How to Jump-Start a Car?
Most of us have been there, and it’s not a fun situation to find ourselves in. Forgotten headlights or an old battery are a “great” way to end up in the parking lot without being able to start your car. Depending on your approach, there are multiple ways to solve this problem. You can leave your car and take an Uber home, tow your car home and figure things out tomorrow, or jump-start your car, which I plan to explain in this guide.
The process seems scary for some people and with good reason. Car batteries pack a punch, and doing something wrong could damage your car or hurt you. This is why being careful and following these steps is a great way to get your car purring again.
Things You Need to Jump-Start a Car
Before you pop the hood, there are three things you’ll need to have to perform this operation.
Jumper Cables
Jumper cables, also known as jump leads or booster cables, are the most essential part of this process. They consist of two insulated wires with alligator clips on each end. The clips attach to the battery terminal, providing enough juice to start the car. To make the process simple, manufacturers color code them, with red for the positive terminal and black for the negative one.
Many people don’t consider the thickness of jumper cables. Their job is to carry current, and the cross-section determines how much they can carry safely before an overload. For the most part, petrol cars will do fine with a 25 mm2 cross-section, diesel ones need at least 35 mm2, and larger vehicles should go with 50 mm2 or more.
What I’m trying to say here is don’t go for the cheapest ones; I just want to say you have jumper cables. Go for the higher quality ones that are thick enough to do this without any problems.
A Donor Car
Half of the jump-starting process involves having another working car from which you’ll draw power. Ideally, you’d want one with a battery at least the same size as the one on your car to ensure you don’t have two dead batteries.
Many experts say that using an electric or a hybrid vehicle isn’t ideal due to potentially damaging situations. While I’m not sure why that is, there may be some truth, so if someone smarter than me knows, let me know.
Safety Gear
Most guides skip this part, and I can understand why. As someone who jump-started a car barefoot, it’s easy to forget about this. Since you’re trying to learn how to do this process, I’m going to assume you’ll need some safety gear.
Rubber gloves and goggles are nice to have. Even though this process may involve sparks, I’ll try to teach you how to avoid that. With that said, accidents can happen, so you’ll want to have your eyes protected. The rubber gloves are pretty self-explanatory. You’ll be holding cables attached to a battery, so you’ll want to avoid getting zapped.
A Step-By-Step Guide on How to Jump-Start a Car
With the requirements out of the way, let’s go through each step to learn this process.
Prepare and Inspect Both Vehicles
Park the cars as close as possible to ensure your jumper cables reach without being stretched. Since your car is the one that’s not running, you’ll need to do that with the second car. Pop the hood on both cars and do some inspecting.
You’ll need to make sure that both batteries are good. This means you shouldn’t see any visible damage or leaks. You may see some corrosion, which isn’t a massive problem as long as you get a wire brush and clean it off. If the batteries are good, you can proceed.
With some cars, the battery isn’t located under the hood, so you’ll need to consider that. Most of these models have jump-start connectors somewhere visible, so you should use those.
Connect the Jumper Cables
Before attaching the cables, make sure that the donor vehicle is turned off. The clamps must be connected in a specific order.
- Red on the positive terminal on the dead battery
- Red on the positive terminal on the donor battery
- Black on the negative terminal on the donor battery
- Black on an unpainted metal on the car with the dead battery
Let me explain the fourth step. You can connect the black on the negative terminal on the dead battery, but there’s a risk of sparks. Look for a bolt without any paint on it. Look around the engine, as you’ll find plenty you can use.
Jump-start your car
Once you have everything hooked up, it’s time to start the donor car. Let it run for a few minutes, and then go over to the one with the dead battery. Try to start it and see what happens. You may fail the first time, so give it a few minutes and then again.
Depending on the age and condition of the battery, you may not be able to start your car. These are some extreme situations and often revolve around cars that have been sitting for way too long.
This is a sign that the dead battery cannot be recharged, at which point you’ll need to consider replacing it.
Disconnect the Cables
Whether you managed to start your car or not, removing the cables also has a specific order. For this process, you’ll reverse the steps from before.
- Black from unpainted metal on the car with the dead battery
- Black from the negative terminal on the donor battery
- Red from positive on the car with the dead battery
- Red from positive on the donor car
During this process, it’s essential to make sure none of the clamps touch. It can be a recipe for disaster, much bigger than a dead battery.
Recharge the Dead Battery
With your car running, it’s time to see if the battery is good enough to be recharged. The alternator will do its job, but you’ll need to let it. This is why you should let your car run for a while, at least 15-20 minutes. Ideally, you’ll want to leave it longer to recharge the dead battery.
After you’ve waited for what feels like ages, you can turn off your car and restart it. If the battery is recharged even a bit, your car should start. On the other hand, a very old and damaged battery won’t recharge, leaving you stranded and in need of a new car battery.
Conclusion
There’s nothing elegant about jump-starting a cat. Even though it’s not something that will get people excited, it’s a process that will get you out of a sticky situation. There’s a right way and a wrong way, so make sure you follow my guide.
Featured image by Daniel @ bestjumpstarterreview.com on Unsplash
