Questions About How To Jump Start A Car

Lisa asks…

How to jump start a car?

I've heard two ways. One where both the positive cables are attached to the battery and both negative cables are grounded on a metal part of the cars. And the other where one negative cable is on the battery and the one on the dead car is grounded.

Which way is best? Will they both work?

Also does it matter the size of the cars...say can a small compact car jump start a large pickup truck?

admin answers:

You want to keep sparks away from the battery in case there's a buildup of hydrogen gas (very explosive). They will both work if the connections are good.

1. Connect the positive leads to the positive battery terminals first. Then:
2a. Connect the negative leads to engine ground points.
2b. Connect the negative lead to the donor battery first, then connect the negative lead of the recipient to that car's engine ground point.

It's not likely that a small car can jump a larger engine. The cranking power of a smaller car is much less than that of the larger PU. I doubt a battery for a small, 4-cylinder engine has the power to crank an 8-cylinder engine. A small 4-cylinder engine may only need about 200 amps from the battery to crank the engine, while a large 8-cylinder engine starter may need upwards of 500-600 amps from the battery.

Steven asks…

How to jump start my car when the terminals are covered?

I am trying to jump start my car, however the terminals on the battery are covered by a volt gauge and I don't want to take the battery out or take it to a shop to have it done? I see on the side what looks to be side "terminals" per say but i don't know what i need to try it through the side.

Also i know I can jump my car through the cigarette lighter but i tried it three times as instructed nothing happened. Also I know the battery is still good.

admin answers:

If a battery has side posts ONLY, theres usually a post for the negative to be attached else where. Positive goes on the battery.

If it has top and side terminals, the top ons are for jumping, side is for electrical connections to power/ground things in the car. If theres rubber or plastic covers, just pop them off an jump it. You can keep them off, the cover(s) are for preventing anyone from crossing terminals and getting a spark shower. Maybe 50% of cars have a cover or two. Its not a big deal.

Maria asks…

I have a dead battery in the trunk of a jaguar and can't get to it. How do I jump start this car?

I got a Jaguar with a dead battery. The battery is in the trunk and I can't get into the trunk with no power. How do I jump start this car. Even my friend who is experienced with cars can't figure out where to jump this car. He can't find postive terminal under the hood. Any ideas?

admin answers:

Wire a cigarette lighter plug to a 12 volt battery and plug it in to your car to power it up enough to get the trunk open. If your cigarette lighter is no good then you will have to hard wire the 12 v source to the 'batt' pin on your fuse block and ground it to the body on the other post of your donor source then open the trunk!

Susan asks…

how do you jump start a car?

I know this may seem silly but I am having the worst time trying to get my car jump started. the cable wires get really hot and start smoking when it is all connected, and the positive one sparks when you hook it up,

help.
This makes sense... I think we were hooking the negative up first. I have free road side assistance so I am going to watch them closely so I can do it in the future.

thanks everyone!

admin answers:

With both cars turned off, you connect the jumper cables to both batteries parallel. What that means is you hook a wire from one positive post to the one on the other battery and hook a wire from one negative post to ground of the other vehicle- the one with the dead battery. Then you start the car with the good battery first and try to start the one needing power. If the dead one won't turn over or its solenoid chatters, let the good one run for a few minutes to charge the bad one a bit more before trying again. If it turns over and starts take off the ground wire first and then disconnect all the jumper wires, being careful to not let them touch each other and spark. Sparks can ignite the hydrogen given off by batteries and explode them, throwing acid out on whatever is close. If the bad car fails to start, there is another problem, and stop trying to jump it or you'll damage it's charging circuit, or the one in the good car , or both of theirs.

The smoking leads me to believe that your starter is no good and is drawing more power than the cables can handle, However, if you have a negative connected to a positive, it will definately spark and risk destroying one or both batteries.

I've never met anyone born knowing this, and asking about is is a very good way to learn. The only stupid question is the one you don't ask, so you never learn any answer.

Joseph asks…

Will my car start with jump leads tomorrow?

My car has been sat parked up for 3 months, someone tried to jump start it with some leads today and it wouldnt start, i dont know how long they tried but im guessing not long.
Do you think it will start tomorrow if i keep trying with the leads?
Its a vw golf.
Thanks

admin answers:

It may start, providing that (1) the jumper cables are left on the vehicles for at least 10 -15 minutes and (2) the vehicle that is providing the charge has the engine idle increased [ that's the only way for the charging vehicle to provide the "juice" needed for the other vehicle].........most likely, your vehicle will need to have the battery charged

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