How to handle a dead car battery, new drivers should know
Having the right tools and knowing the steps to jump start a battery will help new drivers avoid the worry of a dead battery causing the engine and electrical equipment in the car to stop working.
The battery is considered the power source when the car engine is not running. Normally, when the car is not used for a long time or the driver forgets to turn off power consuming devices such as headlights, DVD players, etc. before leaving the car, it is easy to drain the battery power. When the engine needs to be started, the battery cannot provide enough power to start the engine.
When falling into this situation, "new drivers" who do not have much experience in troubleshooting car problems are often confused and immediately think of calling the rescue center. However, this solution will take a lot of time and interrupt the journey if the car battery runs out of power at locations far from the service center. Therefore, when using a car, drivers should clearly understand the steps to jump start the battery and fully equip themselves with the necessary tools to fix this problem by themselves.
Equip battery jumper cables on the vehicle
With manual transmission cars, when the battery runs out of power, many people often use the method of pushing the car to move and combining it with gears to stimulate the battery. However, this method is not very safe with traffic conditions in Vietnam, and cannot be applied to cars equipped with automatic transmission. Therefore, when using a car, the driver should have 2 battery jumper cables ready to use when the car battery runs out of power.
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The battery bridge wire usually consists of 2 separate wires, in which the red wire connects the positive terminal (+), the black wire connects the negative terminal (-). You should choose the type of wire about 2 meters long, with a clamp for easy use.
In addition, drivers should clearly understand the location of the battery in the car for convenient connection. Most car models currently place the battery under the hood, in the engine compartment. However, there are also some car models that place the battery in the rear compartment or in hard-to-reach areas, often with an additional connection to the jumper battery.
Steps to connect and jump start a car battery
- Ask for help from other cars:When your car battery runs out, ask for help from another car with a sufficient battery to connect and jump start it. Move the car that is still operating normally and park it close to the car with the dead battery to make it easier to jump start the battery.
-Clean engine compartment and battery terminals:Before using jumper cables, use a dry cloth to wipe the engine compartment and clean the two battery terminals to ensure electrical conductivity. In addition, check for fuel leaks to prevent short-circuiting of the clamps, which can cause a fire or explosion.
Turn off electrical equipment in the vehicle: You should turn off all power consuming devices such as DVD players, fans, lights, etc. on both vehicles to ensure the battery is fully charged during the charging process.
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Use fishing line:On current car batteries, the positive terminal marked in red or with a (+) sign is usually designed to be larger than the negative terminal (-). Use one end of the red jumper cable to connect to the positive terminal of the dead battery. The other end of the red cable is connected to the positive terminal (+) of the battery used to jump-start the rescue vehicle. When performing this operation, be careful not to let the clamps touch each other or the body of the vehicle as this may cause sparks leading to fire or explosion.
Next, the driver uses one end of the black jumper cable to connect to the negative (-) terminal on the tow vehicle's jumper battery. The other end of the black cable is clamped to an unpainted metal part of the vehicle with the dead battery.
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- Start the car:After completing the jumper wire connection, the driver starts the rescue vehicle first. Let the engine run at idle for about 3-5 minutes to charge the battery in the rescue vehicle as well as the battery in the dead car. After a few minutes, start the engine to start the car with the dead battery. If the car does not start, try to wait a few more minutes and then try to start the engine again until the car starts.
- Remove the battery cable:After the car has started, the driver should unscrew the battery jumper cable. Note that this operation should be done carefully, do not let the two ends of the cable touch each other as it may cause fire or explosion. Continue to let the car engine run for about 10 - 15 minutes, and do not turn on any electrical devices immediately to ensure enough power from the generator to the battery.