The process of using a charged battery from a functional vehicle to start a vehicle, usually one with a battery too drained to turn the engine.
Questions tagged [jump-start]
134 questions
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Jump starting a dead battery: Connect black wire to negative pole of battery or grounded metal?
Most of the advice I've seen for jump starting cars instructs to connect the black wire to a bare piece of metal on the car with the dead battery. However, I've always just hooked up both poles to the corresponding poles on the other car's battery.…
JohnFx
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Why do cars die after removing jumper cables?
I work at an auction site where we have to move cars from one spot to another. Often, we get a car with a dead battery that we have to jump.
I've noticed that if the jumper cables are removed a second or two after the car has started, it dies. To…
method
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Can I jumpstart a non-hybrid car from a hybrid or full electric car?
This morning I had starter battery troubles with my 2001 VW Eurovan. As it happened, my father-in-law arrived just at the right time in his fancy new Toyota Camry hybrid. So we opened the hoods, dug out the jumpstart cables and then got…
Digital Trauma
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Why is gas around a car battery only at risk of ignition from jumper cables?
As pointed out in Jump starting a dead battery: Connect black wire to negative pole of battery or grounded metal?, you connect the black jumper cable to the dead car's chassis to avoid sparks made during the connection near the battery, which could…
Bas
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Is it possible to harm your car by giving someone a boost?
This post explains why it's a potential hazard to clip to the negative post on the dead battery when giving a boost. But I've also been told that I could damage the electronics in my own car if I give someone a boost or do it "wrong".
Is this…
Gregory Bell
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How do I determine what type of jumper cable I should carry?
I recently bought a used car, and it didn't come with any jumper cables, so I'm going to buy some. I briefly looked around at a store and online, and there seems to be a wide variety of prices and specifications. These are the particular specs I've…
nhinkle
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Using a car with an inaccessible negative battery terminal to jump start
When trying to jump start my Volvo XC-60, I came across a very unexpected problem.
I tried to use our 2nd vehicle, a 2010 Ford Escape, as the assisting car to jump start mine. But when I looked at the engine compartment of the Escape, I found that…
psubsee2003
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Can a lithium-ion battery really start a truck?
There are some compact lithium-ion powered devices on the market that claim that they can start cars and trucks. Youtube is full of videos with reviews and people actually starting cars with them. And thousands of positive reviews on Amazon...…
Alex
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Can I jump start one car with two other cars in parallel?
If I'm in a pinch, and I have a small car that can't put out enough cranking amps to start a bigger one, could I connect two cars in parallel to start the bigger one?
Will it mess up the alternators or something?
Jason C
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Why should I connect the red/positive terminal first when jump starting?
So, it's fairly popular consensus online that it's red/positive clips to the positive/red posts, then the black/negative clip to the frame
One site mentions sparks, but you'll still get a spark when connecting black to frame. If positive is the…
QueueHammer
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What are the risks of jump-starting a modern car?
I'm aware of the general risks, i.e. igniting hydrogen gas with a spark, and accidentally hooking up the leads backwards. But I have been reading conflicting information about whether one should even try to jump-start a modern vehicle.
One…
Michael
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Can one slightly charge a dead car battery with a portable battery jump kit?
The other week, my friend was trying to jump start a friend's very dead car battery with one of the portable power bank car jump starter kits. It looked something like the below:
Image source
If I were to have been jumping the dead car with…
Intrastellar Explorer
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Jump-starting a car: connecting black to the engine block
I recently found out that when jumping a car, you should not connect the black connector to the recipient vehicle's battery, but rather to a grounded point on the car. The expressed purpose is to avoid a spark near the battery, which may…
Cort Ammon
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No electrical to the dashboard after attempting jumpstart with Schumacher charger
Tried to jumpstart my car. It didn't start. Now afterward the car is in worse shape, there are no lights in the dash anymore when I turn the key, regardless of attempt to jumpstart. Hazard lights still work. No other electrical seems to be…
rogerdpack
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What is the safest way to jumpstart a car surrounded by snow, ice and water? Can I get electrocuted?
All of the water and snow in the coming days can make jumpstarting a car pretty unnerving. With all the electricity in car batteries and jumper cables laying in snow and water, what are the concerns?
Should I be concerned standing in slushy ice and…
DucatiKiller
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