So, you start the New Year off by seeing your cars got a flat battery on your drive! This gives you one of those "why now?" moments, especially with everything else going on at the moment!
Whether it's due to a car sitting idle on your drive for a great deal of time or maybe a bigger underlying issue, batteries can lose their charge, leaving you in a situation where you cannot start your vehicle and potentially ruining your day.
Despite it happening to thousands of motorists every day, a recent poll found that a third of drivers simply don’t know how to check their battery while even more don't know what to do if it's flat! Amazingly only 11% don't even know where their car battery is located (check your handbook if you can find it!).
With the obvious prospect of problems being made far worse by the January cold weather and lockdown restrictions, knowing how to jump-start your car is very useful, here are some simple steps you need to take if your car’s battery has lost its charge.
Get the jump leads!
For this, you’ll need some jump leads and an additional car with a similar sized engine. Alternatively, a battery booster pack works just as well.
First, check your battery isn’t damaged or is leaking. If it is, don’t attempt to jump start it - it’s time to get a new one ordered.
Ensure all the electrical systems such as lights, radios, etc are all switched off.
Get both cars into position so that the two cars engine bays are close together but the cars aren’t touching obviously. Move any loose metal away from both batteries and remove any loose clothing that might get caught and any jewellery too.
Connect one end of the red jump lead to the positive (+) terminal of the working car’s battery, then connect the other end to the positive (+) terminal of the flat battery.
Connect one end of the black jump lead to the negative (-) terminal of the working car’s battery and the other end to an earthing point on the other car - this needs to be a solid, paint-free metal point such as a bolt or bracket away from the battery.
Start the engine of the working car and allow it to run for a minute or two then try to start the other car. If the battery is very depleted it could take two or three attempts.
Once the failed car has started leaving both cars running for around five minutes before removing the leads.
Remove the leads in the reverse order to which you attached them. Make sure they don’t touch any metal surface or get caught in any moving parts.
You then need to drive the failed car for about twenty minutes or preferably longer in normal conditions (not heavy traffic) to get some charge back into the battery.
If your car won’t start after following these steps your battery has most likely failed, in which case you’ll need to purchase a new one. And if it won't charge after starting it could be a sign that maybe you have alternator problems and you will need the assistance of an approved car mechanic.
Give it a Bump!
This isn’t the safest or most reliable method as using jump leads so we'd recommend avoiding it unless you're desperate. It also only works on cars with a stick-shift (manual) transmission. For this, you'll need a couple of helpers to push the car.
Start by putting the car in second gear and turning the ignition on.
Get your mates to start pushing the car, making sure it's safe to do so.
Once the car is moving at least 5mph pull the clutch out quickly. This should engage the transmission and allow the turning of the wheels to get the engine spinning.
Once it's running, stop but let the engine run for at least 15 minutes to put some chargeback in the battery.
Tips for avoiding a flat battery
The AA and RAC offers the following advice to help protect against a flat battery:-
Park your car in a garage (whenever possible).
Ensure everything is switched off when you finish your journey including heater, lights, fan, heated rear windscreen, radio etc. Satellite Navigators and other devices can also drain the battery if connected – every volt is the precious first thing when trying to start your car.
Check your battery connections, ensuring that they are free from any corrosion and are tightly on. And, don’t forget that battery acid is highly corrosive to paintwork and your skin.
It is worth getting your battery tested, particularly if it’s a few years old.
Take your vehicle for a decent drive to get your battery well charged, and get the engine to its proper operating temperature, before you need it – ideally several days before. Don’t just check that it starts as this is likely to drain the battery more.
For all your car battery needs get in touch with the team at Bowers Automotive on 01782 590 700 or email enquiries@bowersautoparts.net.