Has your car ever broken down on the road? It’s one of the terrible situations that nobody wants to meet! Moreover, it will be worse as a tragedy if you can’t find any help!
In that tough situation, a jump starter will save your life as long as you are knowledgeable about how to use a jump starter correctly!
But if you are still skeptical about using it in what way, let us do you a favor! Keep reading to know how!
What A Jump Starter Is Used For?
The jump starter”s benefit that you can see is working as a battery booster when it kicks off the dead battery of your car.
Car rescue teams also often use this tool when you call their center to ask for help. That means you will save a decent amount of service costs if you own a jump starter!
Some jump starter is even more advanced as they are designed to provide the power source for air compressors, and you can use them to inflate a flat tire.
Alternatively, you can use the jump starter as a charging station for electronics. You are doubtful about this?
That’s the truth! Nowadays, jump starters have been upgraded to include both USB and other standard ports for charging battery powers of phones, laptops, or other devices with standard connectors.
This advantage is especially useful in emergencies or power outage situations.
Keep in mind that under no circumstances should you use a jump starter for starting the batteries of many devices at the same time to avoid being overloaded.
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Types Of Car Jump Starters
There are two types of jump starters you can choose from plug-in jump starters and portable jump starters. Each type evidently has different advantages and disadvantages.
Plug-in Jump Starter
The plug-in battery charger will be more stable in terms of the electrical systems it provides as being connected directly to the power supply. And thanks to the balance in output, your devices and starter’s lifespans will be extended.
No matter how dead your device battery is, the jump starter plug-in can charge it to be full. Thus, the device charging time of a plug-in starter is shorter and faster than the portable starter.
Plug-in Jump Starter (Charger)
Also, the plug-in charger has many other features such as various charging modes (6V, 12V) and amperage settings (2A, 10A, and 75A).
A considerable drawback of this tool is the need to plug in. And it will be useless if your car breaks on the road and you can’t find any power station.
Portable Jump Starter
In contrast to the plug-in jump starter, it’s unnecessary to connect the portable one to the electric source when using it. But you need to charge it after some use times to ensure its jump box is full of battery.
Different from the plug-in jump starter, a portable starter would be an excellent nominee for kicking off the vehicle battery. Still, if you use it to charge a completely dead battery box, that’s not a good idea.
It can spend a plentiful power supply starting your vehicle, but when you use it to charge the out-odd power battery, the starter isn’t able to do, and that will shorten the lifespan of your manual starter.
A Jump box with a high-capacity battery to use many times and the versatility to connect with many devices is what a portable jump starter brings to users.
Portable Jump Starter
How To Use A Jump Starter
Portable Jump Starter
You should always read the owner’s manual first. Because the parameters of each jump starter and vehicle battery are different, also, some vehicles even don’t allow connection to the jump starter.
Next, check the surroundings with the “three No” standard: No flammable substances, no moisture, and no power source nearby. By the way, make sure that you have turned off the car and taken the key out.
Also, you need to remove all jewelry, put them away then wear protective clothing and insulated gloves. Keep in mind that never put your face near the jump starter or car battery because it’s hazardous.
As a first step, define the positive terminal (can be a “+” or “P” sign) and the negative terminal (can be a “-” or “N” symbol) on the car battery. And on the jump starter, the positive cable is colored red and the negative cable is black.
Some important things here: make sure the jump starter is switched off before connecting the jump to start your car and don’t let the red and black cables connect with each other.
In the second step, the car battery terminal and the jump starter should be correctly and properly connected. Attach the red cable of the starter to the positive terminal on the car and the black cable to the fixed, clean, and unpainted metal.
Next is the third step, when everything is ready, turn on the jump starter and make sure the cables are clamped firmly and you can start the car engine after kicking off the battery.
After that, the fourth step is trying to start the engine in under five seconds. In case your car doesn’t start, wait for two to three minutes to try again.
Now your car has been kicked off, press the power switch button to turn off this power tool before disconnecting the jump starter. Then, remove the clamps of the starter battery from the car battery and the metal.
Leave your car for a few minutes before starting and use it as usual. You can take off your protective gear cause it is safe now.
Start a car with a TOPVISION jump starter
Plug-in Jump Starter
Compared to a portable jump starter, using a plug-in charger will be more straightforward. The first steps are still the most basic: read the user manual, then turn off the engine and remove the car keys.
Unplugging and turning off the starter is necessary to avoid being shockwave when touching it.
Similar to the second step of using the portable starter, clamp the jump box cables to the terminal of the car battery for the red wire, and clamp them to the car frame or engine or grounded metal for the black wire.
Now it’s ready to start. The third step is plugging the charger’s power cord into an outlet and leaving it on overnight or for seven to ten hours to ensure the car battery will be fully charged.
The last step after a period of charging, switch off the charger before disconnecting two clamps from the charger from the car battery.
Start your car engine, and if it still doesn’t work, then probably the cause isn’t due to out of battery.
Notices And Tips
Use a jump starter
Safety Is A Prerequisite
The first thing you need to ensure to do is the safety factor. You will need to connect and touch a plentiful power source. Therefore, electrical accidents will be unforeseen.
If there is a lot of smell of gasoline or gas in the air, you must open the car’s cabin for about 10 to 15 minutes before starting to make the atmosphere airy.
Make sure your surrounding is dry, and avoid moisture and flammable substances such as gasoline, oil, etc. As when you connect jumper clamps to the battery, it’s possible to electric spark, and extremely dangerous in a high humidity environment.
Remember that you aren’t allowed to connect the positive clamp and negative clamp or attach them by one electric wire.
Last but not least, wearing a protective suit and gloves is required to ensure insulation.
What You Need To Have
You need to have the following things for using a jump starter:
- Plug-in or manual jump starter (jump box)
- Gears such as protective suits and eyes protection
- Car’s battery
- Jump clamps (negative clamp and positive clamp)
The Jump Starter Doesn’t Work
There are many reasons why a jump starter doesn’t work, so you need to check carefully to find the cause.
For a portable jump starter, you didn’t recharge it and when you need to use it, the battery isn’t enough to work anymore. The solution to this problem is simple, recharge the starter immediately!
If you have fully charged the manual starter or you used a plug-in jump starter, when they don’t work then they may be damaged.
The cause of this damage may be due to improper preservation, or their lifespan is over. You can take it to a support center or buy a new tool instead.
If Your Car Doesn’t Work
If your car doesn’t work, turn off the jump starter at first. Then disconnect the cables from the car battery box. Following, try clamping again because the loose clamping situation is possible to occur.
After many retries and your car still doesn’t work? The problem may come from the car battery. Or worse case it’s possible to be damaged. You can call a service center or replace it with a new battery.
Recharge A Portable Jump Starter
You should recharge the jump starter regularly after a period of time to be able to optimize its use. Even if you don’t use it often, we recommend that at least once a month, charging is needed to make sure the battery post is working at its best.
To Sum Up
Our article provided you with all understandable information about “How to use a jump starter”. Now, using it with you is easy as a piece of cake, is it right?
Always keep the following safety precautions in mind: wearing protective gear, checking the surroundings, and inspecting electrical systems and vehicles.
And the last one, follow step-by-step the instructions to ensure safe and effective work!
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