We’ve all been there… you return to your vehicle and the car won’t start because the battery is dead .
The two biggest causes of car batteries failing to work is either leaving one of your lights on, or alternator failure .
In the event of this happening, you need to know how to jump start your car safely so that you can get back up and running . Most people don’t know how to jump start a car correctly, so it’s one of the best car tips to know.
Getting ready to jump start a car:
First, you’re going to need a set of jumper cables. They are pretty common, so even if you don’t have a set you should be able to find someone who does. They aren’t expensive, so it’s actually a good idea to pick some up just in case anyways.
Move both cars so that the batteries are close to each other. If you don’t know where your battery is then pop the hood. Make sure that both vehicles are off, and have the parking brake on.
Inspect both batteries before jump starting . Make sure you know which side is positive (+) and which side is negative (-) before continuing . The positive terminal is usually marked red and the the negative is usually black, but check the markings on the battery to confirm .
If your battery is damaged or is leaking, don’t try to start the car . You will need a new battery first, and if you try to jump start it anyways you may cause a lot more unwanted problems . In either case, the damaged battery won’t hold a charge anyways.
Time to jump start the car
#1: Attach one of the positive (+) ends of the jumper cables to the positive (+) terminal of the DEAD battery.
#2: Attach the other positive (+) end of the jumper cables to the positive (+) terminal of the GOOD battery.
#3: Attach one of the negative (-) ends of the jumper cables to the negative (-) terminal of the GOOD battery.
#4: Attach the other end of the negative (-) jumper cable to any non-painted metal part of the engine block on the DEAD battery’s car. Why not put it on the negative terminal of the dead battery? Because this could cause an explosion… and explosions are bad.
If you jump start your car by connecting the jumper cables in this order you minimize the chance of the cables sparking and is the safest way to jump start your car.
If the dome light on the dead car comes on, you’ve done the previous steps correctly.
It’s time to jump start the car
Run the vehicle with the working battery for a few minutes and then turn it off.
Why do you turn the vehicle with the good battery off? Because if you jump start a car with the good battery’s car running, you may actually burn out the alternator on the good car because of too much electrical current being drawn through the electrical system.
So turn off the good car’s engine, and try to crank the car with the dead battery . 9 times out of 10 this will be enough to get the dead car started .
If that doesn’t work, then you have to start up the good car’s engine. Bring the RPMs just above idle (push the gas pedal just a little bit) to increase the current flow from the alternator. Then try to crank over the bad battery’s car once again.
Now you need to remove the jumper cables from the batteries
Disconnect the negative (-) cable from the exposed metal on the engine block first.
Then disconnect the other negative cable from the good car.
Then both of the positive cables.
So you’ve just learned how to jump start a car. As I mentioned above, it’s always a good idea to have a good set of jumper cables in your car/truck in case you have to jump start it. They aren’t expensive and they can really save your butt from time to time.