How to jump start a car – Step by step explained with pictures

If your car battery is dead, there is no way to start your engine. Spark plugs need an electric current to ignite the fuel to start the engine. If you don’t have a backup battery or an emergency battery pack, well, you are in a lot of trouble. Fortunately, with the help of another vehicle’s battery, you can simply jump-start your vehicle. It is not a difficult task. But, you need to know a few things before jump starting a vehicle. First, let’s find how to jump start your car without damaging any system or the battery itself.

How to know your battery is dead?

If your car battery is dead, it will trigger the following sign to be shown in your dashboard indicator area. Also, when you try to ignite the spark plugs, you will feel like the vehicle is so weak and kind of dying. If the battery is too weak, the dome light, radio, and the headlights will not switch on.

What do you need to jump start a car?

• Jumper cables
• Another vehicle or a backup battery
• Or you can even buy an emergency car jump starter kit

Make sure the voltage of the good car battery is equal to your car battery. Providing a higher voltage than the recommended voltage may damage the car’s electronic components. 

How to jump start a car?

You can do with another car or with an emergency battery backup kit. First, let’s see how to jump start a car with another car.

STEP 1

Park both cars to face each other and open the bonnets.

STEP 2

Remove the protective plastic covers covering the electrodes of the battery.

STEP 3

Connect the red color clamp to the positive terminal of the dead battery. 

STEP 4

Then connect the other end of the red color clamp to the positive terminal of the good battery ( You will see a + sign printed near the positive terminal)

STEP 5

Connect the black color clamp to the negative terminal of the good battery.

STEP 6

Clean an unpainted metal surface of the dead car.

STEP 7

Connect the other end of the black color clamp to the cleaned area.

STEP 8

Start the healthy car and race it for 2 to five minutes.

STEP 9

Then, start the dead car. (If the battery was not fully dead, the car would ignite this time.)

 

What to do after a car is jump-started?

1. Do not turn the engine off for at least 30 minutes. So, the battery can sufficiently charge. 
2. As soon as you see a battery repair center check the health of the battery. If it is badly damaged, consider replacing it. If it is in good health, ask the battery repair center to check the acid levels and to manually charge it. 

The battery of a car is a store. You can store seeds in a container. Likewise, you can store electric charges in a battery. What happens when a container gets dirt. Time by time, the capacity of seeds you can store decreases. The same happens with a car battery. With time, the cells get damaged. And when that happens, the capacity will decrease.

Your car was dead because, somehow, the stored charges were discharged. That may be because you forgot to switch off the headlights while the engine is off or maybe because the battery is too old and damaged. Find the reason first and, if necessary, replace the battery. 

 

Tips for choosing a good jumper cable.

When choosing a jumper cable, you need to consider a few things.

• The cables should have heavy-duty clamps to connect both ends securely.
• Cables should be able to carry at least 20 A of current without causing damages.
• Thick cables have less electric resistance, and they can hold a huge current flow.
• Cables should have a protective plastic cover; otherwise, anyone holding the cables can get an electric shock.
• Clamps should have universal color codes to avoid confusion.

How to push start a car?

What if you don’t have a backup battery pack or another car to jump start? Well, you can push start a car. But, not the auto gear once. Only manual cars can pus to start. Let’s see how to push start.

1. Clear the path ahead. If you see any obstacles ahead in the road, clear them so you can continuously push the car until it ignites. 
2. Put the transmission into the second gear. – First gear has a huge torque, so it is somehow dangerous if you unexpectedly start the vehicle in the first gear. The third gear does not provide a good pickup. So the second gear is the best option. But, if there is a problem with the second gear, you can also try the third or first gears.
3. Release the parking brakes.
4. Press the clutch and brake pedals down to prevent unexpected movements.
5. Now release the brake and ask the helpers to push the car. (Do not push the car from front side always push it from the back and make sure NOT to have anyone in the front)
6. Drop the clutch (do this instantly) when the speedometer indicates 8 kmph or more speed (more the speed more the chance you have)
7. Now try to start the car.
8. If it starts, don’t turn off the engine. Give some time to the battery to get charged.

Jump start car kits

Keeping a jump start car kit is a handy idea, especially if you are a long-distance runner. Consider buying a one especially,

1. If you own an auto gear car which can not be push-started
2. If you don’t have a backup battery
3. Long-distance running vehicles should have a jump start kit.
4. If you drive in lonely roads 

Read more about jump start kits from here

Portable car jump start kits are also batteries. But, they have less capacity comparing to a car battery. But the power output is the same. Some of These kits come with handy tools like battery level meter, battery health meter, and quick charging chargers. They are durable, lightweight, small, and easy to carry. Also, the prices are lower than buying an extra backup battery. Some jump-start batteries can jump start a car 30 times after a single charge. 

How to jump-start a car with or without another car? What if you don’t have another car? Well, you can push start. Everything is simply explained.