How to Jump Start A Car Battery

You certainly have gone through the nuisance that dead car batteries pose, and perhaps looking for a nice and easy way to get through the difficulty. Many people at least have a rough idea of what it entails to jump start a car battery, but not so many know how to do it right. If you are carrying jumper cables with you at least you are good to go.

Jump starting a car battery should be done with caution as the battery is located near the engine where flammable gases exist and any stray sparks could ignite a fire. Therefore, when connecting the discharged battery to the charged one, you shouldn’t create sparks at any cost. To ensure that that does not happen, the jumper cables shouldn’t touch any metal surface until they are connected to the correct battery. Sounds like too difficult to achieve, but at least if someone can lend a hand, one person can hold the terminals of the jumper separately, while the other one moves between the cars to make the connections. However, one person can do the task, but again, with proper caution.

The jumper cables used should be thick with clean and insulated metal clamps.  Here is a conventional way of jump starting a car battery from experts in car servicing Reading.

1. Park the two cars close to but not touching one another. Ensure the engines are off, and the parking brakes firm enough so the cars do not move. Open the bonnet and the jump lead should be able to reach the cars.
2. 2.      Locate the positive and the negative terminals on both batteries. The positive terminals have a red indicator, or a “+” sign, while the negative have black indicator or a “-“sign.
3. Attach the positive cable clamp to the positive terminal of the dead battery. The positive cable is usually marked red or is striped.
4. Similarly, attach the other end of the positive cable to the positive terminal of the live battery.
5. Then attach one end of the negative cable to the live battery’s negative terminal. Once you do this, the cables become live. You shouldn’t attach the remaining end of the negative cable to any part of the car or yourself, less a fire breaks out or you get electrocuted.
6. Attach the remaining end of the negative cable to a metal section of the engine, such as block or bracket. This should be done away from any moving parts such as pulleys or belts. When this cable is connected last and away from the battery prevents sparks creation as well as any hazards involved.
7. No hands or cloths should be caught by the engine’s moving parts.
8. Now, ignite the engine of the good car and leave it to run for about 2 minutes.
9. Press lightly on the gas pedal to slightly rev the engine.
10. Now, start the dead car’s engine. It might take more than a single try to get it running. There you go; your engine is up and running once again. However, if it doesn’t work, don’t try more than four times.

If the dead car doesn’t start, probably there is no good connection between the booster cables and the battery’s terminals. Just turn off the engine and then try to rock the cables back and forth to dig into the terminals. You can as well try a different grounding point for attaching the negative cable end and then repeat step 8 to 10. If that doesn’t work either, stop trying. The battery could be internally shorted, or there could be electrical problems to the dead car. Make sure that you contact a specialist in car servicing in Reading immediately.