Product Review - Audew Multi-Function Jump Starter

Product Review - Audew Multi-Function Jump Starter

This is a review of a small lightweight multi-function jump starter and portable power source made by Audew.  While not directly related to Honda CT90's, this is a handy device to have available to start a dead battery in your primary vehicle or charge up your cell phone or other USB powered devices while out on a remote backcountry ride on your CT90.

The Audew multi-function Jump Starter is available at Amazon here at this link.

I want to acknowledge upfront that I received this multi-function jump starter from the manufacture in exchange for doing this review.  The link to Audew's website is here in case you were interested in other products from Audew.

The Audew Jump Starter comes with everything shown in the picture above which includes:

The primary battery pack
The intelligent jumper cable assembly
A USB type C to USB type C cable
A USB type C to USB type B ( what were all used to) cable
A carrying case
Instructions

It is worth pointing out that nothing is included to be able to charge the unit from a normal wall electrical outlet, so you have to provide a USB charging block or charge the unit off a USB port on your computer.

The basic unit of the Audew Jump Starter is a battery pack that has five sockets/outlets/ports to support a variety of functions along with a flashlight and a battery leveled indicator.

On one end of the unit there is the flashlight, a USB Type C port and two standard USB ports.

The Type C port is the port used to charge the unit using either one of the two supplied cables and your own power source.  This port can also be used to power devices if so desired.

The middle port is a standard USB port and is rated at 5V and 2.4Amps so it could be used for charging a tablet or smart phone or other devices within the indicated power range.

The third port is a standard USB port and is rated for 5v, 9V, or 12V and no current level is provided.

I hooked up my iPhone to each of the standard USB ports and the phone was charging normally.

The LED flashlight is controlled by the power button on the face of the unit and is initially turned on by holding down the button until the light comes on and this point it will be a solid light.  If you press the power button again the flashlight will go into a strobe mode and if you press the power button one more time it will blink a SOS signal. The forth time you press the power button the flashlight will turn off.

On the left side of the unit there is a 15v, 10Amp power outlet that can be used to power a variety of devices.

On the right side of the unit is the plug that accepts the intelligent jumper cables that are included.

The plug socket is designed so that you can only install the jumper cables one way.

The intelligent jumper cables are a single assembly that consists of a modular plug that plugs into the battery pack and a red and black jumper cable clamp that is attached to the modular plug with about ten inches of cable.

The modular plug on the intelligent jumper cables is a key component in the system as it contains two indicator lights and a "boost" button that are important elements when you use the Audew Jump Starter to start you vehicle.

When you plug the intelligent jumper cables into the battery pack the battery charge level lights will automatically come on indicating the level of power remaining in the unit.

Test of its primary function - Can it start a vehicle

I fully charged the Audew jump starter and then packed it away in its case for well over three weeks before attempting to use it to start my 2000 Ford Ranger to simulate the jump starter being left in your trunk for an extended period before running into a situation where you find yourself with a dead battery and in need of a jump.

When I pulled out the Audew jump starter after letting it set for several weeks I first hit the charge indicator button to see if the jump starter was still charged up and all four blue lights lit up indicating it was still charged up, so it passes its first test in that it demonstrated it can hold a charge.

I next connected the jump starter to to the battery in my truck with the red clamp attached to the positive post and the black clamp attached to the negative post as shown in the picture below.

With everything hooked up correctly I looked at the indicator lights on the side of the Cable indicator and the green light was on as it is supposed to be, but the red light was also on which I am not for sure is correct or not.

I then incorrectly hooked up the jump starter by connecting the red clamp to the negative post and the black clamp to the positive post and the unit immediately began making a loud high pitched sound and the red light on the side of the cable indicator turned bright red indicating that the jump starter was incorrectly hooked up. Once I disconnected one of the clamps the sound stopped.  I never did hear a buzzing as indicated in the instructions, but I assume the high pitched sound I heard was what is consider the "buzzing" in the instructions.

Since the battery in my truck is good, I disconnected the negative lead to my battery to simulate a completely dead battery and then correctly hooked up the jump starter with the black clamp connected to the negative battery cable and the red clamp to positive cable.  Using my finger I pushed the boost button on the side of the cable indicator as indicated in the instructions.

I then tried to start my truck and absolutely nothing happened.

I then went back and this time used the tip of one of my keys to press the boost button as I wasn't sure that it really was pressed when I used my finger.  I then went back and tried to start my truck and when I turned my key to the fist position the radio came on which was a good sign and then I turned the key further the engine started right up, so the jump start worked as indicated and the engine turned over at the same speed as when it was hooked up to the actual battery.

I made the following video so that you can hear the sound the unit makes when it is hooked up incorrectly and also see it start my truck.  I'm pretty impressed that this jump starter really has the power to turn over the engine in my truck.

As a follow-up test I wanted to see how many times a fully charged Audew Jump Starter could start my truck so I left it charge overnight plugged into my USB charger and it was fully charged in the morning.

I then took it out and set up the test the same way I did in the video I shared above by disconnecting the negative cable from my battery and then connected the Audew Jump Starter to the negative battery cable from my truck and the positive post on the battery which still had the battery cable connected.

Using the Audew Jump Starter I was able to start my truck a total of 26 times which is pretty impressive.  In-between each starting I would have to wait until the until the green "correct light" was  solid before I would be able to press the "boost" button so I could start my truck again. At the 24th time I started my truck the Audew Jump Stater started to make a loud tone like the tone when the unit was hooked up incorrectly and the tone would be a repeating set of three loud tones which I took as a low power warning as there was only one bar left on the battery charge indicator.  I was only able to start my truck two more times with the warning tone continuing through those last two tests of starting my truck. I didn't want to damage the Audew Jump Starter so I stopped trying to start my truck after 26 successful starts using the Audew Jump Starter.  I should point out that in the documentation included with the unit, that Audew recommends not doing more then 3 attempts at starting a vehicle before allowing the unit to rest for a couple of minutes before trying again to prevent damaging the unit due to potential overheating.  During the test I preformed I only waited long enough for the unit to rest before starting my truck again, so the test I did was pretty severe.

Overall I found the Audew Jump Starter to do everything that it claims it can do and I find it pretty impressive that a device as small and light as the Audew Jump Starter actually has the power to start a car.

This is something that I will end up keeping in my car.

The Audew Jump Starter is available at Amazon here at this link.


Helpful Links (Shop Manuals, Wire Diagram, Model Information, etc.)

Link to page with listing of CT90 parts available on Amazon