How Do You Boost a Car?

In a place as wet as Metro Vancouver, there’s nothing worse than being stranded somewhere because your car won’t start. Not only are you then soaking wet, you can’t even turn on your car to keep warm.

As seasoned Vancouverites here at More Cash For Scrap, we know that wearing layers is essential for keeping yourself protected from all kinds of unpredictable weather. However, no amount of clothing will keep your car from breaking down, and there are a variety of issues that can cause your car not to start. Knowing how to properly boost a car with jumper cables, as well as a portable booster is essential when living anywhere in Metro Vancouver or the Fraser Valley.

While many of us don’t often have jumper cables readily available when our vehicles die, there is usually a good Samaritan somewhere that does have them. Moreover, usually the person offering up the jumper cables is also the person (thankfully) who knows how to properly boost a car.

At More Cash For Scrap, we see lots of cars and trucks that won’t start. Our professional scrap car removal team always has a set of jumper cables, or even a portable booster on hand for emergencies. It’s good practice to do the same, even if you don’t spend as much time on the road as us!

What Does Jump Starting a Car Do?

Give me a boost. Jump my car. Give ‘er a boost. Jump start your car. Gimme some juice. There are hundreds of ways to say, “help me start my car”, but none of the phrases make it clear how you boost a car the correct way. In fact, many terms like “jump starting a car” refer to now only using jumper cables to get your car running, but also to a time when manual transmission was more, if not as common as automatic transmission.

Jump starting a car used to refer to the act of putting your manual transmission car into neutral, then getting a few devoted friends to push your car up to speed so you could get it in gear and then be up and running. However, with so few manual vehicles around anymore, the term “jump start” more or less refers to boosting your car when its dead in the water.

There can be many reasons why your vehicle won’t start. It could be due to an ongoing electrical issue like a failing alternator, bad wiring, or even something as simple as a relay or fuse malfunctioning. Usually though, it’s battery related.

Jumping a car will help revive your battery either temporarily so that you can get your car to the shop, or ongoing when your battery simply needs a solid amount of run time to help recharge its charge.

How to Properly Jump a Car with Jumper Cables

For many people, when their vehicle won’t start, they usually already know why. At the very least, they have a sneaking suspicion of what the root cause is because there are usually other signs that accompany electrical issues. However, when your vehicle won’t start, the first and best thing to try is boosting your car.

The first thing you need to know for anywhere who hasn’t ever jump started a car before is the proper way to boost a car. Follow these steps to ensure you are not only properly boosting your vehicle, but that you are doing it safely to prevent serious injury to you and anybody that is assisting you.

How to Properly Boost Your Car:

1. Ensure Your Jump Cables Aren’t Damaged

This is a step that many people overlook because, how often do you actually use your jumper cables? For some of us, it’s a regular thing. For others, it’s few and far between. And we think that because our cables are in the trunk of our car, or stored in a bag that it protects them from damage and wear. However, that is not always the case.

As a professional scrap car removal company that has been in operation since 2005, we know that as vehicles age, so do their trunk’s weather stripping. This leads to leaks inside the trunk which can cause rust and corrosion of metal contents, like the connectors on jumper cables.

Before you give your car (or anyone else’s) a boost, make sure that the metal connectors are free from rust or corrosion. Also, ensure there is no damage to any of the wires. If there is, either throw them out, or temporarily repair with a good quality electrical tape.

2. Connect the Cables to Your Boost Vehicle

Doesn’t sound that complicated, right? However, if you don’t connect the metal connectors the proper way, your vehicle won’t be able to receive the charge. Moreover, the vehicle that you’re using to jump your car won’t be able to share the charge.

Likewise, if you’re using a portable booster pack. You need to have the correct cable attached to the appropriate terminal on the battery.

Connect the clamps like this:

• Positive to Positive (Red to Red)
• Negative to Negative (Black to Black)

Always connect the clamps to the vehicle that is being used to jump start another car BEFORE the vehicle that requires jump starting. Once you’ve connected the clamps to the positive and negative posts on your boost vehicle, head over to the vehicle that requires the boost.

3. Connect the Cable to the Vehicle Being Boosted

Now, one of the first and most important steps in connecting the cables to the vehicle that your boosting is DO NOT LET THE TWO CONNECTOR CLAMPS TOUCH ONCE YOU’VE STARTED THE CAR THAT’S PROVIDING THE BOOST. In fact, try to keep them as far apart from each other as you can. It’s a better idea to connect cable to BOTH vehicles before turning the boost vehicle on. However, some people prefer to start the car after connecting cables to the battery terminal before attaching them to the vehicle that is being jumped.

If you touch the two clamps once a power supply has been established, YOU will be the connection, instead of the battery that you want to charge. So, ultimately, touching the two cables together while the boost vehicle is running can result in you accidently electrocuting yourself. This is why we suggest keeping both vehicles turned off until the jumper cables have been connected to both battery terminals.

The same as you attached the first set of cables, attached positive to positive, and negative to negative (red to red, black to black). After that, the only thing left to do is start the boost vehicle (obviously, as the car getting the boost won’t start…).

4. Start Your Car

Now that both vehicles are connected through jumper cables (or one vehicle connected to a booster pack), try starting your car. Now, if your vehicle has been sitting for a long time, like many of the vehicle we purchase are, you may need multiple attempts to get it started.

As a professional scrap car removal company that has been buying scrap cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans throughout Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley since 1998, we know that not every vehicle will start right off the hop when you jump it. In fact, many vehicles that have been sitting too long or have had major electrical issues several turns of the key.

Furthermore, if you’re still unable to start your vehicle after being jumped, the battery may not be the issue that’s causing it not to start.

How Do You Jump a Car Battery with a Portable Jumper?

Boosting a car with a portable battery pack, or “jumper” as some people call it, is much the same as boosting a car with another car. The only difference is the electrical source.

You can purchase a portable battery pack for between $80-$150 at any local Canadian Tire Store, Princess Auto, or even KMS Tools throughout Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. While you might think that you won’t use it much, using it only once or twice is worth the purchase price you pay up front.

Unless you have BCAA, you’ll easily spend an equal amount of money just calling a tow truck to come and boost your car. And even with BCAA, you pay a monthly or annual fee that can easily add up to the $150 you’ll spend on buying a booster.

Attached the clamps to the posts on your battery (red to red, black to black), and then turn on the booster pack. Then, enter your vehicle and try starting it. If it’s a simple battery issue, your car should turn on right away.

Allow it to run for a while so that it has time to recharge the battery. If, however, your vehicle continues to have issues starting after boosting and charging your battery, get your vehicle looked at by a professional mechanic like our friends at Two Brother’s Automotive in North Vancouver.

Why Can’t You Let Jumper Cables Touch When Boosting a Car?

Right now, you may be asking, “Why can’t you touch jumper cables together?”. Well, the simple fact is that even though the cables are coated in protective coverings, the metal clamps are not. The entire purpose of jumper cables is to be conducive to electrical flow. Once you turn on your boost vehicle, you are sending a charge through those cables into the metal clamps. That charge is then sent into the battery of the vehicle that requires boosting through an additional connection.

As we mentioned earlier, touching the metal clamps that attach to the battery terminals is a VERY bad idea. Not only can you electrocute yourself, you can also cause serious damage to your vehicle’s electrical system.

We see so many vehicles come through our doors with mystery electrical problems, shortages, and overall voltage issues. And if your vehicle was already having issues holding a charge before, touching the clamps together can down-right fry your vehicle’s electrical system.

Reasons Why Your Car Won’t Start After Getting a Jumpstart

There are so many different reasons why your vehicle won’t start after getting a boost. That’s because the issue isn’t always related to your battery, or even your electrical system itself. There could be other mechanical issues happening within your car causing it not to start or to stall frequently. Here are some of the most common problems that prevent your car from starting or cause it to stop and not restart.

Possible reasons your car won’t start include:

• Malfunctioning or failed starter
• Alternator problems
• Voltage issues
• Failed engine
• Battery excessively dead
• Bad neutral safety switch
• Various wiring shortages or issues
• Bad battery terminals or other connections that didn’t allow a proper boost

Knowing who the actual culprit is when your vehicle wont’ start after a jump is a job for a professional mechanic. Get your vehicle into the shop if you jumped it and it still won’t start for you.

Cash for Cars with Electrical Problems

So, now that you know the correct way to boost a vehicle, maybe you’ve tried it but your car still won’t start. This is common in older vehicles, vehicles that have been sitting too long, or vehicles that are aging and have had other electrical problems. We buy MORE scrap cars, trucks, SUVs, and vans with major electrical or mechanical issues than any other scrap car removal company in Metro Vancouver.

If you have a vehicle that is suffering from a mystery electrical problem, a known electrical problem, or any other kind of mechanical or electrical failure, sell it for MORE cash to More Cash For Scrap. We provide same day scrap car removal and pay MORE cash for scrap cars than all those other guys!

We provide our customers with instant cash offers over the phone or by text. So, you can call today and get an instant cash offer today. And knowing exactly what you’re getting up front when you sell your car makes the decision about scrapping it a whole lot easier.

Contact Our Scrap Car Removal Specialists Today!

Sick of fighting with your vehicle’s frequent breakdowns? Tired of paying HUGE mechanic’s bills every other month? Don’t want to be stranded in a Metro Vancouver downpour this fall? There’s a simple solution… Sell your car to More Cash For Scrap!

We offer MORE cash for scrap cars than any other scrap car removal company in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Which means that even if your vehicle has issues, you can sell if for the most cash today, and use that money towards a new vehicle (or a new-to-you vehicle) that won’t leave you standing on the side of Highway 1 in the rain.

If you want a quick and easy way to scrap your car, truck, SUV, or van for MORE cash, scrap it with More Cash For Scrap. We offer MORE customer service, MORE flexible scrap car removal, and always pay MORE cash for scrap cars than the other guys!