No car battery will be dead by itself. It is because of your lack of maintenance, improper care, and many more. You cannot deny the importance of the car battery, and you also can not drive your car without it. So proper care of a car battery is a must thing.
A dead car battery can happen for any reason. But you can charge a car battery with jumper cables very easily. Jumper cable is a robust material that removes the drained battery power and makes it resurrect, just like before you leave your car from driving.
Methods in Charging the Battery with Jumper Cables
You can use various methods to charge a dead car battery. Sometimes it involves other cells, and sometimes it is charging a car battery without a charger.
Without another battery, there are few things you can use. However, using jumper cable is very easy, and you do not need to have any skills for it, although there are some rumors about it that your battery may explode or damage using jumper cables, which is wrong.
I would say it is the best way to charge your battery when you leave your car for a long time, and it’s freezing outside. It will also let you extend the use of the average car battery life.
Keep in mind that there is always some risk which you cannot ignore in car battery servicing.
Using damaged or leakage cable also in a wrong way could make a big accident like a short circuit or blast. This article will help you to know how you can recharge a dead battery using a jumper cable.
The Process on How to Charge a Car Battery with Jumper Cables
You will need two sets of jumper cables and a standard battery to charge your dead battery. The jumper cables transfer current from the normal to your dead car battery, and it gets charged by it into a functional battery.
You have to wait a minimum of 15 minutes (to 20 minutes) to get your car battery fully charged. Also, keep in mind that both cells should be similar voltage; otherwise, it may damage the electric components of your battery.
Preparation and Safety for Charging a Dead Battery
There are some ways to charge a dead car battery. One of them is in charge of jumper cables. Jumper cables are using for emergencies because it helps to start your car or charge your car battery quickly. First of all, you have to jumpstart your vehicle then charge your battery.
Before jumpstarting, wear proper safety gear and check all the physical appearance of your car and battery. Also, you need to know some basic things about battery like positive and negative battery terminals, and so on.
Things You Will Need
If you want to use jumper cables to charge the car battery ideally, you will need some of the items around you along with the safety equipment.
Here are these:
- Set of Jumper cables
- An extra vehicle or a portable jump battery
- Safety gears
Before Starting the Jump Starter
There are many questions we have found in different blog and forums like:
- Do jumper cables charge battery?
- Can you fully charge a car battery with jumper cables?
Jumper cables can charge a battery to a certain level and get things working, but loading it entirely like a new functional battery may not be secure. But with proper guidance and tips, you can get the maximum results. Here are a few things you need to do before starting the process.
Inspect the Battery’s Physical Appearance
Before charging your dead battery, check the physical appearance of your battery if it is free from cracks, acid leaks, or any type of damage. If you see any of this to your battery, do not jump start your battery; otherwise, you may face a severe accident. Do not forget to wear safety equipment.
Verify the (red and black) Cables
A leak and corroded cables can occur a big accident like a short circuit or more. Before connecting it to recharge the battery, clean the wires with stiff bristles but do not use any water or liquid on it. Also, remove the dirt.
Drive the Functioning Car Closer to the Dead Battery Car
Usually, the cable company does not make the jumper cable so long. You have to drive the functional car close to the dead battery car and make the position proper so that you can able to connect the cables to each of the battery.
The position should be nose to nose or close to one another, but keep in mind that those two cars should not touch one another. Also, the two cables should have the same length to connect the batteries properly.
Shut Down the Car Completely
Before connecting the battery, shut down the engine and all the devices to prevent any accident or electric shock. Also, do not touch the cells in an open hand, wear protective gloves if it needs to be moved.
The Proper Steps: How to Jumpstart a Car
Surely, you will get a drained battery when you go for an extended vacation without your car, or leave your headlights on. So you have to know how safely and properly jumpstart a vehicle because it’s effortless to work, and you do not need to hire any technician.
Step 1: Open Up the Hood
First of all, take the ignition keys for both cars. Then, open the hood and clean all the dirt from there. Check the battery position for both cars and find the red positive and negative terminal.
The positive red cables will be red and the negative are black. Different colors play a vital role in understanding connecting positive and negative battery terminals. Also, check carefully for the complex sections like car AC compressors, carburetors, and others while checking stuff.
Step 2: De-Tangling the Cable
Now take your jumper cable and hold red and black cable each hand. Detangle the wire so that you can connect them easily.
The jumper cables should be connected so that it won’t end to touch each other. Also, the donor battery should have enough voltage and matching voltage system.
Step 3: Connecting the Red Cables with Dead Battery
Take one side of the jumper cables, like the red cables, which are red positive. Now attach it to the positive side of the dead battery.
The need for a better cable is important in any kind of situation, whether you want to wake up the dead cells of double the winch battery power. You need a solid connection.
The cable has metal on its head, so when you connect it to the battery, the copper piece will touch the metal. You can wiggle it around a little to get a good connection.
It is safe to connect the red cables in a dead battery first because a dead battery cannot create any reaction.
Step 4: Connecting the Black Wire to the Dead Cell
After connecting the red cable, put the black wire near anywhere but avoid it to touching any bare metal. Connect the jumper cable to the donor battery like you did it before to the dead battery.
After that, take the black cable and attach it to the black negative side of the donor battery. Now your donor battery has both black and red lead.
Step 5: Grounding the Battery
Back to the dead battery, where you left the negative cables, do not attach clamp (car battery charge cable) to the negative terminal because it will cause a spark that may create fumes from the battery and explosion. A dead battery could produce hydrogen gas easily, which is explosive.
So before connecting it, find a grounding point. If your car does not have a ground spot, use a bare piece of metal for the ground, which won’t move or touching any electrical component. You can use the strut tower of your car to make it ground.
Step 6: Inspecting After Connection
Take the black cable and clamp it there. After connecting all the wires, inspect all of it if the cables are correctly connected. After that, check your car correctly; see if everything is alright.
Because after opening the parts, many things can go wrong. Now you are ready to jump the vehicle.
Step 7: Making the Sparks
Start the donor car battery and let it run for 5 minutes so that the dead battery could charge of its own. After 5 minutes passed, let the engine run and go to the dead battery.
Take off the black negative terminal first from the dead battery, because if you take off the positive terminal first.
This is attached to the dead battery; it will start sparking on the top of the battery, which is not good. Use positive jumper cable for the positive section.
But the black negative terminal is away from the battery, so if it’s sparking, it does not matter. Use cables to the negative to get the result.
Step 8: Finally Start the Car with the Dead Battery
When you take off the negative terminal, don’t let this touch anything. Remove the red cables and put those on the ground. Also, they should not touch with one another. Then go to the donor battery and take off both cables. If you see your car is started, your job is done.
But if you see your car battery is still dead, let the car sit for another 5 minutes or use another alternator to charge the battery. Then you can start the car with the dead battery. Even then, if your battery is still dead after tried all ways, you should replace it and brought a new one.
How to Charge a Car Battery Without Another Car
Till now you learned to charge a dead battery, you will need another car. But it is not the only way. What if you do not have an extra car?
Or your close ones are busy so you cannot call them for help? Do not get worried. You can use two different methods to recharge the battery, and you do not need a new car for it.
1. Use Jump Box for Charging
A jump box is a small battery tool. It is a genius booster that contains enough power to charge a car battery, and you can put it anywhere you want. You do not need another car or jumper if you have this.
It has built-in flashlight and strobe on one side, and the other side has USB ports so you can also charge your mobile or laptops. If you travel a lot, it will be an excellent tool for you.
The process of charging your dead battery with the jump box is almost the same as using a set of jumper cables and a new car.
It also comes with positive and black negative cables which you have to attach to your dead battery. Now come to the jump box. Before pushing the start button, check the small round light near it.
Some of the powerful batteries like the stand-alone battery for winch or trailer will have proper cca power, others will lack it, so remember it before trying.
It lights up, which means you set the cables wrong. It is a great option to prevent any accidents.
After pushing the start button, wait 30 seconds, then turn the key. If you see the dash lights are coming, your car is all set.
2. Push Start From Behind
It is an old method, and you will need a helping hand to push the car from behind. Keep in mind that you have to set your ignition key a minimum on because while accelerating, it won’t be good if the engine starts ultimately.
Before pushing the car, release the brake and clutch as well. This little movement helps to start the engine, and your battery will be recharged.
How to Charge a Car Battery at Home
If you want to charge your car battery at home, you can do it using two different methods: a car battery charger or home inverter.
If you want to use the car battery charger, just remove the battery from your car and connect the negative terminal to the recharger’s negative port and the positive wire to the positive port.
After that, connect the charger to a power outlet. It may take a couple of hours to charge your battery fully.
Using home inverter is also a simple method, but try to skip it if you have another option. The connection setting process is the same as a car charger.
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