Now You Can DIY Jumpstart Your CAR

One of the most innovative technologies to come around in a long time is today’s method to jumpstart your car.  It is now possible to jumpstart your own car.  The trick? You need to have a charged jumpstart, like the Weego jumpstart in your car.

Weego is the first company I came across that created DIY jumpstart, at CES, back in 2015.  I was immediately impressed and dumbfounded.  What convenience!

I remember the time my husband and I took our kids to the drive-in movie and couldn’t figure out how to turn off the back light inside our SUV with the tailgate up, even though the key was out of the ignition. 

We loved the movies and after they ended at 11:45pm, we went to start the car…it was dead.  Ugh.  We tried desperately to flag someone down, but at this late time of night, it was not easy, people wanted to get their kids home. 

We finally found someone to help us.  We were exhausted but so appreciative.

With the Weego jumpstart, this mishap won’t happen this way the next time.  Within minutes, we could jumpstart our own battery and be on our way.

Weego 44 Jumpstart

The Weego 44 Jumpstart is one of the easiest jumpstarts I’ve ever used (I’ve tested over 5 different jumpstart products).  It comes packed in its own metal lunchbox with everything you need – the Weego jumpstart battery pack, jumper cables called Smarty Clamps, and two chargers to charge the Weego jumpstart either in your car or at home.

There are different sizes of Weego jumpstart products:

• Weego 44-  the most popular model with all of its bells and whistles.  It can jumpstart up to 7-liter engines (think big trucks, muscle cars, etc.).  This is the product we reviewed.
• Weego 66 – for 10-liter diesel trucks – also has the bells and whistles.
• Weego 22 – good for up to 5-liter cars (which is 95% of cars, boats, motorcycles, ATV’s, etc.)  Many of the bells and whistles.
• Weego 22 S – Also good for up to 5-liter cars.  This is the stripped down version, so it does not have a mobile device charging or a light, but it is their most affordable model

Safety

The thing about jumpstarting a car is you have to remember whether the black or red cable gets placed on the battery first and which car to start with – the one with the dead battery or the one that is running.  Get it wrong and there will be sparks flying and, of course, there’s always the fear or electrocution!

None of this matters with the Weego jumpstart. Weego placed safety precautions in their products to protect against anti-spark, reverse polarity (putting the wrong clamp on the wrong connector), over-heating, and power surges.

Follow the directions on the back of the Weego battery, it tells you which color clamp to put on which part of your battery.

Then attach the Smarty Clamps to the charged Weego battery, as directed on the back of the battery, and you’ll ready to start. 

The Weego has built-in circuity protection so you will not get hurt, no matter how you hook it up.  Even if you put the wrong color cable on the negative instead of the positive battery receptors, no sparks will fly, due to Weego’s patented Smarty Clamps. 

Weego really takes all fear out of jumpstarting a car.

When you see the green light glow on the Weego jumpstart, you know it’s time to turn on the car and see if the car will start.  It is truly an amazing feeling when the car starts and you started it all by yourself.

The Weego 44 jumpstart has a big enough battery to last two charges, but it is recommended that you recharge it after every jumpstart.  The Weego 44 jumpstart can last on standby power for a couple of years.

Weego jumpstarts only lose about 2-5% of their charge per month when not in use, so you can rest assured knowing it will be ready when you need it.   Although it’s a good idea to charge it every six months to keep the battery at capacity.  

What Else Can It Do?

In my book, the fact that you can jumpstart your car in a matter of minutes is awesome.  But Weego had bigger plans for their products.  With the Weego 44 jumpstart, you can also…

• Use the included 500-lumen flashlight, helpful in case you need to jumpstart your battery at night.  In fact, Weego includes a hook & lanyard for the battery so you can hook it from the underside of your car’s hood, so that it provides light over your battery.  Clever.
• Use the flashlight in the strobe or SOS mode to attract other drivers to come and help you.
• Use the flashlight longer, with the 14 hours of flashlight use on a single charge, you can use it for camping too or trying to find things in your car at night.
• Use it as a portable charger to charge your phone, tablets, even your laptops with their laptop adaptor accessory.
• Send power to your small 12V air compressor or 12V fan with the optional 12V accessory.
• Charge other vehicles like ATV’s and boats.

Features:

• Can jumpstart cars, trucks, boats, diesels, motorcycles, ATV’s and more, with up to 7-liter gas engines and up to 3.5-liter diesel engines
• The Smarty Clamps utilize a tapered head so you can clamp them to batteries in tight spaces and are powere4d on both sides of teeth for best fool-proof connection
• Can withstand temperatures from -4°F to 140°F
• Uses its proprietary Detect-o-Matic USB Charger to provide the fastest charge to mobile devices dependent upon the voltage they use
• Includes a 19V port for PC based laptop charging (with optional accessory)
• Also has a 12V for powering fans and air compressors with optional accessory
• Can withstand up to 1000 charging cycles and up to 3 years of standby power on a single charge
• The 500-lumen flashlight can last up to 28 hours and makes working in the dark easy
• Is IP65 certified for water, dust and dirt resistance
• Takes 3 hours to recharge
• Weighs only 1.2 pounds

Pros:

• Can charge a number of different vehicles, including boats, ATV’s, etc.
• Super easy to use with instructions glued right on the back of the Weego 44
• Does not create shocks when you attach the clasps to the battery
• Their Smarty Clamps make jump-starting a car fool-proof, even if you’ve never jumped a car
• If the light isn’t green when you try to jumpstart your car, you can see what the other colors mean easily by looking at the indicators on the Weego
• Can charge your cellphone up to 6x when not using it for a jumpstart
• With the extra laptop accessory, you can use the Weego to charge your laptop
• With the extra 12V accessory, you can power air compressors and fans – great for camping
• The flashlight is bright and can last a long time
• The hook and lanyard are very handy for hanging the flashlight over your battery for better vision at night
• Fantastic 18-month warranty

Cons:

• Is a bit pricey
• Can’t revive a totally dead battery (I tried), but then again, nothing can!

The Weego 44 is available through Amazon for $130 including free shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

Weego has put considerable thought into their products, I can tell by the types of features they included in the Weego 44 jumpstart.  First of all, it comes in the cutest little “lunchpail.”  It will not be hard to find the Weego pail in your car when you need it.  

Second, they Weego placed safety as one of their top concerns.  Users will not need to be fearful of connecting the Weego wrong in any way. Despite having instructions on the back of the Weego 44 battery pack (simple brilliance), if you still mess it up, you will not get shocked or see sparks fly.

On every other battery jumpstart product I’ve used, I’ve seen sparks, even when connecting the cables to the right battery receptors.  This doesn’t happen with the Weego.

Third, adding a simple lanyard and hook in the package is just plain smart.  You can connect it to your Weego 44 and hook it into one of the manufactured holes on the top of your hood so the Weego light shines right on your battery at night.  

Fourth, I love that the Weego only looses 2-5% of its charge per month.  So you can have it in the back of your car and not need it for a long time, but when you need it, it’s likely to still have a high charge.  This gives you peace of mind.

For women, the Weego jumpstart products are empowering.  It not only saves a call for someone to bring a car to us…or ask a nearby stranger, but we can take care of the issue right at hand, even without having previous knowledge of how to jumpstart a car.  It’s simple and empowering.

Every car should be equipped with a jumpstart such as the Weego 44.  It is helpful in many ways – for charging mobile devices, to use as a flashlight, and as a jumpstart.  When my kids start driving and eventually have a car, I will make sure they have jumpstarts in their cars as well.

Weego truly has thought about everything.  And their 18month warranty is just icing on the cake.

*I was given a Weego 44 for purposes of review.  All opinions are my own.