Jump Starting: Service and Repair
JUMP STARTING - EXCLUDING HYBRID ELECTRIC VEHICLES (HEV) VEHICLES
WARNING: Review all safety precautions and warnings in the battery system section. Battery Charging
- Do not jump start a frozen battery.
- Do not jump start a maintenance-free battery (if equipped) when indicator dot is yellow or a bright color.
- Do not jump start a vehicle when the battery fluid is below the top of lead plates.
- Do not allow jumper cable clamps to touch each other when connected to a booster source.
- Do not expose battery to or near open flame.
- Remove metallic jewelry worn on hands or wrists to avoid injury by accidental arcing of battery current.
- When using a high-output boosting device, do not allow battery voltage to exceed 16 volts. Refer to instructions provided with device being used.
Failure to follow these instructions may result in personal injury.
CAUTION: When using another vehicle as a booster, do not allow vehicles to touch. Electrical systems can be damaged on either vehicle.
TO JUMP START A DISABLED VEHICLE:
Jumper Cable Clamp Connections
1. Raise hood on the disabled vehicle and visually inspect the engine compartment for:
- battery cable clamp condition; clean if necessary.
- frozen battery.
- yellow or bright-color test indicator, if equipped.
- low battery fluid level.
- generator drive belt condition and tension.
- fuel fumes or leakage; correct if necessary.
CAUTION: If the cause of starting problem on disabled vehicle is severe, damage to booster vehicle charging system can result.
2. When using another vehicle as a booster source, park the booster vehicle within cable reach. Turn off all accessories, set the parking brake, place the automatic transmission (if equipped) in PARK or the manual transmission (if equipped) in NEUTRAL and turn the ignition off.
3. On the disabled vehicle, place the automatic transmission (if equipped) in PARK or NEUTRAL (for both manual and automatic transmissions) and set the parking brake. Turn off all accessories.
4. Connect jumper cables to booster battery. Connect the red positive jumper cable (4) clamp to the positive (+) battery terminal (5). Connect the black negative jumper cable (2) clamp to the negative (-) battery terminal (3). To prevent electrical arc, do not allow opposite ends of jumper cable clamps to touch.
5. On the disabled vehicle, connect the red positive jumper cable (4) clamp to the positive (+) battery terminal (5). Connect the black negative jumper cable (2) clamp to the engine ground (1) as close to the ground cable attaching point as possible.
6. Start the engine in the booster vehicle, let the engine idle a few minutes, and then start the engine in the disabled vehicle.
CAUTION: Do not crank starter motor on disabled vehicle for more than 15 seconds, starter will overheat and could fail.
7. Allow battery in the disabled vehicle to charge to at least 12.4 volts (75% charge) before attempting to start engine. If engine does not start within 15 seconds, stop cranking engine and allow starter to cool for 15 minutes before cranking again.
DISCONNECT CABLE CLAMPS AS FOLLOWS:
- Disconnect black negative jumper cable (2) clamp from engine ground (1) on the disabled vehicle.
- When using a booster vehicle, disconnect the black negative jumper cable (2) clamp from the negative battery terminal (3). Disconnect the red positive jumper cable (4) clamp from the positive battery terminal (5).
- Disconnect the red positive jumper cable (4) clamp from the positive battery terminal (4) on the disabled vehicle.