Having a vehicle in your possession means experiencing unexpected misfortunes over time. You can go through any sudden breakdown or engine problems on the road. As a car is comprised of various components and for proper functioning, it is necessary to have each component work properly. Sometimes, your vehicle suddenly stops while you are enjoying the ride and cause trouble in the middle of nowhere.
Although, there can be diverse reasons behind your car needs a boost, including the discharged or depleted battery, electrical issues, or the car alternator not charging. However, you must take this issue seriously as it could lead to engine failure on neglection. You can get help from the car mechanic if your car needs a jump start. But if you want to save up your bucks and time, you can DIY by following the necessary measures and easy tips described in this guide.
Precautions To Consider Before Boosting Your Car
If you are not seeking professional help, consider these safety tips before starting.
1. Acid
Car batteries rely on water and corrosive acid combinations to store electrical energy. You will need to be extremely careful while using the car batteries because they contain white and light green residue that should not touch your hands and clothes.
2. Sparks
Even the depleted car battery has some charge, and the donor car has plenty of power. When the cables are mishandled, they sparkle. It is recommended to wear safety goggles all the time.
3. Damage
You will need to be extra cautious while connecting the cables. This is because it can cause damage to the electrical components of the car, so take your time and make the right connections.
What You’ll Need To Boost A Car
You will need only a few items to boost your car, including the hydraulic jack, jumper cables, donor car, and another person beside you to help. Besides the booster cables, you must have the cable clamps in the tool kit of your car to tackle the emergency situations like these.
Steps To Boost Your Car Like A Pro
When your vehicle refuses to start up again, you follow a strategy of jump-start through which your motor car gets started, referred to as boosting. It is a temporary connection that is made with the help of another car or external power source. We have prepared a guide for you with essential details to boost your car in times of crisis.
1. Prepare & Make Connections
Read the owner’s manual, and knowing your car is fundamental to starting the process. To initiate the process, locate the car battery that might be under your vehicle’s hood or front trunk. You have purchased a good set of jumper cables that must be in your tool kit.
All you have to do is find a donor vehicle to help you get out of this situation with a healthy battery. Make sure to turn off the engine and put up emergency flares or hazard lights to ensure your safety. Find the negative (a -, black) and positive terminal (a +, red) of your dead battery and choose the metal ground as a safety measure. Check your manual and remove accessories like jewelry before connecting the car booster cable.
2. Connect Positive & Negative Terminals
Identify each cable and clamp if you charge the battery from another car. As the order starts with the battery’s positive terminal, take the clamp and red cable and connect it to the positive battery terminal of a dead battery and ensure it won’t move.
Take the other clamp and connect it with the positive terminal of the charged battery of the donor car. Ensure the donor vehicle is turned off to avoid sparks and electrical damage.
Now connect the black metal clamps to the negative terminal while ensuring they are not touching any other metal object. Take the black clamp to connect it to the negative terminal of the donor car first and the other end to the metal grounding point that is ideally dead. The slightest appearance of a spark will indicate that the power has begun to flow.
3. Start the Donor Vehicle & Your Car Engine
Now that you have established a secure connection of batteries with their respective terminals and successfully completed the jumper cable setup, fire up the donor car engine. But be sure that the alternator of the other vehicle is charging your car battery.
After you ensure enough juice to power up your car, go to your car and start the engine. Sometimes, the engine takes time to start until it gets the juice, so don’t get panicked and allow it to cool down to avoid overheating. Soon engine will start up, and you’ll get a revived battery.
4. Clean Up
When the engine finally starts, it’s time to remove the cables from the terminals. Keep the order in mind when removing the cables, and take them off in reverse order as you connect them. Start from the black clamp of the negative terminal, go to the red clamp of the positive terminal of the donor, then the red clamp of the positive terminal of a dead battery.
To Round Up!
Sometimes, your engine denies starting again while driving on the road. But now you can jump-start your vehicle efficiently by following some easy steps mentioned in this guide for your help. To revive your car’s engine, you need to connect red to the dead and then to the donor battery terminal.
Then connect the black cable to the dead. After that, start the dead and donor terminal to boost your engine in no time. This guide will help you go through a problematic situation efficiently.
