I have jump started and been jump started a few times and never had a problem. I pay attention to the polarity and I always connect the negative last to the frame or metal part on the engine. My son bought me a jump pack from HF and I have used it twice to give a jump to someone. Worked just fine. The instructions say to recharge once a month, I know some folks do not do that and the units hold a charge. Also recharge after use. Wait for a sale/coupon and they are less than $50. Cheap insurance and eliminates the urban legend that the cars computer will be hacked by the Russians if you jump someone with your cars battery.
Itâs been perhaps 20 years and I forget the details at this point, but my wifeâs car did have something electrical damaged while giving a jump start (done properly). Iâve tried to avoid giving jump starts after that even though I know this is rare.
The only time I ever had problems trying to jump was when I was using my 94 Saturn Sedan to try to jump start my grandfatherâs early 90s Ranger. Almost overheated the Saturn trying to get enough juice to get the truck started, but I think that was mostly due to the truckâs battery being toast. I havenât had any trouble with our 09 Focus, 05 T&C, or either of my in-lawâs vehicles. Just take your time and be careful to connect everything correctly.
My mom got really mad at me several years back because I ran the heater through the top vents.
âWhy did you do that!?â
âErm⊠Cause my hands are freezing?â
âItâll melt the vents, you canât do that, heat can only come out of the floor vents!â
ââŠâ
Itâs strange how many weird, completely illogical things people will believe about cars.
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In my experience, when youâre using a small vehicle to jump start a large one, you need to let the small one idle for 5-10 minutes to build up a charge in the dead battery. Revving the engine doesnât seem to speed up the process.
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Yeah we did. I had actually jumped it the summer previously. I think the battery completely discharged over the winter as it was likely the original or 2nd battery that truck had ever had (this happened around 2005 or 2006). My grandfather is rather notorious for how he randomly decides which maintenance items he cares about. He checks the oil/fluids/tire pressure at least weekly, but never does anything with his battery (the truck was just a yard truck so it wasnât used terribly regularly, and even though he had a trickle charger, he never thought to use it on the truck for some reason)
The manual for my 1988 BMW 325is calls for removing several fuses prior to jump starting, this is to avoid the potential for voltage spikes damaging electronics. Itâs possible that newer cars have better protection.