How To Jump A Car Battery – A Simple Guide
If you are wanting to learn how to easily jump start your car, hopefully this guide will help.
When the battery on a car has lost its charge and does not provide sufficient charge to start the car, it can be frustrating. What is even more frustrating, is that it always seems to happen when you are in a rush!
There are several reason why a battery loses its charge such as:
The lights being left on
Cold weather
The battery is old and needs changing.
The most common way of jump starting a car is using ‘jump leads’ or ‘jump cables’. In this guide, we will talk about jump starting a car using this method.
Safety: Before you attempt to jump start you car battery, if possible always wear protective clothing such as gloves, goggles and any other suitable safety clothing.
How Long Does It Take To Jump A Car Battery
The time it takes to jump a car battery, simply depends on many different factors. However, it should generally only take just a few minutes to jump start you vehicle. If you have the right equipment, then the process should be pretty straight forward. However, if your battery its old or really drained, then it will take longer and could be between 10 – 30 minutes.
How To Jump A Car Battery By Yourself
Below, are two of the most common ways to jump a car battery. The two ways are both very simple and do not take long to carry out.
How To Jump A Car Battery Using Jump Leads or Cables
Step 1.
Firstly, to perform the task successfully, you must first have a good set of jump leads/cables. You should also have a ‘donor’ vehicle to supply sufficient charge to the dead battery.
Ensure that the ‘donor’ vehicle battery, has the same voltage as the battery to which you are wanting to jump start.
Please Note: Every battery has a Positive and Negative terminal and these will be clearly indicated with the plus (+) and Minus (-) signs.
It is very important, that when you are connecting the batteries to one another using jump leads, that the Positive terminal on the donor battery is connected to the Positive terminal on the dead battery and that the Negative terminal on the ‘donor’ battery is connected to the Negative terminal on the dead battery.
Usually, jump leads/cables are ‘Red’ and ‘Black’. Red is usually ‘positive’ and ‘Black is usually Negative.
Step 2:
Position the ‘donor’ vehicle close to the vehicle with the dead battery. This is so that the jump leads/cables will be able to reach from the ‘donor’ battery to the dead battery. Ensure that both cars are not touching each other.
Bumper to bumper is a common position or positioning the vehicles side by side.
Switch off the engines of both cars and ensure that all other electrics on the car are also off such as:
lights, radio and windscreen wipers .
Also make sure that the heaters and any other facility that may be draining charge from the battery or cigarette lighter, are off.
Step 3:
Open the bonnets of both cars and locate both batteries.
Step 4:
Check the batteries for damage. If the batteries are damaged or show signs of corrosion, leaks or have any form of cracks, it is advisable not to continue with the procedure and to call your local garage.
Please Note: A ‘Dead’ or ‘Discharged’ battery releases a flammable gas known as ‘Hydrogen’. It is important, to connect the jump leads/cables to the ‘dead’ battery first. This is so not to cause any stray sparks which could results in the gas igniting and injury to you or any other person close by.
Step 5:
Connecting The Jump Leads/Cables. The order in which you should connect your jump leads/cables is as follows:
- Connect the ‘Red Positive’ (+) cable to the Positive (+) terminal on the ‘Dead’ battery first
- Then connect the opposite end of the ‘red positive’ (+) cable and attach it to the Positive (+) terminal on the ‘Donor’ battery.
- Then, you will need to connect the ‘Black Negative’ (-) cable to the ‘Negative’ (-) terminal of the ‘Donor’ battery
- You will now be left with one end of the cables and this will be the ‘Black Negative’ cable. This should now be attached to a good solid shiny metal part of the car. It is no good attaching it to something that is covered in oil or is heavily painted. A good place to attach it is usually the engine block and if you can find a shiny bolt, that will be great. You should avoid attaching the cable to the ‘Negative’ terminal of the dead battery and only attach it there if you really have no other option. Following the above procedure, will minimise the risk of the battery exploding.
Step 6:
Now that the jump leads/cables have been attached successfully and safely, you will now need to start the ‘donor’ vehicles engine. Let the ‘donor’ vehicle run for a few minutes and then try to start the car with the dead battery. If at first it does not start, simply leave for a few minutes again.
Step 7:
Once the car has started, you will need to disconnect the jump leads/cables from both batteries. This should be done in the reverse order to attaching them.
- Disconnect the ‘Black Negative’ (-) cable from the shiny metal part of the car which had the dead battery.
- Then disconnect the ‘Black Negative’ (-) from the ‘Negative’ terminal on the car which had the dead battery
- The next step is to disconnect the ‘Red Positive’ (+) cable from the ‘Positive’ terminal on the ‘donor’ battery.
- Disconnect the ‘Red Positive’ (+) cable from the ‘Positive’ terminal on the car with the dead battery.
It is advisable to keep the engine of the car that had the dead battery running for at least 20-30 minutes and if you can take the car for a drive, this will help the battery charge.
How To Jump A Car Battery Without Another Car
Although using jump leads is one of the most common ways to jump start your car, there is one problem with them. In order to jump start your car with car battery jump cables, you need a donor car or battery. However, one of the easier solutions to combat this problem, is to have a battery jump starter kit. A car jump starter pack will allow you to jump start your car without battery.
How To Use A Car Battery Jump Starter
As we have previously mentioned, a jump starter pack, will make it easier to jump start your car. This is especially much more beneficial, when you are on your own. It simply means that you do not need to really on having another car on hand. The following video, demonstrates just how easy it is to jump start car without battery on your own. This is a great car accessory to have in your vehicle and will save you a lot of time and stress in the future.
Hopefully, this simple step by step guide on how to jump a car battery, will help you and ensure you are back on the road in no time.