Disclaimer: If you get killed, hurt, dismembered, or anything else that you consider bad while following anything in this article, you accept FULL LIABILITY. I am not a car mechanic, I just have a big head.
You get outside, jump in your car, stick the key in the ignition, and try to turn the engine. The engine turns a few times and then CLICK CLICK CLICK CLICK. The dreaded sound from a dead battery.
At this point, you need to jump start your car.
First, you’re going to need another car, or a mobile jump pack. You’ll use one of these to either boost your battery (if it isn’t completely dead) or start your engine.
To begin with, we’ll assume that the battery is not dead.
Turn the engines off on both cars. Lift the hood on both cars, and look inside for the battery. Make sure that you can clearly see the POSITIVE and NEGATIVE terminals, as mixing them up can be dangerous.
Connect your jump leads in the following order:
- Connect the RED lead to the POSITIVE terminal of the DEAD car.
- Connect the other end of the RED lead to the POSITIVE terminal of the LIVE car.
- Connect the BLACK lead to the NEGATIVE terminal of the LIVE car.
- Connect the other end of the BLACK lead to a shiny metal part inside the engine bay that is distant from the battery.
The fourth step may sound a little odd at first, but the reason we connect the black cable away from the battery is to reduce the risk of explosion. Batteries can release hydrogen gas – you don’t want to ignite it. The whole car is connected to the battery’s negative terminal, so as long as you connect the black cable to a nice SHINY piece of metal, the connection should be fine. (note: do NOT use a painted piece!)
Now that we have the cars connected, we need to start your dead car.
Jump in to your dead car, and turn the key to start the engine. Don’t attempt this for longer than 10 seconds, we don’t want to drain the other car’s battery.
BIG Misconception: Some people believe that revving the engine on the LIVE car will provide enough power to start the engine on the DEAD car, this simply IS NOT true. The power the DEAD car will use to start will come from the battery, the car’s alternator cannot produce enough amps to turn the engine and fire the plugs at the same time. Putting this additional strain on a car’s alternator can actually cause it to fail – who’s going to take the bill on that one? It is safer to turn the LIVE car’s engine off while trying to start the DEAD car.
If the engine doesn’t start, start the LIVE car and leave for ten minutes. Before attempting to start the dead car again, make sure you switch the live car off. Jump in your dead car, try starting the engine and take note – if the engine is spinning as slowly as last time, then your battery probably isn’t up to the task.
At this point, you’re going to need a new battery. You might want to repeat the process again to be sure, but if your battery can’t hold the charge, and your car isn’t starting, you’re fighting for a lost cause.
This brings me on to the second possibility – the battery is dead. What now? You need to start your car, but the live car doesn’t seem to be providing enough juice to start it. You’ll probably need to get a tow truck. But before you donate your wallet, have you checked your jump leads?
If the live car can start its engine, it can probably start your engine too. However, if your jump leads are cheap (cheap leads are typically light leads) they won’t be able to transmit the power needed to start the engine. Invest a nice heavy set of jump leads and keep them in your trunk. Even if your battery is dead, you’ll probably be able to start your car with a set of these.
You can find jump leads at your local Walmart. Just don’t be cheap.
