How to Jump-Start a Car Battery
How to Jump-Start a Car Battery:
Jumper cables on the battery
Dead batteries are no fun, especially when they die unexpectedly at inconvenient times. I just had to replace the battery in our Jetta last week, that was pretty lame and an unnecessary expense (could have put that money towards some performance parts instead, haha) but it could have been worse.
In order to jump-start your battery, you will need a set of jumper cables and another vehicle/battery, or you will need a portable jump box(I recommend getting your own, I love mine)
Always hook up Red(+) first and Black(-) last. When disconnecting it is best to remove Black(-) first and Red(+) last.
If you are going to jump-start using another vehicle be sure to set the cables up in a parallel circuit(see image below), on newer vehicles there are a lot more electronics and when the cables are hooked up in a series circuit we risk the possibility of an electrical surge, and if that happens it will find the weakest point to escape, which usually ends up being an electrical module or wiring harness.
Jumping battery from another vehicle
Once you get your car running again I suggest measuring the voltage at the battery to make sure the alternator is charging(it should be in the 14v range when the engine is running) You want to make sure it is just a bad battery and not a charging system issue. In order to check the charging system, you will need a Voltmeter
Unless you left a light or other accessory turned on then chances are your battery is just about to give out, and it is probably smart to toss a new one in. If you want reassurance that your battery has in fact gone bad but do not have a battery tester then you can take it to any Autozone or other automotive parts store and they should be able to test it for you free of charge.
Replacing a battery is a very easy job the majority of the time, but beware that there are a handful of models that are a royal pain in the ass to get the battery out and in, so let’s just hope we don’t have to deal with any of those haha.
Gabriel G.
Adept Automotive
At firstly thank you for writing a grateful topic about how to jump start a car battery. Continued improvements in vehicle battery durability, reliability, and cranking amps have significantly reduced drivers’ need to jump start a car battery. Vehicle headlights that turn themselves off have also reduced those dead battery moments.Sadly, that doesn’t mean you’ll never face a dead battery or encounter another driver who is (it might be why you’re reading this right now!). That’s why you should learn the proper and safe way to jump start.
When you need a jump start so that you can get to the store to buy a new battery, follow the safety precautions below.
And remember, jumper cables normally have a set of clamps marked red for positive and one marked black for negative. And battery terminals are usually marked with a + for the positive terminal, and a – for negative. You might need to wipe off some grime to see them if your battery is dirty.
Lastly i want to say, your article is very informative, i enjoyed it very much.
Thank you! I am glad you enjoyed it and found some valuable information there.
Hi Gabriel, thank you for the information about how to jump start a car battery. I personally did it many times but I am sure there are many people out there that could not figure this thing out. It is always great to have a back up for anything when possible and I always carry my cables in the back of my car.
Hello, thanks for stopping by! It makes me glad knowing there are still people out there like you with experience to help others 🙂
First of all, many thanks to you for giving us such a wonderful article .I have a car and I need a set jump cable and another battery to jump-start the battery. Personally I like a portable jump box .However it is very risky to do so I measure the battery voltage to make sure the option is charging when I drive my car again. I kept a voltmeter to test the charging system .Replacing batteries most of the time is a very easy task.
The article is really informative and I gained a lot of knowledge which is very helpful to me. I will definitely be delivering your article to my friends and they will definitely share their new experiences with you. Can I share your article on my social media?
Thanks for stopping by! I am glad you found good information inside the article. Please do share 🙂
Many thanks to you for sharing such an excellent article with us .My batteries are really no fun and after a wedding, it dies unexpectedly during difficult times and then looks very annoying.And I sometimes get into trouble with my car and sometimes it seems like the battery car doesn’t start up and then it looks very dangerous and looks uncomfortable.In this case I will set the jam cable to start the janitor on my battery and the other with a portable box of car battery readings.After reading the article, everyone will know about the price of a car battery, and will share with you new experiences.
I am glad you found some good information here. Dead batteries are never fun, but I am glad to hear you have been getting better prepared
Hello,your guide and suggestion are very useful for everyone. While reading I know that Replacing a battery is a very easy job the majority of the time, but beware that there are a handful of models that are a royal pain in the ass to get the battery out and in, so let’s just hope we do not have to deal with any of those . Thanks for shairng such useful guide.
If car batteries dies can you still jump start it?
Of course, your battery isn’t dead yet. Its just discharged because of cold or because it has difficulty in starting in the cold or it wasn’t kept charged by the electrical system. So you’ve got to jump start your car and this is safe enough if you’re very careful to follow the right steps which my elder bro did and they are be 100% clear which of the terminals of the two vehicles batteries is positive and which Is negative. The positive are of the color red while the negative are always connected to the ground or car frame. Then connect the red positve, there’s a spark and that’s ok.
The one thing you can do wrong here is getting the wires mixed up. The spark will be at the arc-welder level, breaking the helping car system and much of the electronics on the dead car because of reverse power, could even blind the person. If you don’t know how to then call for knowledgeable help.
Thanks for this article
Yes, if your battery dies you can still jump start it, but once you get it jumped you will need to test the battery to see if either the battery is failing or if there is a draw on the vehicle’s electrical system