Know how to jumpstart your vehicle the right way

With many of us looking forward to the summer holidays, and possibly a long drive to our holiday destination, now is a good time to know how to deal with a flat car battery.

“While the jumpstarting procedure is relatively standard for all vehicles on the road today, boost starting can cause serious damage to the vehicle’s electrical system and computer,” explained Les Mc Master, chairman of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA).

“First consult the owner’s manual for any specific boost starting instructions, as well as to ensure that the different locations are identified for the jumpstart terminals in your car. In many modern cars these terminals are placed at strategic areas of the vehicle, due to the battery being fitted in awkward locations.”

Once the terminals are located and jumper cables are on hand, he advised lining up the car with the flat battery as close as possible to another vehicle with the booster battery.

“Next, make sure both cars’ handbrakes are up, that the gear selector is in neutral or park position, and that both cars are turned off and not touching each other, before you connect the cables,” said Mc Master.

“It’s important to remember that over 300 volts goes through your system when the two batteries are connected and the transients can destroy equipment.

“Make sure all headlights, indicators, car radios and air conditioners are off and that radar detectors and cellphones are unplugged.

“Also, unplug all accessories from cigarette lighters and other power sockets from both cars, and remove the keys from the flat car’s ignition until jumper cables are hooked up.”

Mc Master advises that you take some time to familiarise yourself with the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals of both car batteries, so you know exactly which one is which.

“All batteries are clearly marked, so if you can’t find it, it’s probably under caked-on corrosion around the terminals,” he said.

He suggested wiping off any battery acid that may have leaked.

However, he warned, if the battery is cracked and liquid is leaking out, you should not go any further.

“If you try to jumpstart the battery with a crack in it, it will explode.” he said.

“It also doesn’t make any sense to jump a cracked battery, as it will die in a few minutes anyway; bite the bullet and go buy another battery to replace the faulty one.”

Once the posts are cleaned you can connect the car battery jumper cables.

Usually the positive battery cable is red or orange, and the negative cable is black – but always check for yourself just to be sure.

Remember that the cables must be connected in the correct order for safety reasons; positive to positive and negative to negative.

“First connect one positive end of the jumper cable to the positive terminal of the dead battery,” Mc Master instructed.

“Then connect the other positive end of the jumper cable to the positive terminal of the good battery.

“Do the same with the negative cable.”

When the car batteries are hooked together, let them run for a minute or two before you try to start the dead vehicle.

Once the dead vehicle starts, remove the cables.

“After that is done, I’d recommend having the electrical system checked,” Mc Master said.