A recent test of the Ryobi 18V cordless car battery jump starter revealed it couldn’t overcome a significantly damaged battery.

The incident involved a 2018 GMC SUV that experienced a complete electrical system failure, displaying multiple error messages and ultimately refusing to start.

Initial diagnostics pointed to a failing AC Delco Gold battery after just 33 months of service.

Despite utilizing the Ryobi jump starter – boasting 800 cold cranking amps and 1600 peak amps – the engine remained unresponsive.

Multiple attempts, including utilizing a secondary battery source, proved unsuccessful.

Further investigation with an OBD2 code reader and a Fluke multimeter confirmed a battery voltage of only 6V, indicating a complete failure.

While the jump starter’s user manual suggested an override mode for batteries below 0.8V, activating this feature ultimately yielded only a brief engine attempt after several tries.

The experience underscored the importance of regular battery maintenance and the potential limitations of jump starters when confronted with severely degraded power sources.

Despite the Ryobi’s ease of use and straightforward design, its effectiveness was limited by the severity of the underlying battery issue.