Can a Car Battery Be Too Dead to Jump Start?

The remedy for a low car battery that can’t power the engine is to power the engine by jump starting it. So what happens when your car battery fails to jump start? Can a car battery be too dead to jump start?

No, a car battery cannot be too dead to jump start. When your car fails to jump start, it might have to do with other things other than the power of the battery.

In this article, we will examine the reasons why your car battery may not jump start and the ways to jump start a flat battery.

Reasons Why Your Dead Battery May Not Jump Start

If you unsuccessfully attempt to jump start your car battery, then something other than the battery’s low power is wrong with the battery. There are different possibilities of what might be the problem.

These are some of the factors that can stop your car battery from jump starting.

Damaged Battery

If your car battery has a broken case or other or the internal connection is faulty, it won’t jump start. Jump starting can only work when the battery is low but not faulty.

Faulty Alternator

The alternator is what charges the battery and ensures it has the power to start the engine. When the alternator is faulty, the car will not be able to jump start.

A bad alternator can’t lend an electrical charge needed to power the battery, so even if you jump start the battery, it won’t charge.

The Battery Is Too Old

Sometimes, a car battery becomes very weak due to old age. Hence if you jump start the battery, it won’t work because the battery is too old to hold a charge.

If the battery is too old, the only solution might be to get a replacement because no amount of jump starting will work.

Bad Terminals

When the battery terminal is bad, it can’t receive the energy current from the clamp. Corrosion will affect the battery’s ability to receive the power transmitted through the jumper cables from the other car to your car.

You should check your car battery terminal for a crusty substance that can stop the battery from starting. Additionally, if the battery terminal is loose, it won’t be able to receive the power from the jumping cables.

Loose Jumper Cable Connection

When the clamps on the jumping cables are loose they won’t be able to effectively attach to the terminal. This will hinder the transmission of power from the other car battery to your car battery.

Faulty Jumper Cable

Jumper cables develop faults that can hinder their ability to transmit power from one car to another. The internal wire can be broken or it might be too thin to transmit the amount of power necessary to jump start a dead battery.

Additionally, if the jumper cables are too long, it can slow down the power transmission thereby making jump starting impossible.

Faulty Starter

Sometimes, a failed jump starting can be due to a faulty starter. It’s possible that the jumper cables are transmitting power to your battery but your starter is bad so you can’t confirm if the battery is receiving the power.

When the battery fails to jump start, it’s easy to think that the problem is from the battery. However, it can be from the car starter.

How To Jump Start A Dead Battery

When your car battery is flat, jump starting it will transmit the necessary energy to power it to start the engine. Jump-starting your car is not difficult and you can do it yourself. All you require is a car with a good battery and jumping cables.

You can follow these steps to jump start a dead battery.

Turn Off All The Electrical Items

Firstly, ensure you turn off the car’s electricity. Your flat battery needs all the power it can get, so turn off everything including the lights, air conditioning, windshield wipers, and radio.

Bring Out The Cables

You will need car jumping cables to jump start your car. Clamps are a common tool you carry in your car just like the wheel spanner. If you don’t have jumper cables I. Your car, you can try to borrow from other motorists.

Position The Cars Well

Before jump starting your car, you should ensure the cars aren’t facing each other. Ensure the vehicles are well parked and placed in neutral, and the engines are off.

Connect The Clamps

If you’ve jump started a car before, you should have no trouble connecting the clamp. The red clamp represents positive while the black clamp represents negative.

Firstly, connect the red clamp to the positive of your car then proceed to connect the other red clamp to the positive post of the other car. After connecting the red clamp connection, you should repeat the process for the black clamps.

While connecting the cable, ensure that you don’t cross-connect the cables. Accidentally connecting the positive clamp to the negative terminal, or the negative clamp to the positive terminal can cause a short circuit which is very dangerous. 

Start The Car

After connecting the clamps, you can start the car. The car should start at once, however, if the car doesn’t start, adjust the clamps. If your car still fails to start, you should ask the other car to run the engine.

Disconnect The Cables

After starting your car, you can disconnect the cables safely, you should disconnect them in the order you connected them.

First, disconnect the negative from your battery and then the negative in the other car. After that, disconnect the positive from your battery then disconnect it from the other car.

Keep The Engine Running

If you’re able to successfully jump start your car, you should keep the engine running. You can drive the car for up to thirty minutes to ensure that the alternator gets enough time to recharge the battery.

However, if your jump-start fails, it might be that the battery is bad and you might need to get a replacement.

How Long Do You Charge a Dead Battery?

If the car battery has been dead for a long time, you will need to charge it for longer hours to revive it. The charging hour for your battery will depend on the number of amps you use to charge.

The higher the number of amps, the shorter the time you will need to charge your battery. Likewise, the lower the amps, the longer the charging time.

What is the Easiest Way to Recharge a Dead Battery?

When your battery is reading below 12.4 volts, you will have to jump start your car battery because it’s too low to power it.

If your battery is above 12 volts, you can recharge it by using the car’s alternator. You need to drive your car for up to thirty minutes to give the alternative sufficient time to fully recharge your car battery.

However, if your car volt is below 12 volts there’s little the alternator can do. You will have to use a battery charger to recharge the battery because forcing the alternator to charge the battery can lead to further damage.

Conclusion

A car battery can never get too low to jump start because jump starting is one of the remedies for a low battery.

The amount of power needed to jump start the battery will depend on how low the battery is. So when your car battery is very low, you need to exercise some patience for the battery to recharge.

In recharging your car battery, you can either jump start it with another car or get an electric car battery charger.