How to start the car with jumper cables? Photoguide
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The problem with starting the car on a frosty morning is the scourge of many drivers. However, it is enough to connect the discharged battery to the battery of another car using the connecting wires.
If in the autumn we took the car for a thorough inspection, eliminated the problems found and, above all, checked the condition of the battery, we do not have to worry about a cold morning. A well-maintained car that drives for weeks and does not park on the street will start even in severe frost.
See also: Preparing a car for winter: what to check, what to replace (PHOTO)
– If the battery is regularly discharged within a short period of time, for example, after five or six days of parking the car on the street, it does not maintain voltage, it must be checked, advises Jacek Bagiński, Service Manager Mazda Auto Księżyno in Białystok. . “There must be something wrong with this. Either the battery is already useless, or the receiver consumes electricity when the car is idling.
See photo: How to start a car with jumper cables? Photos
What connecting cables to buy?
These jumper cables are often a godsend if the car refuses to obey in the winter. Thanks to them, we can borrow electricity - we will transfer it from a good battery to a discharged battery. It is worth having them in the trunk, because even if we do not need them, we can help our neighbor.
Even connecting cables bought in hypermarkets are not bad. There we will find a large selection in the autumn-winter season. First of all, they are cheap. However, for one reason, we recommend that you buy these products from auto shops. Even if they cost 20 or 30 zł more there, the sellers will advise what is best for our car. Prices range from 30 to 120 zł. Of course, cables for trucks are different from cables for cars.
Click here to learn how to start your car with jumper cables
It is important what section the copper wire has under the rubber sheath. The thicker it is, the better. It can withstand higher current. A thinner one will conduct electricity worse, and at the same time it can be damaged, because the cables get very hot during operation. The average driver should be satisfied with a length of 2,5 meters. Remember - for diesel we buy thicker connecting cables.
See also: Car battery - how to buy and when? Guide
The buyer should pay attention to the parameters of the connecting cables, such as the maximum current carrying capacity. Recommended for cables intended for passenger cars, 400 A. Optimal - 600 A. If we buy products of unknown brands, it is always better to choose those with the best parameters, with a margin. Just in case.
You also need to make sure that the frogs (crocodile clips) attached to the battery are secure. The conductivity of electricity depends on their quality. They must also be properly connected to the cable.
The battery is dead, the car does not start - we call a taxi
When the car won't start and there isn't a neighbor with a working battery nearby who can help, we can call a taxi. Most corporations offer the service of starting a car with jumper cables.
“It costs PLN 20 for us,” says Jozef Doylidko, President of MPT Super Taxi 919 in Bialystok. – Usually, the waiting time for a taxi to arrive is 5-10 minutes, since not all drivers have connecting cables.
See photo: How to start a car with jumper cables? Photos
How to start a car with jumper cables step by step
If the machine that provides electricity, for example, with a gasoline engine and a 55 Ah battery, it is better to consider whether to connect it to a 95 Ah diesel battery. Discharging a working battery is easy. The power differences should not be large.
We put the cars close to each other so that the cables stretch from one to the other. In the one from which we will take electricity, turn off the engine. Let it light up only after the wires are properly connected in both machines. Let it work. When starting a car that is not running, it is worth keeping the engine speed in working condition at about 1500 rpm. Thanks to this, the alternator will charge the battery of a healthy vehicle, and we will avoid the risk that its battery will also be discharged.
See also: How to start a car in cold weather? Guide
It is also good to check the cleanliness of the battery terminals. Dirt will block the flow of current through the connecting cables. In the car receiving assistance, make sure that all consumers of electricity, especially headlights, which consume a lot of electricity, are turned off.
Download cables - how to connect? Pros first, then cons
Make sure you connect the cables in the correct order and carefully. After opening the hoods of both vehicles, first connect the positive cable (red) to the battery terminal marked with a plus in the working vehicle. Be careful that the other end of the cable does not touch any metal part, otherwise a short circuit will occur. We connect it to the positive pole of the discharged battery.
Then the end of the negative cable (black) is clamped onto the negative terminal of a healthy battery. The other end must be connected to the so-called mass. So we attach it to some kind of metal element under the hood of a broken car. This may be the edge of the sheet in the engine compartment or cylinder head. Do not hook the cross to the body, as we can damage the paintwork.
See photo: How to start a car with jumper cables? Photos
Note: After connecting the cables to the feeder, it is unacceptable to check for the presence of a spark by touching plus and minus. Some drivers do this. However, in this case, there is a risk of a short circuit and damage to one of the electronic systems of the car.
Beat in the cold, never too much caution
On the advice of Piotr Nalevaiko, manager of the Konrys service station in Bialystok, it is better not to connect the two negative terminals of the batteries directly. The resulting sparks can ignite and explode the gases given off by the batteries. Also make sure that there are no metal parts between the cars that could cause accidental contact. The cause of serious malfunctions will also be a confusion of pros and cons.
See also: defroster or ice scraper? Methods for cleaning windows from snow
After connecting the wires, try to start the faulty car. We turn on the starter up to 10 seconds. We do this every few minutes. After the fifth or sixth unsuccessful attempt to start the engine, you can give up and call a tow truck.
Click here to learn how to start your car with jumper cables
Remember that the connecting cables are disconnected in exactly the opposite way than we connected them..
Pleased: If the failed battery is deeply discharged, the donor motor should run for a few minutes after the wires are connected. This will wake up the dead battery.
Often, after a successful emergency start, the battery will still need to be recharged with a battery charger. When driving around the city, for short distances, the generator will definitely not do it optimally. Unless the car immediately overcomes a distance of several hundred kilometers. And this does not always guarantee success.
Petr Valchak
