Imagine you’re going for a long commute and suddenly, out of nowhere, your car stops. Well, guess what? Your car’s battery is dead. Now imagine another scenario: you finally decided to drive that car resting in your garage for days. But again, the battery’s dead. In such cases, what would you do? The right answer is: Jump Starting Your Car. You can now use either a jump start battery pack or jump start leads. Both ways are convenient.
The most common, convenient, and cost-effective way of jump starting a dead battery is through jump leads. They are a set of black and red cables wired together with alligator clamps at each end. These copper-made clamps are to be attached to the battery terminals of both cars. With the burst of battery power from the running car, the dead battery will receive an ignition to jump start itself.
But have you ever wondered about the reason behind a car’s battery dying? There can be many reasons. For instance, excessive heat in summer can deteriorate the battery, or maybe the cables of your battery have corroded or rusted. Apart from that, there might be a chance that you accidentally left your car’s headlights or stereo on overnight.
But “tomato, tomato”, it doesn’t matter. What matters is how you can fix the issue and get your battery running in no time.
The right components that you need to have in your jump start kit are:
Jump leads (if another gasoline vehicle is available)
jump start battery pack (if another gasoline vehicle is not available)
Magnetic Flashlight (for night)
Pocket Screwdrivers (to open the stubborn covers of battery terminals)
Rubber gloves (to avoid damage from battery acid)
Did You Know? If another gasoline vehicle is not available, you can jump start your car by using a jump start battery pack. It's portable, convenient to use, and has a battery with jump start leads which will directly boost power to your dead battery. |
Coming to the point, how to jump start your car with jump leads. Here is a step-by-step guide to the jump start process, along with safety instructions on how to use a jump start lead.
Line up the running battery car close to the dead one. Why? To attach both batteries via a jump start lead, they need to be parked close to each other. Make sure that the other vehicle is not running.
Grab your jump start leads and untangle them carefully. Now, locate the battery terminals in both cars. It has a positive and a negative sign on it. The positive terminal has a plastic cap and is attached with a red wire. Meanwhile negative terminal is attached to the black one.
Also, make sure that your battery is not leaking.
Important thing to note: There are two types of batteries, i.e., dry and wet. While you can jump start both categories, it's recommended not to use a dry battery. |
Now, it's time to create the bridge of charge between the two vehicles via the jump leads. Attach the negative terminals of both cars with the black jump wire. And attach the positive terminals of both with the red wire.
Precaution: Make sure that the red jumper cable (positive) is not touching the black jumper cable (negative) to avoid any short circuits or potential damage to your vehicle. |
Now, after attaching both jumper cables to their respective terminals via the alligator clamp, start the engine of the vehicle with the running battery. Wait for at least 5 to 6 minutes and then try starting the car with the dead battery. If it doesn’t work, wait for another minute or two.
Finally, if your engine starts running, you’re good to go. Carefully remove the jump leads. However, if the car is still working, there must be some other issue. At this point, call a professional mechanic who can fix your car by diagnosing the accurate issue.
Well, there are some specifications in jump starting when it comes to different categories and models of cars. Here is a detailed analysis of whether you can do it on all types of cars and how:
Category | Can You Jump Start It? | How? |
Gasoline | Yes | jump starting a gasoline car is a standard procedure, as explained above, and any gasoline car with a healthy battery can assist another. |
Hybrid | Yes | They have a 12-volt battery, just like gasoline cars, and can be jump started in the same way. |
Hybrid | Yes | EVs have a main, high-voltage battery and a smaller 12-volt battery. The 12-volt battery can be jump started with another gasoline car, but the main EV battery should never be. |
Never jump start the main EV battery.
Never jump start your EV’s 12-volt battery with another EV or hybrid. It can cause serious damage to both vehicles.
Hence, where jump starting is an easy process, it still has some specifications. The procedure is the same, but again, there are certain considerations you should be mindful of while jump starting your car. Follow the right instructions and get your car running smoothly and freely in no time.
Hey! I'm Eagan Taylor, I'm a versatile writer with a passion for crafting engaging and thought-provoking content. With a broad range of interests and expertise in various subjects, I can write on multiple topics about local businesses.