Use Safety First When Jump-Starting a Car

A dead car battery can turn a good day into a bad one. For some reason, car batteries never go dead when you are heading somewhere you would rather not go. They go dead after a shopping trip while sitting on mall parking lot or when you are preparing to leave for a special appointment. The quickest way to get going is to jump-start your car.

Jump-starting your car is one of those unfortunate things that almost every driver encounters somewhere along the way. Your battery has gone dead either from leaving on the headlights, or it’s age is showing. It seems simple enough to do, but a jump-start can be extremely dangerous if not done carefully and correctly.

In cold weather, a dead battery can freeze. If you try to jump-start your car, the frozen battery can explode. To avoid harm, stand a safe distance from the battery. At least 10 feet is reasonable.

In hot weather, a dead battery will emit a gas that can be ignited from a spark. This is why you never want to make the last connection on the battery. If you choose not to wear safety goggles when you jump-start a vehicle, never stare directly at the battery when making connections. If there is an exposion, you want to make it difficult for any battery acid to hit your eyes.

With both cars facing each other and bumpers within about 2 feet of touching, turn off the other vehicle. Using the red cable, connect the two plus sides of the batteries. The ground or black cable should be attached to exposed metal on the motor away from moving parts like fan belts or fans. Make sure the cables are not going to get caught on these. When both cables have been secured at both ends, start the vehicle that is furnishing the power. Allow it to run for about a minute to put some charge into the battery of the dead car.

Try starting the car. If it is sluggish, wait another minute or so and try again. If nothing happened, then shut off the first vehicle and try reattaching the cables by unfastening the ground from one car first. Reposition the red cables trying to make sure that they grip the battery terminals securely. Attach the black ones back to the engine. Restart the first car. Attempt to start the car with the dead battery.

If it is sluggish continue to let the other car put power into your battery for another few minutes. Try your headlights. If they burn brightly, you should turn them off and start your car. If it still won’t crank, it might be your starter. As a last resort, you might try turning the first vehicle off and attaching the black cable directly to your negative posts on your battery. Be very careful because the sparks from the final attachment can result in a nasty explosion.

Try to start your car again after you have let the other vehicle charge your battery for a while. It can take 10 minutes or longer. As soon as the car starts, disconnect the cables starting with the black cable. If the car does not crank or try to start at this point, call for profession help or seek other solutions.