There is never a convenient time for your car battery to run flat, but it always seems to happen when you need to be somewhere in a hurry.
If you don’t have time to get hold of a battery charger and fully charge your car battery from the mains, then jump starting your vehicle is probably the quickest and most efficient way of getting yourself back on the road. All you will need is a set of jump leads and a friendly driver with a few minutes to spare and a fully charged battery.
Could you push the car to start it?
The alternative to jump starting the car is to give it a push start instead. This can work for petrol vehicles but shouldn’t be tried for vehicles which run on diesel. To push start the car, simply put it into second gear, push the clutch all the way down and turn the ignition to on. Get someone to push your vehicle, or let it roll if you are on a slope. As the car starts to roll, release the clutch and press down on the accelerator. The engine should engage and then you will be able to drive as normal. Just try not to stop for a while and whatever you do, don’t let the car stall! How to jump start the car You really don’t have to be an expert to successfully jump start your car. There are a few really simple steps you have to follow and a couple of important things to remember, but you will be back on the road in no time.
- Clip the positive jump lead (the red one) to the positive terminal on the battery which needs to be restarted.
- Connect the other end of the positive jump lead to the positive terminal on the car which will be providing the power.
- Connect one end of the negative jump lead (the black one) to the negative terminal of the car with a working battery.
- Find an uncovered patch of metal on the car which needs the boost. Shiny, exposed and unpainted metal will work best. Make sure that it is somewhere away from the battery or any moving parts. Clip the other end of the negative jump lead to this spot.
- Make sure that there is no one standing close by and that nobody is touching any of the cars or cables.
- Start the engine of the car with a working battery. It may take a few minutes to give the other car the top-up it needs to start itself.
- Turn off the engine and take off all of the cables in the reverse order of the way you connected them, starting with the negative cable and the end connected to the patch of shiny metal. Then disconnect the end connected to the working car’s negative battery terminal. Next remove the positive cable from the same battery and finally take off the positive lead from the positive terminal on the car which has just received the boost.
- Turn on the engine of the car which has been jump started. If the jump start has been successful then the ignition will catch and the engine will engage. Make sure that you drive around for 10-20 minutes after receiving the jump start so that the battery can be fully topped up by the engine.
