The rumours circulating on social media claimed that jump-starting certain Proton models would cause irreparable damage to the transmission control unit.
Proton urged its customers to refer to the owner's manual if in doubt.
"We wish to provide a more accurate guide on this subject and assure Proton owners that it is safe to use jumper cables to start the engine as long as proper steps are followed, as stated in the Proton car owner's manual," Proton said in a statement.
However, it said that Proton cars, like those of other OEMs, have been equipped with electronic systems which are sensitive to power surge and proper steps must be followed in jump-starting.
The right procedure to jump-start any car would be to connect the (+) battery from the assisting car to the (+) terminal of the battery of the affected car. However, the (-) terminal from the assisting car must be connected to the body of the affected car, NOT to its (-) terminal.
Other points Proton highlighted are:
> Vehicles should be close enough so that the jumper cables can be connected, but be sure that the vehicles aren't touching each other. If they are, it could cause an undesirable ground connection. It will not be possible to start the vehicle, and the bad grounding could damage the electrical systems (Transmission Control Unit, TCU).
> The assisting vehicle must have a 12-volt battery and the capacity (Ah) of the booster battery should not be significantly lower than that of the discharged battery. This is to avoid circuit-shorting and thus damage to both vehicles.
> Only use jumper cables with insulated battery clamps.
> Vehicle must be positioned in “P” (PARK) for automatic transmission and “N” (NEUTRAL) for manual transmission.
> Turn off the ignition on both vehicles beforehand.
> When connecting the booster cable, do not connect the positive (+) cable to the negative (-) terminal or it can cause sparks and battery could explode.
> The negative jumper cable (black) must never be clamped to fuel lines with metal sheath or to the fuel filter or brake lines as this could cause a fire.
> Start the engine in the vehicle, which has the booster battery, let the engine idle for a few minutes and then start the engine in the vehicle with the discharged battery.
> After the engine is started, disconnect the cables in reverse order.
