ManofBlues, I trust no one with jumper cables. Sharing some other info not to insult anyone but to help those who haven't jumped a lot... I've seen reverse polarity, people say they know pos from neg, had one idiot hand me the jaws of pain open and let it go on my hand (military, in the dark, so I couldn't see he had it open. Man did that hurt). My biggest concern is the positive clamp popping off and making contact with ground. These crappy connectors w/a 1/4" or so tiny bolt that you can't get a bite on are real good at having a clamp pop free. Also, you can get a good clamp bite, but when they let go of the clamp the weight of the wire makes it pop off. And this is where there is access room - on a motorcycle the access to the pos terminal or wire on the relay is very tight and always near frame, meaning ground. I hold the pos clamp the entire time.
Oh, yeh, even seen people hand me the clamps touching each other in one hand... while the other end is being connected to a battery.
Again, I trust no one!
One other tip. If you jump someone, do not start your car. If they have a short (battery, alternator or regulator), it can short out your charging system, which typically lasts about a poof, and then opens. Fortunately my neighbor bought me a new voltage regulator a week later when I found my battery was no longer being charged and had lost it's stored juice.
Never have a car running when jumping a motorcycle, or even run the car to charge it (if you do, do it only for a few minutes).
All that said, crappy cables are just that. If you are going to buy a set, invest in them. Small dia wire can't carry much current, and current draw is big from a starter. If they are small, let the good car charge the bad battery, if you dare (again, damage to your car could result), for a bit, then shut the car and try starting the other.
Also, the longer the wire, the larger it needs to be.
And last, I hate painted clamps. Some of the newer ones are all nice and plastic encased... just watch as often one of the two jaws in it are not electrically connected. They are just there for bite/grip. So if you clamp your starter relay where one jaw is on the nut and the other is biting the rubber mount or something not part of the positive wiring, you don't get a connection.
Mark
Mark