Featured NOCO battery booster- is it time to come in for a charge?

Discussion in 'Prius, Hybrid, EV and Alt-Fuel News' started by Leadfoot J. McCoalroller, Dec 7, 2025 at 4:09 PM.

  1. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I was doing some maintenance on our other car today and decided to recharge the NOCO battery booster.

    I see that it had dropped to about half charge over the past year since last charge.

    When it's done topping up I'll do the one from the Prius. I just figured I'd share the reminder in case anyone else has one back in the trunk somewhere.

    (I realize this is not actual hybrid news, but I couldn't think of another forum on here that wasn't specific to a particular model of the Prius- apologies for the odd fit)
     
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  2. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    Also, If you're in the Northern Hemisphere this is the time of year you need to charge your 12v batteries in your hybrid cars. They tend to to not get enough charge this time of year and your 12 volt will have a longer lifespan if you do this every winter.
     
  3. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I set one of the custom maintenance reminders in the MFD to remind me about the jump pack. My jump pack docs suggested every couple months.
     
  4. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    Nice, I don't remember if we had the option to do that in our c. The display arrangement is a bit different, and that was before I replaced the stock stereo.
     
  5. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

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    I don't think you have that option in a Prius C - I know it didn't exists in my 2012 Prius C.

    FWIW, you may want to look at the minimum temperature that unit will function at, since you have a cold snap moving in.
     
  6. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I see that as being of little consequence. It can be warmed up inside my coat in less time than it would take for a roadside assistance response- one advantage of being able to use the smallest/lightest models on the market.
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    thanks! i will try to remember to take a look at mine.
     
  8. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    How do you discharge your battery booster, to 'exercise' it?
    I don't really have any high load usb-c loads.
    I think I had it hooked up to my MacBook and/or iPhone.
    Doesn't work on a HomePod mini.
    Maybe I'll try today.
    The Bluettis I've got supposedly benefit by periodically discharging to 0 (not really zero-built in safety) and then recharging to max, to recalibrate. But those I can attach to an electric area heater. :)
     
  9. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I don't. I never saw a need.
     
  10. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    Maybe just a requirement for the Bluettis. They seem to report 100% even though not really, and then you don't get the full charge out of them, mostly when you really need it, lol. They're LiFePO4's, so it could be that.

    I just brought in my battery jumper. It's been in the car for a couple months now, maybe, and still says 100%. For what that's worth.

    upload_2025-12-8_9-17-52.png
     
  11. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    I just thought of it: The thing has a built in light. I'll try turning that on.
    edit: And I plugged in my phone, but it's already at 80%.
    edit2: Phone doesn't seem to be taking charge; % doesn't change. Light has it down to 97%. If nothing else, it will show how long the light would last, say, in a power outage.
    edit3: Forgot I had max charge set to 80% on phone. Duh.
    edit4: Dropped 10% in two hours; don't think I'm going to let it go too long
     
    #11 VelvetFoot, Dec 8, 2025 at 9:33 AM
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2025 at 11:32 AM
  12. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I don't try very hard to fully discharge mine, though I usually do charge a phone with it or something, then recharge from there.
     
  13. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Lithium battery jump starter I have now is holding charge quite well. At least according to the charge level indicator on the unit. The last time I checked, it had been siting in the car for almost 3 years untouched but still showed 100% charge. But I had one that discharged while stored in the car and I could not use it when I needed it. For that reason, I now carry another jump starter in my car. Autowit Supercap2 Jump Starter. It does not need charging. It is a battery-less jump stater. I used it several times now, and it works great. It takes a bit longer to get ready using almost dead 12v battery, but worked fine within a few minutes.
     
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  14. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    I like that a lot.
    My experience with batteries and generators is that they never work when you need 'em. :)

    edit: Ordered
     
    #14 VelvetFoot, Dec 8, 2025 at 10:01 AM
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2025 at 10:33 AM
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  15. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    Well, after 7 hours with the light on, it's still at 65%.
    I might leave it on overnight as an experiment.
    I wonder if this Harbor Freight product shuts itself down before true zero?
    I guess I'll find out, lol.
    Anyway, re-indexing obviously wasn't needed at this point.
    With the capacitive booster in the bullpen, probably won't do the re-indexing thing again.
     
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  16. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    Well, it took 26 hours to deplete the battery with the light on all that time.
    Could be useful in a power outage.
    Have it plugged in now. Does seem to be accepting the charge, so that's a good thing, lol.l
     
  17. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    Got the thing. Likely will test it at some point, maybe on the lawn tractor.
     
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  18. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    I'm a bit curious about that capacitor rig, specifically for use with my backup generator. The battery supplied with it gives slow cranking speeds- fine for 50°F and above, but forces us to use ether starting fluid below that.

    I think I'd rather just put a better battery in the genny, but it's been difficult to find something that physically fits.
     
  19. VelvetFoot

    VelvetFoot Active Member

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    I don't think that rig can take many hits. Maybe, like one.
    Have you checked online? I got a small battery online for my new-ish Cub Cadet lawn tractor whose battery failed I thought prematurely. Nobody has anything anymore in the stores, it seems. I always had it on an (older) onboard charger too, but it was an AGM battery, and I'm not sure the charger 'does' AGM. My digital Harbor Freight battery tester indicated still good after charging, but it failed to start the tractor, so there's that. I have the new one on the same changer, and I tend to run the tractor to haul around a little trailer in the winter every once in a while, so I'm anticipating a failure. :)

    edit: I keep two generators on battery tenders, and my standby is on it's own charger. The one I use most though is the Honda 2000i, which I can carry around, and has no battery. I'm not even sure if those two on tenders will even start, lol.
     
  20. Leadfoot J. McCoalroller

    Leadfoot J. McCoalroller Senior Member

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    ?

    It's a capacitor bank. It should be able to charge and discharge millions-to-billions of times, as long as you do them before the electrolyte dries or leaks out. Capacitors tend to be age-limited rather than cycle-limited.

    All it is doing in its prescribed usage is accumulating power from the battery at a low rate, and then releasing it into the starter motor at a much higher rate- and that makes lots of sense as far as improving the chances of starting a cold gasoline engine; doubly so for a carbureted one.

    I keep the genny connected to a tiny solar panel all the time and this has been enough of a maintenance charge for years. I think I just need to replace the factory AGM battery with same-size, better-grade for better cold weather performance.

    Now that I've seen the price of the cap bank, I'll let that alone... cans of ether are far cheaper and have never failed.