About Jump Start Wire: It is frustrating to come to your car at the parking lot after a whole day of shopping, and the car won’t start.
In most cases, it can result from a drained battery or the battery has outlived its purposes.
While other problems are associated with a lack of start, such as bad ignition, a dead battery is the main culprit.
This article will discuss the jump start wire, its functions, and how to use and disconnect it properly.
What are Jumper Cables Used For?
As I have hinted above, jumper cables are mainly for jump-starting a car when the battery is dead.
Therefore, you will need a jumper cable always present in your car to kickstart your battery.
Note that the wire should be long enough to reach the second car and thick enough for durability.
How to Connect Jumper Cables?
Before jump-starting your car, you must ensure the battery is the problem. You can know this if you start the car and nothing happens.
Additionally, you must know how to connect cables since a bad connection can result in accidents.
With that said, make sure you follow these steps precisely when connecting a jumper cable.
Jumper cable connection
Find an operational vehicle
I assume you have your correctly sized and functional jumper wire with proper clamps before you can find another vehicle.
The parking should be either side by side or nose to nose; now, lift the hoods of both vehicles to reveal their batteries.
Prepare for dead battery-boosting
First, ensure the vehicles have similar battery specifications in this step by reading their label, i.e., 12 volts.
While this isn’t a big deal, it’s common to find a 6V battery, in which case you need a professional.
Then, wear your safety gear, such as eye protection and rubber gloves, to keep you safe.
From there, inspect the battery terminals of both vehicles and clean any dirt or corrosion using a wire brush. Finally, in this step, identify the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals, usually marked on the casing.
Connect the Jumper Wire
Remember, we established that a wrong connection could cause sparking, which can, in turn, cause fire.
In addition, it can also melt the jumper cable, the battery, or the vehicle’s electrical components. To start your process properly, connect the red wire to the battery’s positive terminal.
Try jiggling the clamp to ensure the grip is firm and secure. Connect the black cable to the negative terminal of the battery.
Connecting batteries of two cars
Jumpstart the dysfunctional car.
In this step, you must first confirm all connections are snug and then start the functional car.
Leave your vehicles idle for a minute and then attempt to start the boosting vehicle.
If it tries to start and fails, leave them connected for another 10 minutes before restarting again.
Disconnect the jumper cable.
Once the two vehicles have started running, it’s now time to disconnect the jump wire. First, unhook the black cable from the battery of the car.
Proceed to disconnect the red cable. Now close the hoods of your cars and return your jumper wire where it stays.
A jumper cable disconnection
Conclusion
With this simple guide, you can use a jump start wire to boost your dead battery. If the boosting fails and you have checked the connections, you may need to call a professional.
You may also call a mechanic if the battery is hard to reach and you don’t have tools to remove the hindrances.
