HOW TO JUMP START YOUR CAR
--Applied wisdom from the
past needed by the generation of 2001 as they travel the super information
highway.
The idea for writing this do
it yourself manual was germinated when my friend Steve cut our phone
conversation short with the explanation that he had to go and jump off his
wife's car.
For several minutes after
hanging up the phone I pondered those words..."jump off my wife's
car." I knew that Steve was young,
in fact young enough to be my grandson and I realized how important it might be
in the 21st century to make such matters absolutely clear. Although I knew he
was young and agile I realized that he could be injured if he wasn't careful
when jumping off his wife's car. In
fact there is danger when jumping off anyone's car.
Perhaps many are confused
with the term as I assumed our friend Steve might be. You see, confusion can exist with a literal interpretation of the
term "Jump off your car." To
some, this means climbing up on top of a NORMAL car (not a convertible model)
and then jumping from the car to the ground.
Truly this would be jumping off your car just as the words imply.
To help those who interpret
the phrase in that manner we have prepared a separate manual on the proper
technique for doing this with the necessary do's and don't including a complete
analysis of the various surfaces one might jump onto, such as asphalt,
concrete, or just ordinary soil. For
those who wish to pursue this kind of a jump, please see "How to Jump Off
a Car" Version 2.
But this version covers a
completely different subject....jumping off your car battery. Keep in mind that this in no way explains a
correct technique for raising the hood, standing on the battery and jumping to
the ground from there.
No, this has to do with the
ELECTRICAL aspects of jumping, particularly when the battery is down, not when
you are down on the ground following a jump.
First make sure your battery
is down. There are several ways to
determine this. One way is to turn on
your car lights and see how bright they are.
If they are not very bright this is a real good clue that you have a
problem. If your battery was already
weak, turning on the lights can finish it off.
Now if you are in the
parking lot at Walmart and you left your lights on for two hours while
shopping, the chances are real good your car won't start when you are ready to
leave. If you're not real sure why your
car won't start we suggest you look at the light switch. If your light switch
is in the on mode and your lights are in off mode, this will clearly pin point
the problem. Perhaps the best way to
avoid this problem is to listen to the public address announcements in the
store for those who have left their lights on.
If you don't hear your name, then you probably didn't do it for most
people are courteous in this way.
Keep in mind that if the
starter just clicks or grinds or moans or sputters, or says nothing, it is a
clear indication that the battery is not strong enough to turn the starter
motor fast enough for the car to start.
Actually, this is better than the light test and is indeed more
accurate.
Now you have to jump start
your car. Sometimes you are better off
if this does happen in the Walmart parking lot. Suppose you don't have booster cables. Why, you can simply go
inside a buy a pair. But, before going
to all that expense you may want to see if you can borrow a set from someone
else in the parking lot. Just be careful
how you ask. Don't say, "Hey
you! How about jumping off my
car?" This can cause a gross
misunderstanding. Please re-read the
first two paragraphs.
Perhaps it would be better
to say "jump off the battery" but again this may cause confusion and
can even be dangerous. You see, some
have tried jumping off the battery and gotten battery acid on their
clothes. This frequently makes rags out
of perfectly good clothes. If you have
teens in your family and they enjoy wearing such clothing, remember it's better
to buy clothes with holes already manufactured in them as opposed to making
them yourself with battery acid.
If unsuccessful in borrowing
a set of booster cables you will have to buy a pair. (We are using the words
set and pair as if synonymous.) If you are home when all this happens you may
have to use your bike or skates to go to Walmart. We have already written information on the best way to skate
under load.
When buying booster cables,
keep in mind that there are several lengths to choose from. If you buy a real short pair they may not
reach from one car to another. But, of course the short ones are cheaper even
if they are useless.
The long cables are much
more useful, but, make sure the wire is about as big around as your thumb. If the wire is too small, the IR drop will be too much and the applied
voltage at the dead battery end will be insufficient. IR DROP refers to the current in amperes multiplied times the
resistance of the wire in ohms. For
technical assistance call 1-666-IRDROP.
And by all means, watch for
the quality of the alligator clamps (so named because when open they resemble
an alligators mouth in open mode).
READY? OK!
Two cars are involved....the jump-ER
and the jump-EE. Your car is the
jump-EE. You will notice that the
batteries have a large terminal and a small terminal. The large terminal has a + sign next to it while the smaller one
has a - sign next to it. These signs
will be familiar to you as you may remember having seen these in school. And your booster cables have two alligator
clips at each end. One is typically red
and the other black. Now connect the
cables to the jump-EE car first.
Connect the red alligator
clip to the Large Terminal (+) sign and the black alligator clip to the smaller
terminal (-) sign. That's all at the
jump-EE end.
Next, make sure the car
designated as the jump-ER is already running.
Connect the red alligator clip to the large terminal (+) and the black
one (-) to the smaller one. Once that
last clip is connected you may see a small spark. This is OK. But if you
see a bolt of lightening...then you may have connected the cables backwards or
maybe it's about to rain, and you had better hurry.
After connecting, it's a
good idea to just let the jump-ER charge the jump-EE for a few minutes. Now get inside and try to start your car. If
it does start, remember not to turn the engine back off. Proceed to remove the
cables from both cars.....lower your hood, thank the other party and get back
in out of the rain or lightening or whatever may have happened.
You may now proceed to tell
your friends that you have successfully "jumped off your car." Let us close with this suggestion. Never be without cables in the trunk of your
car. But if you forget and leave them
in your garage, it will be OK provided you turn your lights off when you go to
Walmart.
- Bic Parker -