On Sun, 27 Sep 2015 15:48:41 -0700, Don Y
wrote:

On 9/27/2015 2:57 PM, Walter E. wrote:
I am considering a Harbor Freight battery charger on sale for $ 29. The specs
show 10 A charging current, 2 A trickle charging and 50 A emergency car starting.

Will 50 Amps start modern cars? I thought it was higher than that.

Depends on the car, state of the engine, outdoor temperature, etc.

The starters on small cars are obviously less demanding than on
bigger engines/diesels. A big diesel that's been soaking in a
-10F Chicago winter obviously presents a bigger load.

FWIW, I think a Civic's starter is in the 1KW ballpark (worst case).
That doesn't mean it is running *at* capacity each time you start the
vehicle.

It also ignores any charge available in the battery -- as well as any
charge that your charger *dumps* into the battery between the time
you hook it up and the time you turn over the ignition.

My old 225 Dart generally started on less than 75 amps at normal
daytime spring, summer, or fall temps (60-80F)