How to Use Jump Leads

Jump leads are a quick and easy way of starting a car with a flat battery. A set of jump leads come in a pair – one is black and is the ‘negative’ lead and the other is red and is the ‘positive’ lead. In addition to this you will need another car next to yours with a charged battery. A pair of gloves and eye protection if you have it is also an added safety precaution.

In the first instance, do a quick visual check of the battery to see if it is leaking. If it is, take additional advice from your local mechanic/garage do not attempt to charge it.

The Next Step In Using Jump Leads

You need the other car with the fully charged battery to face your car bonnet. Ensure you leave enough space between the two cars so you can open both bonnets and get your jump leads between each car battery.

Then, look out for a ‘+’ sign next to the battery terminal and attach the red ‘positive’ lead to the positive battery terminal on the car that is working. Once you have done this, connect the other end of the red lead to the positive terminal on the flat battery.

Once you have connected the red cable, take the black ‘negative’ lead and connect one end of this to the ‘negative’ terminal on the charged battery on the car that is working (the one with the ‘-‘ next to terminal. HOWEVER, do NOT attach the other end to the negative terminal on the dead battery. INSTEAD, you must clip the clamp onto a piece of solid metal away from the fuel system and battery. Some cars will have a specific area known as an ‘earthing rod, so make sure you check your owner’s manual to see if your car has one of these.

Once you have all four ends of the jump lead cables attached, wait for a few minutes, up to 5 minutes should be enough. After you have done this, start the engine of the car with the charged battery and let it run for a minute. Continue to leave it running and then try to start the car that has the flat battery. If the car doesn’t start within 5 minutes, wait another few minutes and try again.

Hopefully by now, the car that had the flat battery is now running. Once this happens, leave both cars engines on for about 10 minutes. Then carefully remove the cables in reverse order. Just be extra careful that you don’t let the clamps touch any metal surface or each other during this process.

Finally, in order to fully charge the battery up, leave the car with the newly charged battery running for approx. 20 minutes and then take it for a 30 minute drive before switching the engine off and parking up. Your battery should now be fully charged and the engine will hopefully start up first time the next time you want to go out and drive!

If, however, you are not successful and the battery does not charge successfully, or not at all, you may need a new battery. Here at Land Tyre Service we can test your battery for you and supply a new one if required. All you need to do is sit back, relax and enjoy a complimentary refreshment whilst we do the hard work!