Once in a while a car breaks down. If you have not had the chance to get under your vehicle and see the workings there, you may be thinking why you need a jumpstart. The power and movement in a car is closely related to the engine of the vehicle responsible for the combustion system. But there are also other systems working on aiding the movement of a vehicle such as the electrical system. This system houses within it what most people refer to as the ‘heart of the car’- the battery. But what if you go without it? There are so many ways to jump start your car with a dead battery and in this article, we will dig into how to jump a car without another car.
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A battery goes off for many reasons. You may have left your lights on, draining the battery. A drained battery is what you will get if you have been using the components of your car too much. The components that use electricity are as such: the air conditioning, lights, stereo and the like. So what makes the battery so important? Engine in the vehicle requires cranking power in order to start the car. The power to be used also depends on the type of the car. Bigger cars usually use higher power in order to start which also need higher performing batteries. So with a dead battery, you would not get far, you may not be able to go anywhere at all. The battery will affect the vehicle and it will not start. This is the reason why jumping the car is needed. There are several ways to jump start your car.
One of the ways to start your car is to have someone help you. There may be times you will have trouble on the road. There aren’t so many grumpy drivers these days who would not want to lend a hand. Drivers most times exercise camaraderie towards one another. So you can find someone who will be willing enough to have you jump your car with their own vehicle, But there are also other ways to start your vehicle without the aid of other helpful drivers. You will never know when your battery will die and you are off the road with no other drivers around. Be ready for whatever happens on the road. Here is your walkway to battery knowledge, a crash course to jumpstarting your car with another car or without it.
Is there a way to jump start a car without another car?
Compared to busy streets and road jams where you see so many drivers yelling at one another, there is still so much camaraderie and amity between drivers everywhere. Though the heart of your vehicle, the battery, is designed to last for several years, there will always come the common exhausts of a car's system life. When the battery dies or your vehicle won’t start, the most common resort is to ask for others to help. And the help you will surely get. So many people are generous enough to let you connect your jumper cables to their own batteries. But the problem would be if you get off the road. With no other fellows in sight it is difficult if you do not have basic knowledge on how to start your car. So, yes! There is a way to start your car without another car. Good news, you do not have to get stuck in some place as long as you have the right tools and proper orientation on how to bring your vehicle back to life.
Speaking of jump starting your vehicle without another car, you will get pieces of information about that in the next section. You will also be able to understand how to do the jump in other ways.
How do you start a car with a dead battery?
There are several different ways to jump your car when the battery has died. The traditional thing to do is to have someone help you with the car. You can bring your vehicle to the professionals and have them take care of it. But of course you have to give off money for the repair. The good news is that there is a way for you to jump your car by yourself thus helping you save some bucks. You must have a basic fixing tool such as the jumper cables. This way of fixing the ‘can’t-start’ problem needs some helping hand from another driver’s car (or maybe you have another car of your own working well, that would do perfectly fine). Hooking the cables in the perfect place is also one thing you should keep in mind as it will affect the process of jumpstarting your vehicle. Another thing that should not slip your mind is that if you will use another car to help you with the jump, the voltage of the generous vehicle should be the same as the one that is having problems. The following are steps on how you can jump your car with a vehicle aid.
- Jumper Cables
Start safely. Jumper cables are very handy so if you are new in owning a vehicle, it is a must-buy. You will never dream of having your car have a dead battery in the middle of the road. The best place to put your jumper cables is the trunk compartment. Do not forget that both the vehicles should be placed in park or neutral and the ignition should be shut off.
- Attaching Cables. The jumper cables have clips into it. The red clips should go to the positive terminal. You will know if it is the positive terminal as it has a “POS” or a “+” sign indication in it. Another thing is that compared to the negative terminal, it is bigger in size. The other red clip should then be attached to the positive terminal of the vehicle you will be using to help you jumpstart. The same process should be undertaken with the black clips. One of the black clips should go to the negative terminal on the other battery. Your car has a metal surface near the battery that you must attach the last black clip into.
- Ready To Go
Once the attachment process is properly conducted you can begin the jump start of your car. Hold the hood open with metal struts. Perfectly connecting the cables in their proper order will help you do the fixing the right way. Run the engine on your car for a few minutes and then try to see if your vehicle will start. There would be cases when your car may not be able to start right away but no need to fret. Check your jumper cables once again and see if the clips are properly placed and connected. The vehicle aiding yours should have its engine run for exactly five minutes. Try starting your vehicle once more. If it still would not budge or start, this is a clear indication that your vehicle battery has much more depressing problems that you may detect right away.
And if in any case the process succeeds and your car finally starts, do not turn off the engine. This will not be good for your car. Instead, drive your vehicle around for 15 minutes at the least for the battery to recharge. There may be a situation when after you have felt you have solved the problem, after a few days your vehicle would not start again, this will signal you that the car’s battery needs replacing. Or you may want to finally consult a professional with it.
How do you jumpstart a car by yourself?
As the above sections have suggested, you can always ask for help from people around you. So many people are willing to help especially if you are by the side and your battery started messing things up. It may freak you out a bit but there is no crime in asking for help is there? But there are still those of us who want to be independent in taking care of whatever is the issue with their cars. Or you may be one who is happy to have someone help you but are in a situation and circumstance where there is no one to lend you a hand with your vehicle. As your handy mobile friend on the road, you need not worry. We got you. Here is a simple and comprehensive section that will talk about how you can jump your car battery without another vehicle.
In the above section you learned the common and traditional way to jump start your vehicle and that is to simply ask for help. But of course, there will also be times when the car you will be using to charge your own battery may not be compatible with your vehicle type. First and perhaps the simplest way to jumpstart your car without using another car is to go to the manual transmission. Push starting is practically simple and straightforward. It involves and requires the strength you can exert to push and pull the car to the point that it gets enough momentum to start.
Another option you can try to start your car without another car is to get a jump box. A jump box is also known as a jump start battery pack. Though it works more meticulously compared to the push starting method, it is also trustworthy and it serves its purpose well. Using a jump box has little to no chance of disappointment. It works just like connecting your car to another vehicle to charge the batteries but the difference is you will be placing the jumper cables into the jump box. Usually with this approach or process, your car will be able to start in a few minutes. One more good news is that the quality of these jump starting packs have improved as the years went by and your pocket will not cry with its price. Its price has gone down a bit over the past years. Prices vary, of course, but the ranges could go from $70-$200. Sure you will find one out there that will fit the specs of your vehicle and also fit your budget.
Starting your vehicle without another car has so many benefits. First off is the benefit of time. In the traditional way, you have to find a person who is willing to help. Oftentimes you may simply waste time because the person who may be able to help does not have a compatible vehicle with you. And at other times, the compatible vehicle’s driver may not even be happy enough to let you use his car. With that being said, starting your car without another car is both time saving and convenient. You will not have to inconvenience other people on the road. Also, keep in mind that the jumper cables should always be present in your car. You will never know when your battery goes off or gets drained. So better safe than sorry, bring your jumper cables with you. Place it on the compartment of your car, where you can easily access it in case of dead battery on the road.
Conclusion
A dead battery on the road is not something any driver would want. Luckily, there are many ways to get your car starting again. One of the aforementioned methods is to ask someone to help you. You can use other people’s vehicles to help charge yours enough for your car to start given that the car you will be getting the charge from is compatible with your own vehicle. The less fancy way to go for if you need your vehicle to start is the push starting method. Pretty simple, you just push the vehicle, and have someone start it. There is also another way which is quite beneficial which is to jump start your car battery without another car. Though each method is different from one another, you can always choose to use the one that is best for you and for your car.