I'm a car expert

Aug 25, 2023

A MECHANIC has shown the proper way to link jumper cables to your car so you don't make the same expensive mistake as one of his customers.

The technician, Kris, said his client incorrectly linked their jump starter by hooking up to a positive port in the fuse box and using an ECM (Electronic Control Module) as a ground point.

The fuse box's positive port and ECM are under the customer's hood in Kris’ (@krisbuchowicz) video clip on TikTok.

This jump-start configuration resulted in the client frying their ECM's motherboard.

Kris explained: "If you’re unsure where to jump-start your vehicle, always open up your owner's manual or just go on Google.

"If you can't access those two, always go straight to the source, which is your 12-volt battery.

"Your 12-volt battery is designed to observe any sort of voltage spikes, so you avoid having this really expensive repair [damaged ECM motherboard]."

Most car batteries work through an electrochemical reaction that sends power signals to your terminal ends and turns your vehicle on.

However, this chemical reaction slows down in colder weather, weakening your battery's power by 30 to 60 percent — which is why many car batteries die during the winter.

But if you have some jumper cables and a power source, there's no need for worry.

If your power source is another vehicle, you will want to park the cars side-by-side, so the cables can reach the batteries.

After you have parked the vehicles next to each other, turn off the ignition, put on the parking brake, open the hood of both cars, and attach the cables.

First, connect the positive (red) clip to the positive terminal on the dead car's battery before connecting its other end to the positive terminal on the donor battery of the other vehicle.

Next, connect the black clip to the negative terminal of the donor car before linking the other end clip to an unpainted metal part of the dead car that is not directly next to the battery.

Once you’ve attached the cables, start the working vehicle, and after about a minute, try starting the dead car's battery.

If this doesn't work, leave it running for up to five minutes, but turn the engine off if the lead gets too hot.

Once your car runs, leave the engine on for a few minutes to charge the battery.

Lastly, remove the leads in reverse order to how you attached them and ensure they don't touch each other or any metal surfaces.