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What is a car jumper cable: things you should know

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No car owner loves it when his/her car refuses to start due to a dead battery or any reason at all. A lot of people try hard to avoid this scenario, but it sometimes still finds a way to occur. Hence, the need for a car emergency kit, with the necessary gears stacked inside, cannot be overemphasized. A car Jumper cable can help you when faced with dead car battery issues.

What is a Car Jumper Cable (Jump-start Cable)?

car jumper cables

Simply put, a car jumper cable also referred to as a jumpstart cable, is used to revive dead car batteries. It has two clips, which you should attach to the positive and negative terminals of another battery of the same or higher voltage to “jump-start” your car when the battery is dead.

Important Things to Know About Jumper Cables

Well, you won’t like to spend your money wrongly; hence, here are some tips you need to now about jump-start cables.

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1. Width and Guage

How would you feel if you purchase a gadget at the store but realized it wasn’t working when you get home? You’ll feel so bad, apparently. To avoid similar situations, you should consider purchasing a car jumper cable with a suitable gauge. The commonest are six (6) guage cables, and they can be used for quite many types of batteries.

2. Cable Length

The jumper cable cord length is also important. You can’t be so sure if the auxiliary vehicle will be so close to yours, so, you need a lengthy cable that could connect vehicles up to 12 inches apart.

3. Clamp

You definitely won’t love it when your jump-start keeps slipping off battery terminals because the clamp is not well-designed or it’s loose. So, it is recommended that you get a car jumper cable that’s sturdy and has good clamps.

How To Use Jump-Start Cables

Most times, how to jump-start your vehicle is included in the car manual. So, it’s best to look at the instructions at that section and follow keenly. Nevertheless, here’s a general way to jump-start any vehicle that has a dead battery.

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Jump-start cable

This steps would take approximately 10-15 minutes.

Total Time: 15 minutes

Step One: Park the cars

Park the two vehicles (your car with dead battery and another one to use and jump-start yours) as much closer as possible. Ensure that the cars aren’t touching each other and they are both cars are parked properly, i.e., the gear is in “Park.”

Step Two: Connect the cables

Connect the jump-start cables to both cars in this manner; attach one red clamp to the positive (+) terminal of the “dead” battery and the other end (red clamp) to the positive (+) terminal of the good battery.

Attach one black-end clamp to the negative (-) terminal of the good battery and the other end to any to an unpainted metal surface or screw on the car with the dead battery

Note: You should not connect the negative clamp to the dead’s battery’s negative terminal. This action can trigger explosions and the result may be bizarre.

Step Three: wait and drive

Wait for a few seconds and then start the car with the good (live) battery. This will automatically boost the other dead battery over time.

After some minutes, turn off the car and remove the jumper cables. Try starting your car (which previously had a dead battery) again; hopefully, it should be able to kick up at this time.

What More

Allow your car to run for a while (about 10 – 12 minutes) before starting to drive again. The wait is to allow your battery to charge very well to avoid facing a dead battery sooner again. Stash the car jumper cables in a safe box (your auto toolkit).

How To Save Car Jumper Cables

Many drivers will quickly fold the cables into their trunk, but this is a bad act. Don’t fold the cables, instead recoil them and put into a bag or your emergency box. Always check the cables to see if there are places where you can see exposed wires, use black masking tape to cover such injuries to avoid electric shock.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should car Jumper cables be kept in a car?

You can’t predict when you might need to Jumpstart your car; hence, it’s important to keep your car jumper cable inside the car. They are easy to store and can be stash anywhere in the trunk.

I Frequently Jump-start My Car, What’s The Problem?

You can only jump-start a car with a weak or dead battery. Jump-starting a car shouldn’t be a frequent activity. If you have to always jump-start your car before it picks up, you should change the battery.

Can Jump Starting Spoil My Car Battery?

If you do not connect the cables appropriately, you could damage some electrical components in the engine bay. So, yes, jump starting can spoil your car if not done properly.

Originally posted on November 29, 2020 @ 1:00 pm


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Samuel Odamah

We wake up to new tech innovations. All I'm doing is trying to get acquainted with cutting-edge innovations, write about them, as well as deploy them in solving my everyday problems. Follow me on Twitter @fwesh_finnest for my daily updates on Tech, Bitcoin, marketing, etc.

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