A Beginner's Guide On How to Jump Start Car

There can only be a few things more terrible than finding your car’s battery dead as you get late for office in the morning or when you are out on a date and forget to switch off the lights and now you are stranded with a car that refuses to leave the parking lot. Situations like these can occur to anyone at any time and the only possible solution out of this is if you know how to jump start car. There can be many reasons for your car not starting up, though mostly you will find that the battery has drained out due to something that kept sucking out the battery power when it really shouldn’t have. Now, it should be understood that not all "why my car does not move’’ issues are related to your car battery needing some love, they might also be caused due to grave issues that might need expert attention urgently.  Though one mostly would not be able to do a lot in case of any major mechanical failure with his car, in those scenarios it is better to contact your Road Side Assistance provider. However, in case it does not start due to the battery draining out, you can jump start your car and be back on the road in no time. Like every process, there are a few do’s and don't's of jump starting your vehicle. But before we go any further let’s understand a few things about how to jump start car. 

Why Did Your Car Battery Drain Out?

Though there can be a lot of reasons behind your car’s battery draining out, some usual causes are as follows:

1. Car headlights left on after parking: This mostly occurs when we forget to switch off our car’s headlights once we park the car and leave. Automakers understand this issue and as a remedy, they have started installing alarms that set off once you open driver’s door while the car’s headlights are still on. It still needs driver’s attention, though.  2. Leaving electronic devices charging for long periods: This has to be among the biggest reasons behind the battery dying. You were waiting for your lady outside the parlour and had put your smartphone and a tablet on charge when your car was on battery mode but you forgot to take them out. These little gadgets can drink up your battery power if left unattended for long periods.  3. You left the music system on: This is one of the most usual mistakes we all would have made at some point in our lives. Turned the system on mute to talk to the fellow or just to ask someone for a way to a new food joint we were searching for and just left the system on with the key in the car, resulting in all that hard rock in mute killing the battery. 

Why Do You Need To Jump Start Car?

Your car battery serves a very important purpose to initiate the ignition process when you start your car. Here is the scientific and mechanical part! When you turn on the ignition, the starter motors get a heavy dose of electric current. This lets the motor to turn the car's flywheel and thus initiate the crankshaft rotations which leads to compression stroke and then the spark plugs (or glow plugs, depending on the type of fuel your car runs on) takes care of the rest. To explain in simpler terms, the battery is the power source of the car’s starter motor which requires a fairly high electric current to work. Now when your battery cannot provide the starter motor with enough electricity, it renders the starter motor incapable of starting the vehicle. It is in this situation one needs to jump start his car by providing the extra electric charge required by the starter motor. You can also try to push start your car, but for that, you might need lungs of an Everest climber with the strength of a weightlifter and an empty stretch, thus finding ways to jump start is always a better option.

How To Jump Start Car?

Always remember, finding a good Samaritan to help you jumpstart your car is far easier than to find jump cables in case of an emergency, so you should always keep jump cables in your car. You might end up needing them anytime, for you or for some damsel in distress in the middle of the road. Now, with the jump cables in hand and a fellow human ready to help, follow the below process carefully to jump start your car: 

1. You should ensure that both the cars are turned on before you start the procedure.
2. Then take the positive end of the red coloured jumper cable to the terminal which has “POS” or “+” written on the dead battery
3. After that, connect the other end of the red cable to the same terminal in the car with the good battery
4. Connect one negative end of the black cable, to the negative terminal of the good battery
5. Once you have completed point 4, follow this carefully! Connect the second end of the black cable to any metal surface under the hood of your car which is not painted
6. Then start the car with the good battery and keep it running for at least 2-3 minutes.
7. Now start the dead car and remove the cables carefully
8. Don't switch off the dead car yet and let it run for at least 30 minutes so that the battery recharges a bit.

Why You Do Need To Keep It Running After You Jump Start Car?

Once your car starts up after a jump start, the first thing you need to do is to thank the fabulous person who helped you out in your hour of distress. The next thing you need to do is to let your car running for a while. This will enable your car’s alternator to recharge your car’s own battery enough to have power for the next ignition. Give us a thumbs up if you loved the article and leave your feedback in the comments section below.

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