6 Tips for Jump Starting a Car

You must have at some time or the other experienced your car not staring because its battery has run its course and is not effective enough to start up the engine. At such times you will need to crank up the engine to give the car what is termed a 'jump start'. This is one way that ensures that the car battery gets the right amount of current to start the vehicle. Jump-starting, it must be noted, is fraught with some dangers because the battery contains both acid and hydrogen gas. Some vehicle owners are pretty casual about it and go about the job in a rather dangerous fashion. Here are 6 tips that will tell you how to do it without hazard and how to protect both yourself and the car.

1. 'Line them up"

You will need to 'line up' two cars for this. You will have to align them so that the batteries of both are in close proximity to each other, but without touching each other. Place the two cars in 'Park' mode and then keep them turned off. Be careful as current can go through the hull and this can be harmful and dangerous.

2. Acquaint yourself with the signs

All car batteries have both a negative and positive post. It is important to do the cable connections correctly. So first proceed to acquaint yourself with the positive and negative posts of both car batteries.

3. Understand the connections

Usually jumper cables come in two colors: red and black. The colors are indicative for making the connections to the right posts. First connect the red cable to the positive post on both the dead and charged battery. Then make the black cable connection to the negative post of the live or charged battery. You will then need to clamp down the other end of the black cable to the hull of the dead battery car.

4. Clearing the cable path: The fourth tip

Ensure that the clamps at each cable's end are not in contact with each other and that the cables are away from any moving parts of the car. There is always the danger of something getting entangled in the fan and this will cause the clamps to rip off the posts.

5. Tackle the Good battery first: The fifth tip