How to jump-start a car
IF you have been driving long enough, it’s likely that you would have experienced at least one palm-facing moment of getting into the driver’s seat and turning the key in the ignition, but the engine doesn’t come alive. Instead, all you get, if anything, are a few clicks or stray sputters from your engine.
When this happens, you are probably dealing with a battery-related problem.
According to auto mechanic Dermaine Johnson, with the right tools — a set of jumper cables and another motor vehicle that is running — you should be able to start your car quickly.
Just in case you didn’t get the particulars on how to safely and effectively execute a jump-start, Johnson shared the following step-by-step approach:
Step one
A car can refuse to start for a number of reasons, and while the battery is perhaps the most common, you want to be sure. To verify that there is a battery-related reason for your car not starting, consider that when a battery dies, the engine refuses to roll over and the dashboard lights appear pale.
Step two
Park the functioning car next to your motor vehicle, preferably facing it. However, make sure that they are not touching each other.
Step three
Retrieve the jumper cable set from your car’s trunk. This is one car repair essential that you should always keep in your trunk. Otherwise, you will have to rely on getting cables from someone else.
Step four
Make sure that you turn off the ignition in both vehicles. For automatic transmission cars, put the vehicle in park, and in the case of a manual transmission, put the vehicle in neutral. You also want to make sure that you set the parking brakes on both vehicles to prevent any sudden movement.
Step five
Open the hood of the motor vehicles; then locate the batteries and check the terminals.
You are looking for either red and black, or red or black, with + or – on each. Once you have located these, you can proceed to attach the jumper clips. You want to ensure that you attach the red clips to the positive terminal of your battery, do the same on the Good Samaritan’s vehicle.
Step six
Once the red clips are attached to the positive terminals on both vehicles, the next step is to connect the black clips to the negative terminal on the battery of your Good Samaritan.
Now, instead of attaching the other black clip (negative) to the negative terminal on your dead battery, find a clean metal surface on your car that isn’t near the battery, such as a clean nut on your engine.
Step seven
Attempt to start the vehicle receiving the jump-start (yours), it should start. However, if it doesn’t, try revving the car giving the charge. If the receiving car starts, let it idle for about one to two minutes. This will allow the battery of the car getting jump-started to get some charge.
Step eight
Once the two minutes have elapsed, carefully disconnect the jumper cables. You want to remove the negative (black) clips first; make sure that you do not let the clips touch while any part of the jumper cable is attached to either vehicle.
Step nine
When you remove the cables, do not shut off the engine, instead take a short drive — a quarter of an hour should be long enough to recharge your car battery. This will make sure that the battery doesn’t die once the vehicle is turned off again, granted that the vehicle can still hold a charge.
Johnson said that there are instances where a car jump-start might fail. He said when this happens, you should make sure the wires are connected properly, since improper connections can prevent the charge from reaching the battery.
If your car does not start, however, your battery may be sending a message that it needs to be replaced because it is no longer holding a charge.
He said that some other reasons your car might not start, include fuses, battery corrosion, faulty alternator as well as problems with the ignition switch or starter connection.
