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Being a Good Samaritan can be scary.

IcarryXDS

New member
Joined
Dec 28, 2012
Messages
4
Location
Point Pleasant, WV
I made a quick trip to the store last night, and I was CCing. On my return home, at the entrance of the road I live on was a car that appeared broke down. I stopped and a man approached and asked if I had jumper cables. I replied, not with me but could get some and would return. I got the cables and went back out and noticed another man walking towards the car and the guy I talked to was in the car with a girl. The man in the car got out and went straight to the bed of my truck as I was opening my door. He said it was a new battery and didn't understand why the car died. I had to pull my truck to the front of the car which put me in the road. When I got out to hook the cables up the man I first talked to always wanted to flank me. It was kinda unnerving. I was still carrying but I had my fleece shirt pulled over my weapon. I finally put my back to the grill after hooking up my battery and give the other end to the guy wanting to flank me. I figure this would keep him where I could watch him. This put one on each side of me. Then the man that wanted to flank me told his buddy to try it. The car fired right up as though it had plenty of juice in the battery. I dont believe it was dead at all. They unhooked the cables, handed them back and jumped in their car. I got in my truck and had the high beams on which lit them up very well. I could see the guy that flanked me continuously, lean over to the driver and have a quick conversation. The driver asked him something and back saying, "Man, he had a pistol on his side." He had a look of disappointment on his face and that was unsettling. I could read his lips and am almost certain that is what was said. It was uncomfortable from the moment I pulled in my drive and had that gut feeling something was not right. I hate not to help someone when they are in need, but with the way things are in the world today its hard to trust some folks. But I honestly believe my gun probably saved me from getting mugged or worse. After getting home I wondered how he knew I was carrying and figured its when I reached up to hook the cables on my truck, my weapon was exposed enough for him to see. Be careful out there folks.
 

mortonrml

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
32
Location
Charletson, West Virginia, USA
Carrying a weapon of any kind is a way of life. The way you walk, stand, eat, use the bathroom, etc, should be to accomidate your weapon and what comes with carrying. Yes it is uncomfortable if its in a spot where you can access it easily and yes you will prob have to change the way you dress in some way to accomidate your weapon, either way remember it should never be easy and your mind should never stop or slow down on being alert at all times looking for ways out assessing possible threats, and understanding that at any second of any day you may be faced with the choice to take someones life in defense of yourself or another. Stay proficient folks!
 

marshaul

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
11,188
Location
Fairfax County, Virginia
The car fired right up as though it had plenty of juice in the battery. I dont believe it was dead at all.

Right, that's how it works. Your battery wasn't dead at all, was it?

You put 12 V across those terminals, and that's what the car sees. The dead battery is irrelevant to that.
 
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SFCRetired

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
1,764
Location
Montgomery, Alabama, USA
Right, that's how it works. Your battery wasn't dead at all, was it?

You put 12 V across those terminals, and that's what the car sees. The dead battery is irrelevant to that.

Many times, with a truly dead battery, it will not crank the engine immediately, but will have to be charged by the good battery for a couple of minutes.

I think that is what OP was getting at and I agree with him, the battery was not dead at all.

Personally, at night I will offer to make a call, but I will not get out of my vehicle to attempt to assist someone. Sad state of affairs, but that is the way it is nowadays.
 

marshaul

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
11,188
Location
Fairfax County, Virginia
Many times, with a truly dead battery, it will not crank the engine immediately, but will have to be charged by the good battery for a couple of minutes.

Usually this is because the battery used to jump is weaker than the battery the car normally uses for that purpose.

Again, when you connect your jumper battery, you've applied 12 V directly across the terminals, and that's what the car "sees". Same as if you had just dropped the jumper battery in place of the dead one. This means that the good battery is supplying all of the current, and the dead battery is just another load, being slowly charged (load means it's not a source).

From there, if the spare battery is able to supply enough current to start the engine and deliver the small charging current to the dead battery, the car will fire right up. If not, then it will crank for awhile, or need some charging time to reduce the load.

But the point is it has a lot more to do with the charged battery's ability to supply current than with how dead the dead battery is.

If the charged battery has enough energy, but is unable to supply current at a sufficient rate, then some charging of the dead battery may allow the engine to start when it initially wouldn't have. Or, it may be able to supply more than enough current (large truck battery connected to a small passenger vehicle?) and the jumpee will start right up. Either way it's still dependent on the capability of the good battery.
 
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