How to Jump Start Your Vehicle

It is one of the worst feelings when you go to start your car in the morning and the engine fails to trigger. Often it is because of a dead battery. Sometimes all that is needed is a jump to get the battery going again. It is important to do this the correct way so that you don’t create any dangers to yourself. Following the steps bellow will ensure that the car is jump started in a safe way.

What you need

1. Someone’s car with a charged battery with the same voltage as your own. A typical battery is 12V.
2. A pair of jump leads

When jump-starting a car, a lot of electricity will run through the lead, so it is important to keep safe. You will need to check for any damage to either the batteries or the jump leads. Any damage to either, do not risk it to start. You should also remove any metal jewellery you are wearing. This is so that nothing metal will touch the terminals on the battery. If you do feel the leads start to get hot when connecting, disconnect them straight away. But make sure you are careful doing so.

 Steps to jump start the car

1. Switching off any electrical systems before doing anything is important. This includes any lights, radios, satnavs…
2. Park the running car that has the live battery as close to the ‘flat battery’ as you can. But ensure that the vehicles are not touching.
3. Completely turn off both vehicle, as well as removing the keys. Then open both the bonnets or boot (depending on the battery location).
4. Attach one end of the red lead to the positive on the flat battery. This is the terminal with the + symbol on it.
5. Attach the other end of the red lead to the positive terminal on the live battery.
6. With the black jump lead attach the negative terminal on the live battery. The negative will have the – symbol on it.
7. Then attach the other end of the black lead to some unpainted metal on the vehicle with the flat battery. Make sure it isn’t near the battery as this is acting as an earth.
8. Start the working car and leave the vehicle for a few minutes.
9. Attempt to start with your car. If after a few attempts the car still isn’t working, then it might be a sign of something more serious. If it does start, then leave both cars running for 5 minutes before disconnecting any leads.

Disconnecting the Leads 

It’s important to leave the car running during disconnected the batteries. This is so that the battery does not go flat again.

1. Disconnect the black jump lead that’s connected to the unpainted surface.
2. Next, disconnect the other end of the black lead. It’s connected to the negative terminal on the live battery.
3. The red lead that’s connected to the positive of the live battery is the next to remove.
4. The last step is to, disconnect the red lead that’s connected to the positive of the flat battery.

Once that’s done you should at least take it for a 20-minute drive as this should recharge the battery backup. If you do turn the engine off to soon then you do run the risk of the battery being flat again. If you are worried about the condition of your battery, then you can always bring it to your local Express Fit Autocentre and a member of the team will be more than happy to do a free battery check for you.