Jumpstarting your car is not something that happens frequently. Although it never happens, whenever it happens you must know how to jumpstart your car? If you have ever been in a position where your car won’t start by then you’ll already be aware of the importance of knowing the jumpstarting process. Mini-cooper Workshop Abu Dhabi took out the time to assemble all the Dos and Don’ts that you need to bear in mind while jumpstarting a car.
EASY AND AUTHENTIC WAY TO JUMPSTART A CAR
To jumpstart a car, a few things that you need along to make it possible are a set of jumper cables, a second running vehicle just so that you can get a jolt. If you have all these components with you or you have gathered all these components, you need to follow the steps written in the following:
- Take the car which is running and place it with the car with a dead battery, close enough that their hoods are almost touching so that they can be connected through the jumper cables. Make sure that the brakes of the car are engaged and the ignitions of both vehicles are turned off.
- Open both hoods of the vehicles and locate the battery of both the cars because in some cases the battery is covered with a plastic cover.
- Identify both negative and positive terminals on the batteries of both cars. Clean the terminals in case of any corrosion.
- Connect one of the clamps of the jumper cables on the red terminal of the dead battery.
- Uncoil the wire and hook the other end of the clamp on the red terminal of the other live battery.
- Repeat the above 2 steps with the black terminal of both batteries.
- Make sure that both the ignitions of the cars are turned off.
- Once all the connections being made at their proper places, start the engine of the working vehicle and let it run for a few moments. This will pass the charges to the dead battery.
- Try to start the car with the dead battery after a while.
- When the car starts, carefully remove the cable, reversing the order in which you placed the connections. Avoid letting the ends of the cables touch until all the connections are removed.
- Keep the car turned on for at least 10 minutes just so that the dead battery can be charged.
The above method is initiated in case of a Dead battery. If your car still is not starting even after doing exactly as is mentioned. Then it is time that you visited an expert because jumpstarting has nothing to do with the car not starting.
JUMPSTARTING AND SAFETY
Jumpstarting a car seems like a handy way to start a car with a flat battery. But one thing that must be kept in mind is that jumpstart can cause damage to cars and people if the process is not performed properly. For your safety, it is advised to always let the experts handle such things but still, you should know the safeties as well because the availability of an expert is not for sure.
The following are some of the precautionary measures that you must take while jumpstarting a car:
- Always Double-Check Battery and Jumper Cables
- Never jumpstart a battery that is either damaged or leaking.
- Never use damaged or used Jumper Cables
- Stop the instant jumper cables get hot.
- Environment safety
- Make sure that the environment of the car and you are cleared.
- Don’t let any metal object come in contact with the car batteries.
- Prevent naked flames near either of the car batteries.
- Be careful while removing the leads
- Don’t remove the Jumper Cables while the engine is running. This can result in the malfunctioned electronic system of the car.
BATTERY BOOSTER PACK
All of the ways discussed up above for possible only when there is another host car whose battery is up and running. But what if you were stuck somewhere where there is no one to help you or worse, you are all alone with no sign of another being?
Battery Booster Packs are often small enough to be carried out everywhere, stowed away in the glovebox, or just in your trunk. Many portable jumpstart devices come with two clamps that are permanently connected to the device, a red and a black camp. The main purpose of such Booster Packs is to eliminate the need for another live car in case of a dead battery.
JUMPSTART WITHOUT CABLES
There are times when you neither have jumper cables nor a Battery Pack, all you have is a dead battery car lying in the middle of nowhere. What to do in such a case?
In the following is a way, which when followed you will be able to start your car without cables:
- Find a stretch of clear downhill road.
- Fully depress the clutch and put the car in the first gear.
- Turn On the ignition.
- Take your foot off the brake and let your car roll down the hill, leaving the clutch fully depressed.
- When the car reaches around 6-7 miles per hour, release the clutch quickly.
- You would feel the engine turn and start.
- Repeat the process if the vehicle doesn’t start the first time.
But there are ways which can help you prevent going anywhere near such situation. The most preventable way is to avoid a dead battery.
How can you avoid a Dead Battery?
Car’s must be driven regularly to let the car’s alternator uphold the battery’s charge level. Letting your car be parked for a extended period, leaving the car with the electronics of the car not turned Off, can be the reasons for a dead battery. Car batteries although last for 3-4 years roughly as per a finding but still getting it inspected once a year can be the solution to your dead battery problem.
Hopefully this guide should be enough to help you in showing what and what not to do when jumpstarting a car. Even if you have followed all the steps and your car still isn’t picking up the ignition then the issue is not in the battery. You need to get your vehicle checked by a professional if the car still can’t get started because in such cases, the issue seems to be in the engine not the battery.
Also read about: 7 Key Things to Do Before You Junk Your Car for Cash
