Here’s the knack to jump starting your car’s battery

Antwis Engineering’s guide to giving your car battery a kick-start

At Antwis Engineering, we want to help our customers maintain their vehicle so they can avoid spending too much on car repairs. If your car battery goes dead unexpectedly, here’s a little guide to getting it kick-started again so you can be on your way. If you need a battery replacing, just pop by our garage in Sevenoaks and we’ll fit it for you.

Whether you’ve heard about it or tried to do it yourself, we are all aware of a process called jump starting a car battery. It is done by charging a dead car battery with a working car battery, sounds simple, doesn’t it? Well, once you understand how to do it is. The process charges the dead car battery to a sufficient enough amount to get its engine running. Once the dead car is running it should be able to charge itself. If you know how to do it properly it can be a handy trick to save you from calling out a mechanic if your car won’t start. But the question is what is the knack to jump starting a car battery?

To prepare for the process you should find out where the battery is placed in each car – if unsure you can refer to your user guide. After this you should ensure that the cars are parked closely together and make sure they’re not touching – they should be parked somewhere like a front garden so they’re not in the way of other drivers. Both cars should have their parking engines engaged and should be placed in either neutral (manual) or park (automatic). Another thing to be aware of is making sure that all electricals in the car are switched off e.g. the sound system, the heating, the windscreen wipers etc.

Here is the exact sequence to follow when jump starting your car:

1) Red lead to the positive terminal of the dead car’s battery

2) Red lead to the positive terminal of the working car’s battery

3) Black lead to the negative terminal of the working car’s battery

4) Black lead to a piece of bare metal on the dead car’s chassis or engine (away from the battery and fuel system if possible)

Next, you need to start the working car’s engine and run it for at least three minutes to charge the ‘dead’ car battery enough so it can turn it’s engine over. When you start the ‘dead’ car you need to continue running both engines for another 10 minutes – this should be done at around 1200rpm. After this, you can switch off the working car’s engine and follow the disconnecting sequence below.

1) Remove the black lead from the dead car

2) Remove the black lead from the working car

3) Remove the red lead from the working car

4) Remove the red lead from the dead car

Once the process is complete you should drive the ‘dead’ car for at least 20 minutes – this will enable the car battery to charge itself. If it doesn’t work you should seek professional guidance from a mechanic or garage.

For extra safety, you can do the following things before hand to minimise your risk of danger. Only use jump leads and make sure they’re in good condition and never jump start a damaged or leaking battery. Make sure both cars have the same voltage (usually 12-volt). Another thing to be wary of is the clothing you’re wearing – make sure you’re not wearing loose clothing that can get stuck in the engine or metal items that could touch a battery post.

If you need any advice and guidance on your car battery and getting it replaced, contact us at Antwis Engineering and we’ll help get you back on the road. Book online for a battery replacement or just pop by our garage in Sevenoaks and we’ll fit it for you.