How to Jump Start A Car, Art of Manliness

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Only problem with that procedure is that no self-respecting BITOG member would let their vehicle idle for two or three minutes. Can you imagine the wear on the engine? And the pollution and waste of fuel...
 
30 minutes of driving might be enough to make sure the battery has enough charge to start it the next day, but it is a huge cry away from coming close to fully charging the battery, which might take 4 hours of driving to reach 80% and another 4 hours or more to reach 100%.

Whenever a battery remains under 80% charged it is losing capacity, like a fuel tank which is shrinking.

After jumpstarting a car, get the battery on a grid/mains powered charger overnight.

Do note the common "trickle charger" advice commonly spouted since grandpa's time is likely insufficient too, as 'trickle' is usually around 2 amps worth, and the average car battery is around 70 amp hours capacity.

So a completely dead battery, on a trickle charger, might need 35 hours on a trickle charger before the Specific gravity no longer rises indicating a fully charged battery. Likely longer.

Different size batteries and different charging systems and chargers vary the numbers, but taking any lead acid battery from 80 to 100% takes hours and hours no matter the charging source , no matter how shiny the alternator is no matter the claim of the alternator manufacturer or the claims on their website.

Notice how the jumped car's battery never seems to live long after the jump start episode? Well is it user error and ignorance more often than not. It was pushed off the edge of a cliff and short drives keep it from climbing back up, and eventually it quits trying.
 
And then the real man will whip out his multimeter and check the charging voltage.

And if that looks good, he'll charge the battery and whip out his load tester and check the battery.

Ah well, it's a good reminder to make and break the last connection away from the battery. In the old days we'd use the alternator mounting bracket but these days that thing could be buried in there somewhere...
 
Nah, grab some scrap romex to connect the positive terminals then touch bumpers.

Turn on the parking lights on the dead car so you know when you've got chrome against chrome.
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
And then the real man will whip out his [...] and check the charging [...].

And if that looks good, he'll [..] whip out his load [..] to check [..]


A REAL man doesn't have anything to prove, much less feel the need to whip things out for checking purposes.
 
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