Eco4wd

 

TRAIL TIP 

JUMP STARTING

   

Chapter 8 (Repairs, page 300), of “SHIFTING Into 4WD” offers this very important caution about jump starting any vehicle, 4WD or not!  Tour the book.

 

This procedure is for cables. Run the motor on the good-battery 4X. Connect plus to plus (red) on both batteries. Next, connect the negative (black) to the good battery. Now comes the important part. Connect the final negative lead to ground, not the negative terminal on the bad battery. Ground (or earth for those who eat on their fork upside down) is the generic (electrical connection) term used for most of the vehicle’s frame, engine or metal thingies, but obviously avoid rotating parts!

The fear associated with making the last connection directly at the battery is that sparks will explode it. The rule for both jumper cables and battery packs is: The last connection you make and the first connection you break will spark and potentially explode the battery. In essence, you always want the sparks to occur away from the battery. As batteries charge, they produce hydrogen. That’s highly explosive rocket fuel! Really! Keep sparks away from the battery.

If the jump doesn’t turn it over, then the problem may be in the starter or one of the battery connections. Bad connections are relatively easy to handle.

Preview SHIFTING into 4WD.

© 2003 Harry Lewellyn, All rights reserved.