You might go years without needing to jumpstart a car if you’re lucky (and take good care of your car). If the battery in your car dies, you might be able to jump-start it using jumper cables and the assistance of a kind stranger’s car. Make sure that the battery on the helpful person’s car has at least the same voltage as your own if you can safely use jumper wires on your own car. It doesn’t matter if your car has negative ground and the other vehicle has positive ground, or if your vehicle has an alternator and the other vehicle has a generator, as long as the cables are connected correctly. But the question is, how do you jump-start a car?
Well, in this article, we’ll be discussing the answers to the following questions:
- How to jump-start a car?
- Which side of the battery is positive and negative?
- How long should a jumper cable be?
Read more: How to tell positive and negative on a car battery
Ok, let’s dive in!
Contents
How to jump-start a car?
Here’s how to jump-start your car in 10 straightforward steps:
- Park with the two vehicles facing each other. As a safety measure, use the parking brake.
- Open both hoods and locate the batteries. If necessary, take off the plastic hood.
- You should identify the positive and negative battery terminals. Make sure there is no rust on them.
- Attach the red clamp to the dead battery’s positive post.
- Then attach the other red clamp to the working battery’s positive post.
- Next, attach the black clamp to the functional battery’s negative post.
- Then attach the last black clamp to a metal surface of your car that is unpainted.
- Start the engine of the car with a good battery.
- Attempt to start the dead vehicle. If it doesn’t start, wait a few more minutes before attempting again.
- Once the dead vehicle starts, disconnect the cables in the reverse order of how they were connected.
Read more: How to disconnect a car battery in 5 straightforward and safe steps
Which side of the battery is positive and negative?
The positive and negative battery terminals can be identified by looking at the terminals. A plus symbol (+) and a minus sign (-) are used to identify the battery’s positive and negative sides, respectively (-). On the lid of the positive battery terminal, which is usually red in color, is printed the plus (+) symbol. The negative may be colored black and have a minus (-) sign on the front. You may determine which terminal is the positive terminal by looking at its size even if the terminals lack a plus (+) or minus (-) sign, red wires, or other indicators designating them as the positive terminal. Positive and negative terminals differ in size. An explosion or damage to your equipment could happen from improper terminal connections. The positive and negative sides of a battery are referred to as anode and cathode, respectively.
Read more: Reasons why a car is difficult to start in cold weather & how to fix
How long should a jumper cable be?
For the majority of automobiles, a set of 6-gauge or 4-gauge jumper cables will be enough. Larger engines can be jumped using thicker cables since they can transport more electricity. Less expensive gauges may not have enough thickness to power the battery. Jumper cables come in gauges ranging from 1 to 12. Based on the scale, the 1 gauge is a heavy-duty model, while the 12 is a light-duty option. In mild conditions, a 10-gauge jumper cable could be used to restart a depleted battery, but it couldn’t start dead batteries. The 6-gauge or 4-gauge cable is advised since it suits the majority of needs and circumstances.
Read more: How long does it take to charge a car battery? What you need to know
FAQs
What are the 5 steps to jumpstart a car?
- Start the engine with a working battery. Turn on the engine of a working car and pull it close to the vehicle with the dead battery.
- Connect the batteries with jumper cables.
- Start the car.
- Disconnect the two batteries gently.
- Inspect the condition of the cables after the jumpstart.
How do you start a car with a dead battery without jumper?
Which jumper cable goes on first?
First, connect the red jumper cables. The battery that won’t start should first have one red cable clamped to the positive side. Finally, secure the other red clamp to the working battery’s positive side. Next, secure a single black cable to the functional battery’s negative terminal.
What is the proper way to jump-start a dead battery?
Turn off the engines of both vehicles. Clamp the positive cable’s first end to the positive clamp on the dead battery. Now have a buddy attach the other end of that cable to the positive clamp of the other battery. Next, attach the negative cable to the good battery’s negative terminal.
Do you jump-start a car with the engine on or off?
Make sure the engines of both vehicles are off, take the keys out of the ignition, and open the bonnets (or the boot, if the battery is inside) of both. Connect one end of the red jump line to the flat battery’s positive terminal.
What goes first when jumping into a car?
Prior to doing anything further, the red cable’s clamp is attached to the helping vehicle’s positive terminal. The positive terminal of the disabled car is linked to the other end of the red cable. The helping battery’s negative terminal is then connected to the black clamp.
How long should a car run after getting a jump?
It is advised to let your car run for at least 30 minutes after you’ve jump-started it because it usually takes at least 30 minutes to fully or sufficiently recharge a dead battery.
When jumpstarting a car do you connect all cables directly to the battery?
Attach the clamp on the black jumper wire to either an unpainted metal item in the engine or straight to the chassis of your vehicle. Connect the clamp on the red jumper cable to the positive terminal of your car battery (the frame of the vehicle). Never connect the negative (black) clamp to the dead battery’s negative terminal.
That is all for this article, where the answers to the following questions have been discussed:
- How to jump-start a car?
- Which side of the battery is positive and negative?
- How long should a jumper cable be?
I hope you learn a lot from the reading. If you do, kindly share it with others. Thanks for reading see; you around!
