jump starting

[dingo]

I have a question regarding jump starting cars (hope thats what its called in other parts of the world).
I have been told that it can damage the electronics in newer cars, and also that the negative terminal should be connected before the positive.
Can anyone confirm or deny these claims, and maybe provide a site that goes into some detail on the topic.

Thanks.

[dingo]

Well thats what I did last week (left my lights on in the uni carpark :x)....my brother left his car running while trying to jump start it. I've also read that the car which is providing the charge shouldn't be running when doing it as it can cause surges, but we did it anyway.

[deth]

the order thing should be done are
1. dead car positive
2. live car positive
3. live car negative
4. dead car grounded metal, not negative terminal of the battery
reverse order to disconnect.

you should have the live car running maintains its charge...otherwise u'll end up with 2 dead cars.....dunno about revving tho...i guess it wouldnt hurt

http://www.autobatteries.com/basics/jumpstart.asp

[gigdy]

Thats the order too follow if your jumping but for newer cars, i heard it is better to use those things that plug into your dc outlet. Id assume revving your engine helps some, since it makes the alternator spin faster.

[T-Bird]

you don't have to worry about newer car's electronics if you ground the cables properly and the car's electronics and everything else are already grounded so you should be fine. There's always a risk of damaging something in the car or even worse case the battery could blow up without warning (it happens more than most would like to know)

[possessed_beaver]

another good thing to do is rember to turn you're lights off

[jon_s]

You are correct, using a car as the 'donor' a lot will do a lot of damage. Once or twice is ok though. The donar car should be ticking over at around 2000rpm before attempting to start.

I can find out the exact damage if you want? As I say though, it is only through repeated jump starts that any noticable damage will occur.

[dingo]

Yes beaver I'll try that next time.
If its not too much trouble I'd appreciate some more info jon_s, thanks.

[jakaracman]

Originally Posted by gigdy Thats the order too follow if your jumping but for newer cars, i heard it is better to use those things that plug into your dc outlet. Id assume revving your engine helps some, since it makes the alternator spin faster.

If you plug it into DC outlet, it'll just fry the fuse. The power trhat you need is much bigger than a dc outlet can handle. With bigger engined cars you havet to use prper cables too, you can melt them if they're too thin (happened to me once when jumpstarting Volvo XC90 with BMW 7 series ...

[jon_s]

Cool, I will get onto the bloke who knows a lot more than me! lol

[dingo]

^ LOL..... don't go there.....as long as he finds out about jump starting he can do what he wants to the guy.