A car battery may die due to a variety of reasons. At such desperate times, you have to jump-start the car through an external power source. It can be a jump starter kit or another car’s battery. Only if you know how to jump-start yourself can you avoid waiting on someone to fix it.
Below we have mentioned four easy steps to jump-start a car. Let’s begin.
Steps to jump start a car:
Step 1: Park the two cars near each other so that batteries can easily be connected through jump cables. Always make sure the following,
- Pull the handbrakes
- Turn off the engines
- Park your car in neutral
- Turn off the ignitions during the whole process.
Step 2: Attach the red wire to the positive terminal of the working battery. And connect it to the positive terminal of the flat battery. Now attach the black jumper cable to the working battery’s negative terminal and clip it with a metallic part of the car’s body.
Never attach the black wire of the jump cable of the working battery with the negative terminal of the flat battery. It releases hydrogen due to a chemical process that can be explosive.
Note: Never connect the red leads to the negative terminal. Car batteries usually have a red cap/block for the positive terminal. The positive terminal is also bigger than the negative terminal.
Step 3: Wait for 2-3 minutes if your car’s battery is too flat to self-start. Now the flat battery has enough charge to self-start. Once the car is working, let the engine run for about 10min, so it builds up enough charge through the alternator.
Double-check by restarting the car after a while to see if the battery is working.
Step 4: Now, remove the terminals in the opposite sequence as they were attached. Remove the red wire of the flat battery first. And place it on a nonconducting material for your safety. Then remove the black wire attached to the metal part of the flat car’s battery.
Similarly, remove the positive terminal of the working battery and then remove the negative terminal of the jumper cable.
Things to consider when jump-starting a car
- Always turn off the ignition of the car that has a flat battery
- Don’t wear metallic accessories like watches, bracelets, or even rings.
- Never attach a red cable with the negative terminal of the car.
- Don’t over-rev the car with a working battery to charge the flat battery. Only rev up to 2000-2500 RPMs if the flat battery is too dead. Otherwise, you can start the car by attaching the terminals as stated above in step 3.
- Never touch the terminals of the car battery or jump cable when it’s connected.
Now you know what to do in a desperate situation when your car’s battery is flat. Always keep a jump starter kit with you, so you don’t have to rely on another car for a jump start. Do you think now you are capable of jump-starting a car by yourself?
Leave a Reply