How to use jumper cables to revive your battery

By dpa | 20 November 2017


STUTTGART: Anyone with battery trouble who is running late for work will be eternally grateful to another driver for a battery jump-start.

Jump-start kits usually consist of two jumper cables: a red cable for the positive battery terminal, and a black one for the negative terminal or ground. The cables will almost always have alligator clips at both ends.

As the Auto Club Europa (ACE), a major German automobile club, points out, it's important to make sure that the cables are thick enough. Depending on the engine displacement, small cables can easily overheat.

The automobile club also advises against using jumper cables that connect via the car's cigarette lighter socket, since these are much too small and can quickly catch fire.

When jump-starting a battery when help from another car, the two vehicles should ideally be close together and facing each other, but not touching. First, clip the red cable onto the positive terminal of the drained battery, then connect the other end of the red cable to the positive pole of the donor battery.

Next, clip the black cable onto the negative terminal of the donor battery. In the receiver car, connect the black cable clip to a grounded point, which could be an unpainted metal part of the engine or a designated contact point on the engine block.

Whatever you do, don't attach the black cable to the negative terminal of the receiver car battery. This could cause sparks to fly and ignite the exhaust once the car starts, warns the ACE.

Once all the cables are in place, start the donor car engine and leave it running for five to 10 minutes. Then, try to start the receiving vehicle.

If the engine starts, the heating and other major electricity consumers in the car should be turned on, as this will serve as a buffer against voltage surges that can damage the car's electronics. The final step is to remove the cables in the reverse order that they were connected.

In some vehicles, the battery is not found in the engine compartment. Even so, with the help of so-called jump-start support points, other cars can still help a drained battery start up again. These support points are often thin plates in the engine compartment, where jumper cables can be clipped on, explains the ACE.

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