Safe ways to jump-start your car

Research shows that batteries last for just three to five years on average. Once your vehicle’s battery has reached this mark, it may fail to hold a charge, in which case you will not be able to start it. You can, however, jump-start your vehicle by connecting the dead battery to a good battery of another vehicle.

Frank Kamulegeya, a mechanic, says jump starting a vehicle is a temporary solution. When a car battery is depleted, he says, it lacks the necessary electrical energy to turn the engine over and initiate the ignition process required for starting. Therefore, a car owner should have the vehicle’s battery and charging system inspected by a professional to know the cause of the battery draining.

Kamulegeya further explains that whereas there are many likely causes of battery drainage such as extreme temperatures, electrical issues, lose or corroded batteries, the most common cause of a car needing a jump start is a dead or weak battery.

“If one has a weak or dead battery, they will need a jump start at the slightest incident. For instance, if a driver leaves their car lights or radio on, this can drain a car’s battery and eventually lead to a jump start,” Kamulegeya says.

Process

Ronald Kibuuka, a mechanic at Kimuuna Technical Services in Ttula, Kampala, says jump starting may seem easy but it is a process. For example, for one to jump start a car, they must have jumper cables, which are essential in connecting the dead battery to a fully charged battery. Kibuuka adds that once there is a driver willing to help, get the cars as close together as possible but do not allow them to touch one another.

Junior Lemba, a professional driver and car expert, says the cars used must have batteries whose power or energy is the same or stronger.

“For instance, a BMW X5 has a strong battery which can be jump started with for instance another BMW or a ‘drone’ car battery,” he says.

Terminals

Kamulegeya says the next step is to identify positive and negative terminals and then connect the jumper cables. The positive terminal is usually marked with red and the negative black. Take one end of the positive (red) jumper cable and attach it to the positive terminal of the dead battery and connect the other end of the red cable to the positive terminal of the charged battery. As it is a step-by-step process, one should connect the cables correctly, especially the negative (black) cable.

“While connecting the negative jumper cables, attach one end to the negative terminal of the charged battery and instead of connecting the other end of the black cable to the negative terminal of the dead battery, find an unpainted metal surface on the engine block of the car with the dead battery as this works as a ground connection,” he explains.

Kamulegeya says starting the vehicle with the fully charged battery and letting it run for a few minutes allows the dead battery to receive some charge.

“Attempt to start the car with a dead battery. If it does not start, check the cable connections to ensure they are secure and then wait a few more minutes before starting the vehicle again,” he advises.

Final step

Kamulegeya defines the final step as a reverse order step of removing cables. Here, once the dead car starts, both vehicles are left to run for a few minutes. And cables are removed starting with the black cable from the engine block, then the black cable from the charged battery, followed by the red cable from the charged battery, and finally the red cable from the previously dead battery.

He says the driver whose battery was previously dead should let the engine run for at least 15 minutes to allow the car battery recharge.  He estimates the time it takes to jump start a car to be between 10 to 15 minutes. However he says, “Having professional assistance will reduce this time to less than 10 minutes.”

Eye protection

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), eye injuries account for nearly three in four battery-related injuries. Automotive batteries can discharge their electricity, or they can completely explode, either of which can result in severe eye injury. Wearing eye protection, however, lowers the risk of eye injury should a catastrophic battery failure occur when jump-starting your vehicle.

Takeaway

Restart the engine on the casualty vehicle.

The battery will need to recharge fully for it to be fully serviceable, which is best achieved using a quality battery charger for several hours.

In the meantime, if possible, drive the vehicle normally (not in heavy traffic) for around 30 minutes to try to put some charge back into the battery.

Note: According to safetycompany.com, it is always a good idea to remove any jewelry, especially jewelry on your wrists, hands and fingers, before jump-starting a vehicle. Why is this necessary? Well, jewelry is often made of conductive metals. If it is near the battery terminal, it may pull a charge, resulting in shock. By removing your jewelry, you will not be taking this risk.