If you're wondering, “how to jump-start an electric car?” Here's all you need to do:
⚠️ If It's Broken, Don't Fix It - Get Paid Cash for Your Vehicle ⚠️
-
Park the vehicles properly
-
Activate the brake system
-
Turn everything off
-
Get the positive cables connected
-
Get the negative cables connected
-
Perform a quick safety check
-
Provide electric power from the source vehicle
-
Turn on your electric vehicle
Electric cars are amazing innovative vehicles that do not only save you a lot of money but also prevent harmful gases from reaching the environment and impacting the atmosphere. Although most drivers are typically aware of their vehicle driving range, there might be an emergency where your vehicle’s 12-Volt supporting battery might run out of charge.
The good news is that even these batteries can be jump start using the typical jump-start cables. Learning how to jump-start an elected car is a great skill, especially if you are a new electric vehicle driver and not used to the range concept.
This article provides you with a step-by-step procedure on “how to jump-start an electric car?” It also highlights the main reasons and factors that could lead to a discharge electric vehicle battery.
What is electric car battery dies?
Before we dive into the details on how to jump-start and look for a car, let's step back and make sure that we are on the same page regarding what happens when an electric car battery die.
Since electric cars are 100% relying on the electric source as the main power source, an electric vehicle can't move when it runs out of charge. Thus, it can be a very stressful situation to deal with a completely depleted battery. That's why you'll find it extremely rare to have a driver who runs out of battery but, it is not impossible.
How can the electric car battery die?
Although most electric cars drivers typically check for the battery charge, it's not rare to deal with the situation where a driver got his talk without any juice in his vehicle’s battery. Here are some of the situations that could cause this stressful situation:
-
Traffic
Driving in a crowded city, especially during peak hours, can be a major factor in electric cars running out of battery. Although you plan your trip and know that your vehicle can make it to a certain distant spot, you get surprised with the traffic ahead because of unexpected issues.
Therefore, you'll notice that the battery will not even make it to the destination because it tends to deplete faster when you're in a traffic jam. Also, things get more challenging if you have different electric systems turned on like the infotainment system, the radio, the AC, etc.
-
Extreme weather conditions
If you don't already know, weather and temperatures specifically can't impact the battery life. Therefore, when driving during very hot weather or even very cold weather, you'll notice that the battery will not hold a charge the way it used to. Thus, many drivers might get stuck without and charging their batteries.
-
Issues with the driving style
If it's your first time driving an electric vehicle, you notice that your driving side can impact battery life. For example, if you provide a lot of input, including breaking and acceleration frequently, the battery can get affected, and it will not hold the charge as it used to before. But, first, dealing with a completely died better it wouldn't be surprising for such situations.
How do you jump an electric car?
Dealing with a dead battery in an electric vehicle is a very stressful situation. However, the good news is that you can still perform a jump start using another vehicle to get your electric car moving again.
Keep in mind that it must be equipped with a 12 Volt battery along with a negative ground system when you choose the other vehicle. So with that, electric vehicles are not recommended to be chosen as the source of power, and you should choose a vehicle powered by gasoline.
Of course, you may want to refer to your vehicle's owner’s manual for more detailed instructions about your specific electric car. However, these recommendations are just general, and you might find something specific you have to pay attention to before the jump start. Sometimes performing the wrong job starts might lead to further damages that could cost you thousands of dollars down the road.
Keep in mind that the purpose of this jump-start is to start the 12 Volt battery that supports the high voltage battery in your electric vehicle. This battery is responsible for providing the necessary power to the accessories like the lights and any other operations.
Let's take a closer look at the step by step procedure on how to jump-start an electric vehicle:
-
Park the vehicles properly
Choose the right location and make sure that your electric vehicle and the other car are placed next to each other without touching.
-
Activate the brake system
Once the two vehicles are next to each other, the next step is to activate the brake system by shifting into the park.
-
Turn everything off
Before performing the jump start, you want to make sure that none of the electric components are used because they will continuously use the charge and prevent jump starting vehicles. So first, once your vehicle is shifted to park, the next step would be to turn off all these components.
-
Get the positive cables connected
Using the positive jump cable connected to your positive terminal in your battery. You might need to refer to your vehicle's owner’s manual to distinguish between the two terminals. Sometimes they might come in two different colors, and sometimes, they might just be marked with either a “+” sign indicating a positive terminal or a “-“ sign indicating a negative terminal.
-
Get the negative cables connected
After connecting the positive cables, repeat the previous step to connect the negative cables this time. Ensure that the negative jumper is connected to the negative ground of your depleted battery.
-
Perform a quick safety check
Before start jumping the vehicles, it's recommended that you take a closer look at the terminals and make sure that everything is away from each other. In other words, you don't want any metal to be connected, and you want to make sure all terminals are away from each other to prevent any electric damages.
-
Provide electric power from the source vehicle
Once you're ready, have your friend or the other person driving the other vehicle start his car to provide an electric charge. Of course, if you decided to go with a portable jump-start, you won't need a second vehicle because the charge is already in the jump-start itself.
-
Turn on your electric vehicle
After a couple of minutes, try getting your electric vehicle started and see if it works.
Can you push an electric car?
When your electric car battery runs out of charge, you might think of pushing your vehicle or towing it with a rope. However, that is not how it should be done. According to most electric car’s manufacturers, electric vehicles must not be told or pushed because this can damage many of the internal components, including the traction motors.
Thus, if you don't want to perform a jump start to your electric vehicle or you can't do it for any reason, you'd better have it towed using a flatbed truck to prevent undesirable outcomes that could cost you very high repair costs.
Do electric cars charge while driving?
No, when you drive an electric car, you will learn about the electric car range, which refers to the distance you can drive your vehicle with a single charge. That's why you'll find a lot of charging stations as you drive your vehicle in urban areas, or you can probably install one at your home.
The good news is that researchers and automotive experts are currently working to make it happen and have your vehicles charge themselves as you drive them. Thoughts, this is still research, and nothing was implemented yet.
Do electric cars lose charge when parked?
Yes, your old vehicle will lose charge when parked for extended times. When we referred to extended times, we're not talking about days. We're referring to more than two months of not running.
The way these cars are designed and how the batteries are packed prevent them from keeping the charge for a long time. Therefore, when planning to store your electric vehicle, you must perform all necessary preparations to prevent a depleted or completely dead battery.
Even in gasoline vehicles, if you left the vehicle parked for a long time, dealing with a dead battery is also expected because the battery might lose charge by providing electricity to the clock in your vehicle.
Can you jump-start a Tesla?
Unfortunately, Tesla vehicles are not designed to be jump-started. Therefore, it's recommended that you go through the manual in detail to prevent damaging the battery by trying to jump-start the vehicle when it's not prepared to.
Things to keep in mind when jump-starting an electric vehicle
Before we wrap up this article, we want to provide you with some general tips and tricks to keep in mind when jump-starting an electric vehicle to prevent undesirable outcomes. Let's take a closer look below:
- Since you're dealing with car batteries with a lot of electric charges, you must take all safety precautions by wearing protective items like eye protection and gloves. It is also important that you wash your hands carefully after touching the battery cables to prevent any contaminations from reaching your body.
- Jumpstart the 12 Volt battery should not be done as you're charging the lithium-ion battery. Doing so can lead to some damages to the equipment and your vehicle.
- Jump-start is suitable for the 12 Volt battery and not the high voltage battery in your electric vehicle. Therefore, do not attempt to charge the high voltage to prevent damaging the vehicle or hurting yourself.
Conclusion
When driving an electric vehicle, the last thing you want to deal with is a completely dead battery. The good news is that even when your older vehicle's battery dies, you'll still be able to jump-start using the typical jump cable.
Learning how to jump-start an electric car can come in very handy, especially if your car does not have enough range and you're planning for a longer trip. Of course, you recommended that you never drive your vehicle without enough charge but, surprises in emergencies can happen at any time.
To jump-start an electric vehicle, you will follow the regular procedure like jumping starting any gasoline car. Start by parking the cars next to each other, setting the vehicle with the discharged battery at the park position, connecting the positive terminals, connecting the negative terminals, getting the donor's vehicles started, and trying to start the electric vehicle.
Sometimes your electric vehicle won't start because the battery problem is not minor. Therefore, you'd have to replace the battery, unfortunately. However, since battery replacement costs can be extremely high for electric vehicles, it might be the right time now it's still your car, the Cash Cars Buyer, and use the money towards a better vehicle that doesn't have any battery problems.
Cash Cars Buyer is one of the top-rated car removal companies in the nation that guarantees to pay you the top dollars and will provide you with free towing despite your living location around the United States.
Our process is very straightforward and doesn't take more than a couple of days to get your car removed safely and for the most money.
All it takes you is to:
- Describe your car’s type and condition
- Receive our instant free quote
- Accept the quote
- Get your car removed and receive your cash payment on the spot!
To learn more about our process and our teen, you can reach out to us by giving us a call at 866-924-4608 or visit our home page click on the free instant online offer.