The Procedure Of Jumpstarting A Car With A Bad Alternator
What will happen if the car alternator goes bad? It will kill your battery and the engine will halt. What will you do if it happens in the middle of nowhere or a deserted place where help is not available? The knowledge of jumpstarting a car with a bad alternator is the only thing that can save you in that situation.
Can You Jumpstart A Car With A Bad Alternator?
Our answer is “yes” but please note that it’s just a temporary fix and you only drive a short distance when applying this method. Replacing or repairing the bad alternator is the only way you can handle this problem. The purpose of jumpstarting a car is to provide temporary power to the vehicle’s electrical system and start the engine using the power from another vehicle’s battery. However, once the engine is running, the alternator takes over the task of supplying electrical power to the car’s systems and charging the battery.
If the alternator is faulty or not functioning properly, it will not be able to generate sufficient electrical power to keep the engine running or charge the battery. Therefore, even if you successfully jumpstart a car with a bad alternator, the vehicle will likely stall again once the battery’s power is depleted.
Jumpstarting A Car With A Bad Alternator: The Procedures
Most of us use the air conditioning, heater, music player, and other amenities in the car without thinking about the energy source. Well, we know the battery supplies the power. But, what makes it capable of pulling off the load for all these electric components? It’s the alternator, which charges the battery while you drive. When something happens to the alternator, it will ultimately affect the battery and drain its energy. The know-how of jumpstarting a car with a bad alternator is the way to handle the problem.
How are you going to do it? Here’s the step-by-step process:
Find another car
You will need to find another car with a good battery and convince the driver to allow you to use the battery power to jumpstart your car. Remember that your car’s battery will draw a great amount of energy from the other battery.
Connect the jumper cables
Connect the positive (red) cable of the jumper cables to the positive terminal of your car. The other red cable on the opposite end of the jumper cables should go to the positive terminal of the other car with a good battery.
The negative (black) cable should go to the negative terminal of the good battery. Place the negative cable of the car with the bad alternator on the engine. Be careful that the engine part does not have any chrome plating, painting, or dirt.
Run the car
Not the one with the bad alternator! You have to run the other car for 4 to 5 minutes. Make sure that your car is shut off during this time. Also, you have to keep all the accessories switched off. Components like a CD player, radio, AC, heater, and other such things consume a great amount of energy. Keeping them turned off will help with quickly powering up the computer and fuel injectors.
Try to start your car after those 5 minutes.
See more:
- Dealing with a Dead Car? Find out the Culprit!
- The Reasons You Need to Check the Battery When the Engine Misfires
Disconnect the cables
Remove all the jumper cables and keep them separated from each other while doing this process. Check that all accessories of your car are still turned off to conserve battery power. The car cannot run for long after the cables are disconnected.
Go to a car servicing shop
After successfully jumpstarting a car with a bad alternator, drive to the nearest automobile repair shop to get the battery and alternator fixed. Don’t do it at night, though. If the battery cannot generate enough power to run the engine until you reach the auto shop, the lights can go out and the car might stop again. Request the other driver to tag along with you to repeat the entire process if that happens.
You can keep a jumper pack handy to prepare in advance for the situation. Also, avoid highways or major roads if possible when driving to the repair shop. It will reduce the risk factor if the car breaks down again.
How to jumpstart a car properly: