“Just jump start it, dude! You’ll be sweet!”
… And they were never heard from again.
Okay, so that might be going a little bit far, but the point we’re making is that while it seems everyone under the sun is quick to tell you they “just jump started it” – it does take a little bit of know-how. Lucky for you, you’re here, and we’re going to tell you how to do it, safely.
First things first – keep your owner’s manual handy if you’re needing to jump start your car, there’ll be a section covering how to do it, along with the correct precautions to take in relation to your specific vehicle.
For example, if you’re driving a hybrid car, it’s advised to never jump start your car – it can cause damage to the electrical system, as well as putting you in danger of being electrocuted.
Once you’ve consulted the manual and figured out whether it’s safe to jump start your car, your next job is to locate the battery, usually under the bonnet but in European models, you’ll find it under the passenger seat. Go figure!
First, make double-sure that the vehicle is switched off.
You’ll need to look for the tabs on the battery which are used for jump starts. If in doubt, consult the owner’s manual, although they are fairly easy to spot.
First, make sure your cables are in good nick and free from any damage, like rust or bits of dirt. Then connect your jumper cables from your emergency breakdown kit.
Connect the positive lead to the flat battery first (a red colour surrounding the terminal or a red cover over the terminal will indicate this), then to the fully charged battery.
Connect the negative cable to the flat vehicle by attaching it to the engine block, which is an unpainted metal component under the hood.
Connecting it directly to the negative terminal of the battery increases the risk of the battery exploding – don’t worry though, this is unlikely to happen. Just play it safe.
Then connect the negative cable to the negative battery post on the fully charged battery once you’ve selected a suitable spot.
If you can get jumper cables that come equipped with surge protection, we recommend it – they smooth out any potential issues that can occur when connecting up to the dead battery.
Then, start your engine… allow it to run for up to 5 minutes, so your batter gets a decent amount of charge. Once this time has passed, try starting your the car with the dead battery, and if the engine starts up, you can disconnect your jumper cables. Good job!
Never allow the positive and negative cables to come into contact – this will result in a spark and possible electrocution. Once disconnected from the vehicle, remove the cables from the flat vehicle, once again starting with the negative cable.
To allow the alternator to adequately charge the battery, the flat vehicle must be allowed to run for at least 30 minutes.
But hey, if this all sounds a bit hard, we’re here to help. Head over to the My Auto Shop service area and we can put you in touch with the right mechanic to help give your battery a check and (possibly sort you out with a set of jumper cables if you haven’t got some already).