Car Battery CPR
Fifteen minutes ago, I became a good samaritan to a brother of my officemate. What happened was that my officemate's brother's car (I forgot his name already... let's refer to him as Marb's brother...) won't start.
Since it was running earlier, I immediately suspected a weak battery. I asked Marb's brother to start the car, and all we got was sort of a struggling noise from the starter.
Time for jumper cables.
For you who want to help a stranded guy or girl due to a weak battery, here's all you need to remember: positive, positive, negative, metal. For the first jumper cable, attach one end to the positive terminal of the good battery and the other end to the positive terminal of the bad battery. For the second jumper cable, attach one end to the negative terminal of the good battery and the other end to a metal (EXCEPT the engine or any of its parts... you might short something...) on the other car (preferably the bolts on the shock mounts; it's the nuts above the tires...).
If you flick the ignition and it starts, congratulations! You've just performed car battery CPR.
If not... then the problem is something else - immediate suspects are a defective starter or a kapoot engine (common: overheated engines - do not start).
After performing car battery CPR, Marb's brother's car started, and was able to go on his way. Feels good to help people out.
Since it was running earlier, I immediately suspected a weak battery. I asked Marb's brother to start the car, and all we got was sort of a struggling noise from the starter.
Time for jumper cables.
For you who want to help a stranded guy or girl due to a weak battery, here's all you need to remember: positive, positive, negative, metal. For the first jumper cable, attach one end to the positive terminal of the good battery and the other end to the positive terminal of the bad battery. For the second jumper cable, attach one end to the negative terminal of the good battery and the other end to a metal (EXCEPT the engine or any of its parts... you might short something...) on the other car (preferably the bolts on the shock mounts; it's the nuts above the tires...).
If you flick the ignition and it starts, congratulations! You've just performed car battery CPR.
If not... then the problem is something else - immediate suspects are a defective starter or a kapoot engine (common: overheated engines - do not start).
After performing car battery CPR, Marb's brother's car started, and was able to go on his way. Feels good to help people out.
