How to jump start your car

Suppose your car battery has died and your vehicle is not getting start, because may be you left your car light on or your car battery is so old then, sure you are  in trouble now. luckily if you are well-prepared and keep all emergency equipment and tool in your trunk-including jump start cable.

Now you can start your car through this jumper cable and with a good charged battery or with another vehicle near you, but you have to know how can used these all equipment to start your car. So, here is what you need to know about how to jump-start a car. A few simple steps and you are on your way…

What do you need to start your vehicle?

•  Jumper cable
•  A battery (which should be full charged and as per vehicle specification) or
• Another vehicle (which should be properly start)

There are some simple steps as given below:

• What do you need to start your vehicle?
• Check you car battery
• Start dead vehicle with jumper cable and good battery or another vehicle
• Start dead vehicle without jumper cable (For manual transmission only)

1st Check your car battery

Make sure the battery is not the problem :

Check the headlights, Are they dim or bright? (Note that in some cars you will need to turn the ignition on to test the headlights). If they are dim, it’s likely your battery is the culprit. If your headlights are bright, you do not have a dead battery and a jump start will not help, then 1^st need to check (diagnose) and find out the main problem.

Is there any damage or corrosion marks on battery, then there is a chance to crash or damage your battery as well as other components–

2nd Start dead vehicle with jumper cable and good battery or another vehicle

Note* If either vehicle has an electronic ignition system or is an alternatively fuelled vehicle, the use of jumper cables may damage it, so check all component for leak or damage.

Open engine hood and check battery location, generally is located right side, between engine and passenger compartment. In some vehicle it is in trunk. so you have to identified the battery location.

Battery connection should be in given sequence-

• The positive terminal will be marked with a plus sign (+) and will usually have a red cable attached on it.
• The negative terminal will be marked with a minus sign (-) and will usually have a black cable attached to it.

If you are using a separate full charged battery then connect it as above given sequence or just Park another working car near your dead car.

• But both of car should not be touched with each other and insure that parking brake of both of cars are engaged.

• Turn off the radio, lights, A/C, fans and all other electrical components. Make sure that all of these things are off in the disabled car, too. Don’t let the cars touch at all.

Connect the jumper cables in the order described below:

• One red clamp to the positive (+) terminal of the dead battery.

• Another red clamp to the positive (+) terminal of the good battery.

• One black clamp to the negative (-) terminal of the good battery.

• Another black clamp to a piece of grounded metal on the dead car, preferably the bolt where the thick negative cable from the battery connects to the chassis. If this is not practical, look for shiny metal (not painted or oily) that is attached to the engine. Because all metal of vehicle is work as negative terminal.

Start the working car : Let it idle for a few minutes. Do not race the engine, but do rev the engine a little above idle for 30 to 60 seconds. You do this to charge the battery in the dead car.

Start the disabled vehicle : If it does not start, shut the engine off and disconnect the last connection temporarily while you slightly twist or wiggle each of the four clamps to help ensure a good electrical connection. Restart the working car again. Allow another few minutes for charging before attempting to start the disabled vehicle. If it still not getting start then it means battery is totally dead or there will be some other issue, check properly and if required replace battery and check again.

Remove the jumper cables once the car starts. Do this in the reverse of the order in which they were attached, and don’t let any of the cables or clamps touch each other.

• One black clamp from grounded metal on the dead car

• Another black clamp from the negative (-) terminal of the good battery.

• One red clamp from the positive (+) terminal of the good battery.

• Another red clamp from the positive (+) terminal of the dead battery.

Keep your car’s engine running for some time. Run the car engine at idle for five minutes and above idle for 20 minutes before turning it off. This should give the battery enough charge to start the car again. If your car shutoff just after some time then probably have a dead battery or a dying alternator, check alternator if it is ok then replace your battery.

3rd Start dead vehicle without jumper cable (For manual transmission only)

• Position the car at the top of a hill, or have people push the car.

• Depress the clutch completely.

• Put the car in second gear.

• Turn on the ignition but don’t start the engine.

• Let go of the brakes.

• Let go of the clutch quickly when the speed reaches 5 mph (8.0 km/h)

• Run the car above idle for five minutes and then on or above idle for 20 minutes before turning it off.

Note* But it is applicable for the vehicle which have only manual transmission, it will not work the vehicle which have automatic transmission. For Automatic Transmission, jump-start is possible only with jumper cable and battery.

For more Details checkout this video