How to properly light a car with a dead battery

Why you shouldn't push start your car

It is tempting to simply ask passers-by to push the car and try to start it by turning on the ignition and gear while manually accelerating the car. However, you should remember that the automatic transmission does not allow you to start the car in this way. You will simply break your automatic transmission, which will force you to carry out expensive repairs in the future. That is why, when the battery is dead, it is necessary to either remove it and charge it properly at home or light it from other cars.

How to light a cigarette correctly. Sequencing

Check the ignition on cars - it should be turned off.
The first end of the red positive jumper cable is connected to the positive terminal of the discharged battery.
The second end of the same wire is connected to the positive terminal on the charged battery.
A black negative jumper cable
The other end of the negative cable is placed under the hood of the emergency vehicle on a clean, unpainted area of the metal surface (engine block). Such a connection is necessary, since the battery itself actively consumes electricity and takes a significant part of the power provided by an external source.
After connecting the battery, you need to wait 2-3 minutes for the dead battery to recharge a little. Then you can start the car with the battery running at medium engine speeds, recharging time is 3-10 minutes.
Next , turn off the engine by turning off the ignition . Without removing the wires, they try to start the emergency vehicle. It should start if there are no other problems.
You should not press the gas pedal when starting the car, as there is a risk of damage to the electronic systems of the car. During the operation, the system does not regulate the voltage in the on-board networks.
After the reception is successfully completed, disconnect the external battery and remove the wires in the reverse order. It is better not to turn off the engine when it is running and let it run for some time at medium speed, which is necessary to charge the dead battery, otherwise the car’s engine may stall again.
After the trip, the battery is charged in a warm place. It is necessary to ensure that the battery does not overheat; if a dangerous situation arises, stop charging. You need to know that the charging process at sub-zero temperatures is much slower and may fail.

How to light a car from another car

We offer you a fairly detailed instruction diagram that describes how to properly light a car. Note that using this scheme you can start cars with a manual transmission or with an automatic transmission.

First, you need to bring the donor (that is, the car from whose battery we will take the charge) close to your car with a discharged battery. In this case, the bodies of two cars should not touch each other.
We turn off the donor engine and turn off all possible consumers of electricity.
We prepare the appropriate wires with a large cross-section and open the hood of the car.
Disconnect the negative terminal on the dead battery. This will prevent the donor car's battery from being discharged later when lighting the car.
Next, we first connect the positive terminals of both batteries with wires. After this, you must first secure the wire to the negative terminal of the donor car, and then connect the second terminal of the wire to the engine support or metal elements of the cylinder block of the car that needs to be revived.
After this, you need to start the car with a dead battery. Immediately after this, let the engine idle for about 10 minutes, which will be enough for stable and stable operation of the engine in the future.
Next, carefully without turning off the engine, we connect the previously removed negative terminal of the discharged battery.
After this, you can begin to disconnect the wires from the positive terminal. In this case, you first need to disconnect the plus of a running car with a dead battery, after which we remove the wire from the plus of the donor battery.

This completes the correct lighting of the car. The driver must remember that it is not recommended to turn off the engine until arriving at the destination, which may be your home or a car service center. Otherwise, you may need to light the car again and revive your battery.

Why won't the car start?

Many drivers are familiar with this picture: the starter clicks when you turn the ignition key, the on-board computer does not respond to anything, the headlights do not light up and the alarm system is silent. This is a sure sign of a dead battery.

In such a situation, you will need a donor car from which you can light a cigarette. But this action is justified only if the cause is a dead battery and not another unit. Let’s say the radio and electrical appliances work in the car, and the headlights come on - then it’s worth looking for a problem not in the battery.

There can be several reasons for battery discharge:

• did not turn off the source of electricity consumption; • winter oil was not added in time and it became viscous; • The battery is not able to produce the required amount of current due to a decrease in volume.

If the car owner forgot to turn off the source of energy consumption, the battery will be discharged. Having the lights on or the radio running will quickly drain the battery while the owner of the car is away.

Frozen oil does not allow the crankshaft to turn normally, which is why the starter is forced to consume a large amount of energy. In this case, when you turn on the ignition, the car stalls.

A feature of the battery is that its capacity decreases as the temperature drops. In this case, the battery simply does not have enough power to start the engine.

Selecting wires for lighting

Lighting a car means using the energy resources of another car to start your engine. How to properly light a car from another battery? The donor car must already have the engine running and the battery warmed up, which has restored its volume and can share the energy of the starter current. To do this, thick wires are used, which must meet certain requirements:

• length not less than 1.5 meters; • minimum cross-section 10 mm2; • current strength 200 A and above.

All wires must have clamps soldered to them (they are called alligator clips). When choosing, it is advisable to give preference to wires with rubber rather than plastic braiding. The clamps themselves should open well.

Tip: when purchasing wires, pay attention to the cross-section size. The larger the section, the better.

Charging the battery at home

In rare cases, when the battery is dead due to a significant load on it, you can solve the problem by simply lighting the engine and then charging the dead battery from the car's generator. However, in most cases, charging a dead battery while the car is moving from the generator can be problematic. Therefore, after such an emergency trip, it will be necessary to remove the battery and properly charge it in a warm place.

For charging, you can use appropriate inverters or use simple chargers according to a diagram that can be easily found on the Internet. Subsequently, after charging the battery in this way, no problems with the operation of the car arise. If your car battery runs out regularly, you should know the reason for this. It is quite possible that the reason lies in the alarm or damaged electrical wiring, or perhaps a broken generator and incorrect tension of its belt are to blame.

But what you shouldn’t do is try to start a car with an automatic transmission from an inverter or from a battery whose capacity significantly exceeds that of your battery. This can lead to a short circuit in the car's network or completely damage your battery. Also, take a responsible and correct approach to the issue of choosing the wires that connect both batteries. The fact is that during the lighting procedure, a powerful current passes through the wires; if you use a thin cable, it can simply melt.

By following this fairly simple work plan, you can easily correctly light a dead battery in your engine, which will solve the unpleasant situation that has arisen with your car.

13.02.2017

Rules to follow when lighting a cigarette

Cars must be positioned in such a way that the wires can freely reach the desired location, but not touch each other. It is not recommended to light a cigarette from a car with the engine running, so you need to turn it off .

Before connecting the wires, you need to remove the key from the ignition. The door of a car with a dead battery must be open, because once power is supplied, the alarm will sound and the door locks will be locked.

In vehicles equipped with sensitive electronics, a power surge may occur during operation, causing the on-board computer and other electronics to likely malfunction. To avoid this, turn off the most sensitive devices.

Pre-warm up the engine of a working car for 5-10 minutes to avoid overloading the generator and blowing the fuse during lighting, since the voltage in a working battery drops at this moment. When the battery is significantly discharged, this ensures quick engine starting, as well as recharging and warming up a working battery before loading.

It is necessary to ensure the correct sequence of connecting the wires. If their connection is incorrect, a short circuit may result, damaging the battery or the vehicle's electrical system. It is necessary that the nominal charge of the batteries for lighting is equal.

Adviсe

How to properly light a car from another car and when is this possible? Let's look in detail at what you need to pay special attention to. Here are a few recommendations that will help you light your car correctly in any situation:

If problems with starting the engine occur frequently, purchase a set of cigarette lighter wires and always carry it with you.
Choose a donor car for lighting carefully - its power should be equal to or slightly higher than that of your car.
As a voluntary assistant, you should also choose a car of the same type, both by the type of vehicle itself (truck or passenger car) and by the type of engine (gasoline or diesel). This is due to the fact that the variety is characterized by design features that may not be compatible with your machine.
The car engine, whose owner kindly agreed to help, should run at high speeds for several minutes before the wires begin to be connected.
Do not confuse the wires for lighting: red is only for the positive terminals, black is for the negative terminals. Always start connecting from the terminals of the donor car, and disconnecting in the reverse order.
Do not try to light your car outside at low air temperatures: nothing will work from -25° C and below.
Avoid contact with metal elements while lighting.

Safety rules when lighting up

Failure to follow safety precautions to start a vehicle with a faulty battery will result in costly repairs and electric shock.

Rules that must be followed to avoid unpleasant consequences:

Before using starting wires, inspect them for the integrity of the insulation and the condition of the connection of the terminal clamps with the wires, and if necessary, repair them (insulation failure and poor-quality connection of the lead with the clamps will lead to electric shock, short circuit and fire);
To avoid electric shock, do not touch bare or damaged parts of the jumper wires;
Select the donor car correctly (trying to start an SUV engine from a small car battery will lead to the discharge of the second battery);
Observe the polarity of the wires when connecting batteries (failure to observe the polarity will lead to failure of a working battery or a fire);
To prevent the on-board electronics from burning out, turn off the engine of the donor car and turn off the ignition (when starting a car with a faulty battery, a voltage surge will occur, which will lead to burnout of the electronics of the second car);
When connecting the starting wire from the negative terminal of the donor car battery, secure the other end to a bare area of the body or the engine of the car with a faulty battery away from the battery (when connected to the negative terminal of the battery, a spark will appear, and inside the battery the speed of the chemical processes of charging the battery will increase with a large release of hydrogen , as a result an explosion will occur);
You can “light” vehicles with the same voltage (the current power from a network with a voltage of 12 V is not enough to start a car with a network voltage of 24 V, and if you “light” from a car with a higher network power, then the electrical equipment of the car with a lower voltage will have to repair).

We do everything right

You can revive a car wirelessly using the pusher method. Well, or take the car in tow and deliver it to a car service center for repairs. But since we are talking about lighting a cigarette, we should study this issue in more detail.

I’ll say right away that it’s not worth understanding the specifics of the procedure in pictures or relying on the words of inexperienced drivers. Believe me, the consequences of mistakes when lighting a cigarette are much more serious than mixing antifreeze.

You need to follow several rules and recommendations:

use special high-voltage wires;
the donor must be a car with a similar or greater battery capacity;
The donor battery must be in good condition;
the driver is ready to help a friend in trouble;
strictly follow the instructions and recommendations;
do not allow anyone to approach the car while charging;
make sure the crocodiles are placed correctly before starting the donor machine;
If in doubt, abandon this method and call a tow truck.

If nothing bothers you, you can get to work.

There are two main ways to light a cigarette. You can use a car or just the battery of another car.

Donor car

There are many photos and video instructions regarding lighting a cigarette by connecting it to another car's electrical outlet. This method is more effective and takes less time. But it comes with great risks.

Here is a special reminder on how to light a cigarette without getting hurt:

Other battery

If you lack experience, it is better to light a cigarette not from a car, but simply from a battery. To do this, you will need a donor from which the battery is removed.

Here you need:

turn off the assistant's car;
remove the wires from the battery;
put the ignition key on the problem car to the zero position;
remove the wire from the negative battery;
connect the batteries of two cars with wires, observing the polarity;
check the correctness and reliability of the connections;
give time to recharge;
After 15 minutes, try to start the engine;
if it starts, leave it running for another 10 minutes;
turn off the engine;
remove the wires;
start the car again on your own;
give the battery to an assistant;
give thanks.

It is important to take into account that you cannot light a cigarette from cars whose battery is weaker than yours. It is also not recommended to connect different motors. That is, injection and carburetor, diesel and gasoline, passenger cars and trucks.

The scheme seems simple, but there really are many nuances and dangers. Therefore, without having the appropriate experience, I strongly do not recommend trying to revive a car using similar methods. But I recommend warming up the engine in winter. There is a useful and important article on this subject.