Jump starting a car

  • Jan 30, 2012
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There are times when people forget to turn off their car's interior lights and the car battery dies out or the car battery loses charge when it is not used for a prolonged period of time. As a result the battery does not have enough charge left in it to start the engine. In such cases a jump start can get the car's engine to start. Read on to know more

Jump start

When the car key is turned in the ignition of a vehicle and no lights come on in the instrument cluster of the vehicle it means the car battery is dead. In case the lights come on but instead of the engine starting there is a clicking noise it means that the battery does not have the charge to turn the crankshaft of the engine and start it.

In this situation the car’s engine can be started by jump starting it. Jump starting a vehicle is a process in which a set of jump cables are used to connect the dead battery of the car to that of a live car battery so as to draw power from the live battery while attempting to start the car. 

Here are the steps to jump start a car,

1. A set of jump cables are required. Jump cables are a pair of heavy gauge, insulated wires with alligator clips at both ends. There are two separate cables, usually one is red in colour while the other is black. 

2. Make sure both cars are turned off before connecting the cables.

3. Connect one of the alligator clips on the red jump cable to the positive terminal of the dead battery. Connect the other alligator clip of the cable to the positive terminal of the good battery.

4. Connect one of the alligator clips of the black cable to the negative terminal of the good battery. Connect the other alligator clip from the negative terminal to a clean unpainted metal surface in the       engine bay of the car with the dead battery. 

5. Start the car with the good battery and let it run for about two minutes and then attempt starting the car with the dead battery.

6. Once the car with the dead battery starts the jump cables have to be removed in reverse order. Be careful to not let the dangling alligator clips touch one another while removing them. 

7. Keep the jump started car running for atleast thirty minutes in order to let the dead battery gain sufficient charge so as to be able to start the engine on its own power. 

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