There is no shortage of people who refrain from making long trips by car for fear of lying around and not knowing how to react. There is no need to be mechanical experts, but there are certain maneuvers and techniques that everyone who owns a car should master to be able to use them at any given time.
Among these techniques is the ability to start a car with tweezers, indispensable if we run out of battery and can not start the car. It is a really fast and simple act, but if you do not know how to do it can be dangerous. That’s why in the following article of globalgarage we will explain how to start a car with tweezers so that the next time you find yourself in that situation you save the workmanship of the workshop or the replacement of the battery.
Recommendations for using the clamps
Before explaining what you should do to use them, we will talk a bit about the tweezers and their function when recharging the battery. Whether there is a leak, why you have left the lights on, the radio on or an open door, the car can run out of battery, without the electrical impulse you need to start the engine.
These tools are used to transmit the electrical energy of a battery that is already charged to the one that has been exhausted so that the one that is empty can be started and recharged. Here are some tips to keep in mind before you start your car with tweezers:
- The two batteries, both empty and full, must be of the same voltage.
- Separate the two cars, their bodies should never be in contact. This prevents sparks or short circuits from occurring.
- Turn off the contact of both cars.
- Set the parking brake on both cars to prevent them from moving during load transfer.
- The car battery is usually in the engine compartment, if you do not locate it there it will probably be in the back seat of the car.
How to start a car without a battery
Here are the steps you should take if you want to recharge the car battery with tweezers :
- Take one of the clips with the red cable and place it in the positive terminal of the battery, which has the “+” sign on the car that has the battery charged.
- At the other end of the cable there will be another clamp, which you must place in the positive terminal of the discharged battery.
- Place one of the black cable clamps into the negative “-” terminal of the full battery.
- The other clamp should go to the car unloaded, but not in the battery, but in some area of the body or the chassis that is metallic.
- Check that they are securely fastened and that there is no contact with any cables.
- Start the car engine with the charged battery, accelerate gently for a couple of minutes.
- Turn off the car and get on the one with the discharged battery; Turn it on. Leave it running for a few minutes so that the battery is recharged.
- Turn it off and remove the tweezers from the car in reverse order as you have placed them, avoid touching any metal zone of the car.
If you have any doubts or fears at any point in the operation, it is best that you let it be and call for service. It is better to make sure and leave it in the hands of professionals who try to fix it and end up worse.
What is the car battery for?
The car battery has different functions. The main one is to provide enough energy for the car engine to start, energy that is then recharged with the alternator. In addition, when the alternator is not able to supply all the electrical energy required by the car, for example when the car is stationary or at idle, the battery serves as a backup supply supply.
How long does the car battery last?
On average, the car battery lasts 4 years. But this is not a fixed rule, depending on the use and care of it, we can prolong or shorten its useful life as well as its benefits. If we use it too much, for example by forcing the start cycles or adding electrical elements that need more amperage, as if we use too little, leaving the car inactive for a long time, we can cause an early discharge of the battery.
Another factor that can affect its operation are the extreme temperatures and the operation of the alternator. There are different factors and clues that indicate that our battery may be aging and causing problems:
- Starting the car when the battery does not work well is much more energetic.
- Depending on the car, you may have a light indicator on the dashboard.
- The loosened or rusty terminals can cause electrical faults, here we tell you how to clean the terminals of the car .
- In the following article we explained how to take care of my car battery .