Steps to Jump Starting a Car
Owning a car involves more than just making sure the fuel tank is full, that there is windshield wiper fluid in the car and that the tire pressure is not below the stated number in the owner's manual. Everyone that owns a car should know how to change a tire, change the oil and should know how to jump start the battery in their car in case the car stalls while on the road. Jump starting a car is not as easy as it sounds and there are a handful of steps that need to be followed for the jump start to be completed successfully and safely.
The first step in jump starting a car is to park the jumper car in close proximity to the stalled vehicle. Usually most jumper cars are placed only five feet or so from the stalled car with their fronts facing each other. Just make sure that the two cars do not touch in any way. Make sure you use clean jumper cables and never let them dangle into the engine compartment where they can get caught on belts or the fan. Once the jumper cables have been readied for the project, make sure the ignition is off in both cars and set the parking brake of each car. Make sure either car is in neutral or park. Turn off all lights and radios but put the hazards on if you are on the side of a road.
Now you can begin the jumping process. Place one of the positive jumper cables onto the positive terminal of the battery of the stalled vehicle. Then connect the other positive end of the cable to the positive end of the battery terminal in the jumper car. Now attach the negative end of the cable to the negative end of the battery terminal on the jumper car. Attach the other negative end of the cable to an unpainted metal surface on the engine of the stalled car. By doing this, the vehicle is now further grounded.
Before performing the jump start, make one final check to make sure that the jumper cables are securely attached to the vehicle and are not near any moving parts on the engine. Now you can start the jumper car and let it idle for a handful of minutes. Once the idling has been done for around five minutes you can now start the stalled car. Once the stalled vehicle is started, make sure that both vehicles stay on and have them idle for another five minutes or so. If the stalled vehicle won't start, do not keep trying. This will lead to damage of the starter on the stalled vehicle.
Once you are able to start the stalled car you can disconnect the starter cables. Take them off in the reverse order of how you put them on. Also, do not let them touch each other or anything under the hood. To be sure that the stalled vehicle will not stall again, take it to an auto body shop for a complete battery charge and quick once over.
