Dead Battery Care - How to Jump Start Your Car Safely
Posted on 03-06-2021 12:30 AM
Precautions and Safety on Jump Starts
Your car battery https://objectstorage.us-phoenix-1.oraclecloud.com/n/axauuzykcv87/b/autorepairshops/o/finest/Reduce-Your-Automotive-Repair-Costs.html tends to be an afterthought when it comes to auto care and maintenance. When it comes to our cars, we tend to worry about things like engine problems, broken belts or hoses, and worn or flat tires. You don't expect something like a dead battery to stall your car.
It is one of the simplest parts of your car. It is just one piece and it either works, or it doesn't. You can't repair a battery if it doesn't work. You can always buy a new battery that will last you a long time, or you can jump start your battery. That is what people usually resort to. But for some people the very idea of a jump start is alien to them. Many people are not familiar with cars or how they work.
A dead battery is nothing to panic about. As opposed to other automotive problems that can happen to you while you're driving on the road, a dead battery usually happens after your car has been already parked or unused. So, chances are you might already be in a safe place to have your battery jumped or your car towed, if need be. Most times, dead batteries are products of your car not being used for a few days, or even a week or two. Sometimes it is just an old battery that has nothing in it to give anymore. So you might be back from that vacation you had planned to take all year, or just stepped into the department store for a half hour and found that your car is not starting.
All you need is the proper equipment and a few very basic tips on jump starting your battery to get you back on the road. It is the purpose of this article to educate the driving public on the more common task of battery boosting and the safety precautions one should take while doing it to make sure they don't get injured.
Preparing to Jump Start your Dead Battery
Hopefully my experience a few weeks ago will help others know when their car battery is dead. The other day as I was on my way to work, I turned the ignition on my 2006 Kia Sorento and it made a clicking noise. There was no churning sound from the engine at all. Luckily I was in the parking lot of my own home, but since it was a fairly new car, I did wonder why a starter or alternator would break down so soon.
I called my father who is an expert and he guessed it may be a dead battery. All I know is that I did not have Triple A and my warranty for starter/alternator just ran out after 60 thousand miles. It was a relief to eventually find out that my 3 and a half year old car battery did need to be replaced and that the whole replacement was done for around $120 at PepBoys.
The frustrating thing was that my battery jump starter was out of commission! I had misplaced the adapter that recharges the car jump starter. So my father and brother ended up helping me jump start my car the old fashion way, with two cars and jumper cables!
When I went online that day I found out that a car battery https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/05/millions-electric-cars-are-coming-what-happens-all-dead-batteries typically lasts for about 3-5 years. According to the PepBoys technician, in a relatively new model, the battery will generally die out first, before the alternator or motor starter. So that is good news for all those who have new cars, as a battery replacement is relatively inexpensive.
- Make sure that the two vehicles do not touch each other as this will provide a ground source for current flow up to 400 amperes.
- Engage the parking brake on each vehicle and put the transmission in neutral or park.
- Turn off all accessories and the ignition switch on both vehicles.
- Jumper cables generally have red clamps for the positive (+) terminals and black clamps for the negative (-) terminals. These terminals are usually marked on the battery with a plus and minus symbol.
- Begin by attaching one end of the positive jumper cable to the positive terminal on the disabled car.
- Connect the other end to the positive battery terminal of the booster vehicle.
- Attach one end of the negative jumper cable to the negative terminal of the booster vehicle.
- Make the final connection by attaching the other end of the negative cable to some good, accessible, metal part of the engine away from the battery so that any sparks created will not damage the battery or cause you injury.
- When attaching the jumper cables make sure that the teeth on the clamps get a good bite on the terminals or the engine grounding location.
- Start the booster vehicle and run the engine at a slightly faster speed than idle.
- Attempt to start the disabled vehicle. If it does not readily start, turn off the ignition and wait for a couple of minutes for the booster vehicle to charge the dead battery. While waiting, recheck the clamps to make sure that they have a good connection.
- Once the disabled vehicle is running disconnect the cables in the opposite sequence in which you attached them.