As a high school student who is on the brink of becoming a licensed driver, my parents expect me to not only be a good driver, but also a smart car owner. This means knowing how to fill up my gas tank, how to change a flat tire and also knowing how to get out of sticky situations; like how to start a discharged battery.
When my friend mentioned that they needed to jump-start their friend’s car due to a battery issue, I realized that if I were in a similar situation, I would have absolutely no idea what to do. Asking around, I came to the consensus that most of my friends who can drive also don’t know how to jump-start a car. As a staff writer for “The North Star”, I feel that I have a responsibility to inform my classmates on a few tips and tricks concerning car ownership and driving. This leads me to this week’s how-to: how to jump-start a car.
According to homedepot.com’s “How to Jump-Start a Car”, there are 5 main steps to jump-starting a vehicle. Allow me to walk you through these steps and break them down (no pun intended) along the way. For our purposes, I’ll use the examples of Cars A and B for my instructions: Car A will be the car with a functioning battery, while Car B will be the car with a discharged battery.
Step 1: Locate another vehicle. The idea of jump-starting a car is taking the charge of the full battery of Car A, and connecting it to the dead battery of Car B. The jumper cables, which every car owner should have, and can find one at their local gas station or auto parts store if they do not, will connect these two batteries and effectively shock the dead battery of Car B back to life when both cars are turned on. Once a car with a full battery, which, in this case, is Car A, is located, park Car A in front of Car B so that the front bumpers are facing each other and the cables can easily reach between the battery terminals of the two cars. If there isn’t enough room to park the cars this way, park Cars A and B in a parallel fashion side by side so that the batteries are close and the cables can easily reach each battery terminal.
Step 2: Locate the battery terminals. After turning off both vehicles, pop the front hoods of Cars A and B. Under these hoods, you will see a battery with positive and negative terminals. You can quickly differentiate these terminals by looking for the positive terminal’s marking of (+) and the negative terminal’s marking of (-). If you don’t spot these markings, don’t panic; the positive terminal should have a red color and the negative terminal should have a black color. Be sure to attach the red cable to the positive terminal and the black cable to the negative terminal.
Step 3: Connect the jumper cables. When connecting the cables, exercising caution and executing the necessary actions in precise order is of the utmost importance. First, you want to separate the cables and not let them touch throughout the entire process. Next, grab one end of the red jumper cable and attach it to the positive metal post of Car B, and then attach the other end of the red cable to the positive metal post of Car A. Once you’re done with the red cable, take one end of the black cable and attach it to the negative post of Car A and take the other end, this time attaching it to a sturdy piece of metal near the battery on Car B. In some cases, cars have a built-in spot under the hood for the cable to attach to, but if you’re unsure, just attach it to a grounding piece of metal. Make sure you don’t connect the other end of the black cable to the negative post of Car B, because this increases the risk of sparks flying.
Step 4: Jump-start the car. Once all of the cables are securely connected to their appropriate areas, and you’ve double checked that they are correctly connected, go to Car A and start the vehicle, allowing it to run. After a couple of minutes, go to Car B and attempt to start the engine. It may take a couple tries for the dead battery to pull the energy from the battery of Car A. If you’ve tried multiple times without Car A successfully starting, don’t overdo it. There may be an issue with the battery that cannot be fixed by jump-starting.
Step 5: Remove the jumper cables. Regardless of if Car B was successfully jump-started, the jumper cables need to be carefully removed before any other action. Whether or not both Cars A and B are running, or just Car A, leave them on until the jumper cables are detached and put away. The first cable you want to detach is the black cable from the grounding point of Car B. Set the cable on the ground, making sure it doesn’t touch anything. In the same manner, remove the red cable from Car B and set it on the ground without touching any surrounding objects, including the other cable. Repeat this process on Car A, removing the black cable first and then the red cable, still being cautious of not touching anything. Once all of the cables are safely detached, feel free to wrap them up, put them away, and close the hoods of both Cars A and B. On the chance that jump-starting car B didn’t work, still remove the cables before calling a tow service in order to limit dangerous electrical spontaneities that could harm you or your car.
As more and more of us begin our car-owning journeys, the need for basic car maintenance information rises as well. Hopefully, the tips listed above supported by and from homedepot.com’s “How to Jump-Start a Car”, will save you an inconvenient tow trip or insurance call. Be sure to spread this advice about automobile care with your friends or classmates so that they can also save on an unnecessary towing fee. Stay open to learning about more crucial car hacks, and remember to be kind to your cars.
