It’s super annoying when your car battery dies in the middle of the road or when you’re ready to hit the road in the morning.
If you are reading this article, there is a high possibility your car’s battery can’t start, and you are searching for means to start your cat. In this article, I will run you through how to jump start a car using various methods like starting with another vehicles’ battery, using a jump starter, push starting as well as other methods. let’s get started.
Why is my Car Battery Not Starting?
Alrighty, before we get into those five tips, make sure your ride isn’t dealing with any of the problems listed below ’because they could totally prevent your car from starting.
- · Lack of fuel in the tank
- · Faulty Key fob
- · Ignition problem
Ways to Start a Dead Car Battery
Now that you’ve confirmed you don’t have any of the above issues, let’s begin to look at the various methods to jump start a car. There are about five methods. We’ve listed them below
- Jump-start the car with another car,
- Jump Start your car with a portable Jump starter
- Push start the car
- Bridge Two Batteries Together
- Get a new good battery replacement,
How to Jump Start a Car with Another Car
The easiest means to resolve a flat battery issue is to look for a vehicle around you with a fully charged battery and a set of jumper cables to jump-start your car. You can talk to your neighbour, family, friends, or any Samaritan if stranded on the road to help with their car; but make sure the vehicle is able to start and run on its own.
Depending on the battery location in your car, drive the other car (Rescue car) close to your vehicle (opposite each other or side by side) so you can easily connect the two batteries with the jumper cable.
It’s time to jump your car now but before you get started. Please follow the below jump-start a car procedure.
Step-by-Step Guide to Jump-Starting a Car with Another Vehicle
- Switch off both cars
- Both cars should be in Neutral or park gear position.
- Activate the emergency or hand brake.
- Get a safety glove
- locate the battery positive node and negative node. You can easily identify your battery positive node with a Plus Sign and Red colour. the negative terminal is marked with a minus sign (-). Please check the owner’s manual if you are unsure.
- Identify the positive and negative terminal of the other car battery.
- The Positive terminal of the dead battery should be connected only to the positive terminal of the other car battery using the red jumper cable.
- Connect the negative battery terminal of your battery to only the negative terminal of the other car battery using the black jumper cable.
- Once you’ve confirmed the jumper cables are connected properly, it’s time to crank the rescue car engine and leave it to run for some minutes to allow the battery to charge.
- Do not hold the end of the cable when attached to the car battery as this could result in a fatal injury or death. Also, do not touch any metal terminal either.
- You should have enough charge in your car battery now. While the rescue car is still running, try to start your car to see if your engine comes on or not. If your car battery doesn’t start, leave the rescue car more time to charge your car battery and try again.
- Once your car engine comes up, allow your battery a few minutes to charge before disconnecting the jumper cable in the reverse order they were connected.
Use a Portable Jump Starter to Start Your Car
This is the most convenient means to jump start a car without another car. Also called a jump box, this method is generally regarded as the safest method if you connect it in the right way and take all precautionary care as explained further below.
Jump boxes are portable batteries that come with a pair of jumper cables. They have inbuilt software to prevent excess voltage from getting into your car’s 12-volt battery to prevent damage to the vehicle’s electrical system. Because of this, jump starters are regarded as convenient and safer. You can easily get one at any auto part store or online store. follow the below steps to safely use jumper cables.
How to Jump Start a Car with Portable Jump Starter
- Make sure the jump starter is fully charged before use. If not, plug it in to recharge first.
- This cable connection is similar to using a jump start cable as earlier discussed. The red Clamp should be connected to the positive terminal on the dead battery and the black clamp to an unpainted metal surface on your car.
- Make sure not to cross the negative and positive cables or touch each other (shorting) as this could damage your car battery as well as cause serious damage to your car’s electrical system
- Place the jump box in a stable location on the ground or on top of the engine cover so it doesn’t detach when you start the car.
- Turn the jump starter on as indicated
- Crank the car starter to start the engine block.
- The engine starts? Great
- If the engine starts, carefully disconnect the black clamp of the jump box first, followed by the red clamp, and carefully secure the cables to the jump box.
Push Starting a Car
Push starting a car is the oldest means to start a car with a weak battery without another car. Also called bump starting a dead vehicle, this method is mostly applicable to manual transmission, (not automatic transmission) and forces your car engine to come on instead of relying on the battery power to get your car running. To push start a car, you need a couple of friends, neighbours or roadside assistance to help push your car on a flat road or a slightly downhill sloppy surface.
Step-by-step Instruction to Push Start a Car With Dead Battery
- Get your friends or neighbours to push your car from behind.
- Get into the driver seat, and put the ignition to ‘ON’ position
- Disengage the parking brake and shift the gear to second gear.
- Press down the clutch and allow your friend to push the car.
- At about 5 mph, release the clutch abruptly.
- Your car engine may buck slightly as it comes on
- If your engine comes on, good. But if not, repeat the process one more time
Bridge Two Batteries Together to Power Dead Car Battery
If you don’t have a portable jump box and you are unable to get another vehicle to jump a car, you can still power your car by bridging two batteries together using tools. I won’t recommend you adopt this method as it requires more precautions.
To get started, you need a spare battery to be bridged to your dead battery to boost its power to start your car.
How to Bridge Two Batteries Together
- Turn off your car ignition first before commencing this process
- Place the spare battery on the car engine cover or any other stable position within the engine compartment closer to your dead battery.
- Safety precautions are to be taken. Make sure to wear safety gloves when bridging batteries.
- Get a tool (Spanner, a thick cable, preferably use jumper cables) to bridge the positive terminal of your dead battery and the spare battery together. Do the same for the negative terminal. Make sure the positive and negative bridges do not touch or cross each other.
- Once you’ve confirmed that the bridge has been done, crank your ignition to power your car. The car should start now. Safely disconnect the bridge wearing safety gloves and let the engine run for about 20 minutes.
- While your engine runs, your battery should get charged if your car Alternator is working efficiently.
Conclusion:
This article examines how to jump start a car using various methods like using another car with a good battery, using a jump starter, new battery replacement, push staring the car, among others to get back on the road.
