It’s almost foolproof, and you’re unlikely to fry any electronics with it. Two leads come out the side – a red positive lead and a black negative lead – that clamp to your battery terminals without worrying that you’ve mixed up the order between the vehicles. Inside the jump starter is a compact yet powerful battery that can often start an engine more than a dozen times over without being recharged. It’s more convenient, faster, and its size makes it perfect to use remotely and take with you when there’s no help around for miles. It uses the donor’s battery storage and alternator’s power generation to quickly enable a start.Įssentially, a portable jump starter does a similar function without needing a second vehicle. In a situation where you jump-start a dead battery on a car, truck, boat, RV, or motorcycle, you connect booster cables from the terminals of the recovery vehicle to the dead battery’s posts.