How to jump-start a car π
November 11th, 2023 (12 months ago) β’ 2 minutes
Assume in the below scenario that:
- Car A - Alive Car (or a new battery)
- Car D - Dead Car
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Park both cars close together
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Check the condition of jump cables (if they are not good, don't use them to prevent being electrocuted)
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Connect Red (Positive) on Car D to Car A (as the battery is weaker, hence safer)
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Connect Black (Negative) on Car A
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Connect Black (Negative) to any metal surface (ground) on Car D.
Non-perfectly sealed Datteries will slowly leak flammable gas, and an active spark would light it on fire. So the proper procedure has you connecting the last time (which is most likely to produce sparks) far away from this potential fire source.
Cars are wired so that 'ground' connects to the negative terminal, and 'ground' is basically the metal chassis of the car. So connecting to the metal frame of the car will connect the batteries in a loop.
Source: ELI5
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Start Car A
- Turn off all the unnecessary appliance in the car such as aircond, radio, etc so that the battery can focus on starting the engine.
- You can also rev the engine to pump more juice out.
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Try starting Car D after a while
- If it starts - let it charge for a couple of minutes
- If not - wait and try again
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Disconnect Black (Negative) from Car A to Car D
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Disconnect Red (Positive) from Car A to Car D. Make sure the ends of the cables don't touch each other
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Let Car D's engine run for a while to allow the alternator to charge the battery
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Celebrate π