Everything You Need To Know About Jump Starting Your Car
Imagine this — you make a stop to check out the view or run an errand and switch off your car’s engine but are unable to restart it once you get back in to continue your journey. Or, your car’s battery died in the middle of the road, leaving you helpless and at the mercy of bypassers. Is it possible that you ignored the early signs of your car’s battery deteriorating?
While the aforementioned scenarios may be made-up situations, the fact is that you may encounter a battery failure anywhere, and when that happens, you’re going to need a backup plan. If your car battery decides to take a nap, there are two ways you can wake it up and keep it awake for a while at least.
What Does It Mean to Jump Start a Car?
Jumpstarting your car is basically a process that allows you to breathe some life into the dead battery with the help of an external electric source. It’s a sort of shock therapy that may give your car enough power to reach the nearest electrician to have the battery replaced.
Two Ways to Try and Jump Start Your Car
Jump-Starting Your Car From Another Vehicle
If you’re in the middle of the road, chances are that there are multiple cars passing by you. So, what do you do? You can appeal to a passerby to help you. To jump-start your car from another vehicle, you’ll need jumper cables and the other vehicle’s battery should have at least as much voltage as your own car’s. Keep in mind that if one of the vehicles has an electronic ignition system, jump-starting may damage it.
Once you’re ready to jump-start the vehicle, here’s what you need to do:
- You must always keep jumper cables in your trunk. In case you don’t have them, find a passerby who is willing to lend them to you.
- Make sure both vehicles are parked, with parking brakes engaged and the ignitions shut off.
- Attach the red clip to the positive terminal of your battery — it will normally either have a ‘pos’ or ‘+’ sign on it or be bigger than the negative terminal.
- Attach the other end of the red clip to the positive terminal of the other vehicle’s battery.
- Attach the black clip to the negative terminal on the other vehicle’s battery.
- Attach the other end of the black clip to an unpainted metal surface on your car, away from the battery.
- Start the working vehicle and let it be like that for a few minutes.
- Try and start your vehicle. If it still doesn’t work, adjust the clips once again, repeat the process and give it another try.
- If your car still doesn’t start, your battery is beyond help and you’ll need a replacement right away.
Using a Jump Starter
Get your hands on a jump starter, also known as a jump box, and you won’t need another vehicle to help jump-start your car. It’s like a power bank that relies on a battery as its power source. There are all kinds of portable jump starters available and you can order an appropriate one for your vehicle online easily.
Here are some instructions for using a jump starter:
- Make sure you’re well aware of how the jump starter works. Keep the reader’s manual with you if you’re unaware.
- Never put your face near the battery and don’t wear jewelry.
- Make sure the jump starter is switched off before connecting its clamps to the batteries.
- Clamp-attaching instructions are the same as above.
- When taking the clamps off, remove the negative ones first followed by the red (positive) ones.
The Takeaway
The key takeaways are as follows:
- While jump-starting your car is definitely worth a try, know that it won’t always work and your battery may be beyond repair.
- Keeping a jump starter in your trunk will always save you from relying on other people in case of a battery timeout.