me a battery-operated jump start kit decades ago when I was in college. It was large and constantly lost its charge. Technology had changed since and small, powerful batteries now exist that can start a vehicle as large as a truck.

NOCO Genius Boost

Model GB40 Plus (1,000 Amp)

I had purchased a NOCO Genius Boost GB40 in 2016 for the sole purpose of having an emergency jump starter available for my SUV. Its feature set intrigued me:

GB40 – What’s in the Box /NOCO

• Compact and portable at 2.4 lbs
  • Does not need you to move your car so the battery could reach the other vehicle’s
  • Just take out the NOCO, connect to your own battery, and start
• Ability to jump start a 6L gasoline or 3L diesel engine
  • My V6 engine SUV only uses 3.5L gas
  • A Ford F150 truck with V8 goes as high as 5.0L
• Up to 20 starts
• Boost mode to send maximum charge to a completely dead battery
  • 1,000 Amps — yes, really!
  • This saved our butts many times — at least we were able to drive back home until we got our batteries replaced
• Reverse-polarity protection to ensure you won’t short the battery if you connect the clamps wrong — FYI, red cable should always go to battery’s red or plus (+) terminal
  • Having the clamps touch each other also does nothing. It’s quite fool-proof
• microUSB re-chargeable in less than 3 hours
• Battery to charge USB devices with
• Built-in flashlight with SOS function
• Battery maintains its charge for months

Genius Boost GB40 Specs and Features /NOCO

Usage

Using the NOCO Boost is simple:

• Ensure car is fully turned off, including all lights
• Put car into Park and activate the hand brake
• Pop open the car’s hood and wait 30 seconds
• Plug the Boost’s red clamp to the car battery’s red or plus (+) connector
  • Even if you plug it to the wrong one, the NOCO’s reverse-polarity protection will prevent your battery from getting short-circuited
• Plug the black clamp to the car battery’s other connector

Genius Boost GB40 in Use /NOCO

• Turn on the Boost
• Start the car and push down a bit on the gas to rev up the engine
• If car starts, let it run for a few minutes
  • Drive your car around for 30 minutes to charge up its battery a bit. It may simply need a few hours to fully recharge unless the battery is completely dead and requires a replacement

Warning: Do not leave the car running inside your garage with the doors closed. You could get carbon monoxide poisoning and die!

• If car did NOT start, wait 30 seconds
  • Long-press on the NOCO’s Exclamation mark (!) button to activate maximum Boost mode
  • You will see the light above the “12V 1000A” label turn on. This mode will send the maximum charge to the car battery
  • Start the car and push down a bit on the gas to rev up the engine. It should work
    • I had NOT come across a single car that could NOT be charged when the NOCO was set to its maximum boost

The NOCO GB40’s small size once wowed a AAA driver when I showed him that it could start my mother-in-law’s completely dead battery. He showed me how large his one was. (That was not a dirty joke!)

Model GB50 XL (1,500 Amp)

I bought the 1,500 Amp NOCO Genius Boost XL GB50 model in 2019 to keep at home.

• Can start a 7L gasoline or 4L diesel engine
• Up to 30 starts
• Battery recharges in 5 hours
• Weight: 2.7 lbs, just 0.3 lbs heavier than the GB40 model

Final Thoughts

This is one of the single, most important pieces of emergency gear I had purchased for myself and each family’s car — so you would not be stranded somewhere without a cell phone signal. Both models are very powerful, do not take up much space inside the vehicle, and are easy to use: my elderly mother-in-law remembered how to start her own vehicle after showing her just once! No more waiting for a tow truck/technician to arrive, and having been able to use the NOCO as a portable battery to charge my mobile devices with has been an added bonus.

Where To Buy

• NOCO Genius Boost
  • GB150 (3,000A) / GB70 (2,000A)
  • GB50 XL (1,500A) / GB40 Plus (1,000A)

Related Reviews

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