How to Jump Start a Car?

If your car battery becomes dead suddenly and you are just in the middle of nowhere to ask for help from a car mechanic, then Jump Starting your car can help you ditch the troublesome situation!

Checking the Problem

There can be plenty of reasons for why your car isn’t working. Apart from a dead battery, your car may not start because of other reasons such as a malfunctioned car immobilizer system, steering lock, faulty ECS and ignition switch or other such problems.

You can be rest assured that your car’s battery is at a fault when you identify any of the following symptoms:

• The headlights turn dim when you try to start your car.
• The dashboard and the stereo flickers after you key in the ignition.
• When you try to start the car, your car cranks very slowly.
• The interior lights, the clocks or the GPS go dim and sometimes, you are also unable to unlock the car with the push button on the key, but are able to unlock the car manually.

Guide to Jump Start your Car

To jump start your car, you would need a jumper cable set, which usually costs less that AUD 20 and can easily fit in the trunk or under the car seat. While buying a Jumper Cable, make sure you buy the ones that are at least 20 feet in length, 4-6 gauge in size and come with heavy duty clamps for making a secure and a better connection with the battery terminals. You would also need a working car with a good battery to pass the energy to the malfunctioned car battery.

To start with, park the working car at a very close distance to the disabled car facing each other. Turn off all electronic components, ACs, fans, lights, radios, headlights and all other battery consuming components of both the cars.

Making the Connection

Locate your car batteries under the bonnet of the disabled car and untangle the jumper wires. Follow these steps in sequence to make a good, untangled and a clean connection:

• Connect the positive terminal (+) of the dead battery to one red clamp.
• Connect the positive terminal (+) of the working battery to the other red clamp.
• Connect the negative terminal (-) of the working battery to one black clamp.
• Connect the other black clamp to a grounded piece (preferably a bolt) of the dead battery. It’s okay to get a short spark while connecting to a good ground.

(Follow exactly the reverse process while removing the clamps from the batteries after your car is charged)

Now start the working car and let it idle for 30-60 seconds. The starter in the dead battery draws the current from the working car to charge up itself. Your disabled car should start working after a few minutes of charging. If the battery doesn’t work even after several attempts, you may need to replace the battery.

Key Warnings and Precautions

While making the connections, always beware to never touch the black and the red terminals of the jumper cables. You may permanently damage the battery by doing that. Also, make sure that while jumping the car, both the disabled and the working car don’t touch each other as it can create a dangerous electric arc between the two cars. If you aren’t sure about how to proceed about a car jump start, ask your nearest car servicing centre for help.