There have been a few times when my car battery has died. Luckily, there has always been another car around to jump start me. I've always been scared that there will be a time when my battery dies and there is no one around to jump start me. How can I jump start my car without another car?
I have jumper cables in my trunk, but is there anything else that I should carry if I want to jump start my car alone?
Depending on how low your battery is, there is a way to start a car if you have a manual transmission, and that is to push-start the car.
Follow this procedure:
If the car is moving too slowly, it will not work, but you don't really need to have a lot of speed either. It can also be done whilst in reverse, but it's a little trickier to steer and handle car then.
Please do use 2nd gear and the clutch pushed in. It's a lot harder to start if in 1st gear, or if the car is in gear!
I have followed this procedure a lot of times with success, but mainly on slightly old cars.
For around $100 (USD) you can buy a battery pack that is able to jump your car. A quick google search for "jump starter battery pack" will show many options and price ranges. They'll often be able to inflate tires, charge phones and other handy utilities too. You clamp it on just like you would a jump start with another car and start, but you might not want to keep them attached too long. I have one that has saved me misery many times, but remember to check the charge frequently as the batteries do drain even when not in use. I fine mine should be charged maybe every two to three months and gets 3 jumps on a battery but YMWV.
If your battery is getting old and nearing replacement time, you can use a simple trick (provided you have a wet battery that can be opened from the top) involving just two aspirin tablets which are commonly available and used for treating fever and pains.
Note that opening a battery is dangerous so only do it if you are comfortable with the risks and know what you are doing.
Note: This method can seriously effect the lifetime of the battery, so if it is a new battery and it has simply just run out of charge, avoid using this method. As mentioned this should be used for old and dying batteries so you should head to a garage to get it replaced as soon as possible.
Some additional methods:
Got a manual transmission you could push-start but nowhere to push it? This works if you're parallel parked or don't have suitable terrain to push-start. You do need sufficient battery charge to power the ECU/coils/injectors though. Jack up one of the drive wheels off the ground, put the car in 4th or 5th gear and the key in the ignition position, and turn the jacked-up wheel by hand to turn over the engine. If turning it by the tire is too hard, a ratcheting socket wrench on the axle nut with a long extension bar can be used instead.
Safety notes: Make sure you have the parking brake firmly engaged and also have a secondary method of blocking the non-drive wheels from moving. If using the wrench method, it must be a ratchet or once the engine takes over it will turn your wrench into a projectile!
Got a laptop charger or other device with 13-15v output? Hook it up to the battery terminals for a half hour or so and, if the battery is in decent condition, you'll probably get enough charge to start. Not useful without AC outlets nearby though, but I've used this method successfully before at home. It can also be combined with the above method if you don't have sufficient battery charge to power the ignition system.
If you have a charged battery lying around you can jump start a car off that. Attach the jump leads as you would to a battery in another vehicle. You probably won't get many starts off this battery before it goes flat. Of course it would make more sense to put the charged battery in your car, if it fits.
The batteries age and their capacity to deliver the proper amount of current decreases, it is most noticeable when the temperature drops. All the drivers that live in areas where the temperature drops to -20Celsius - in the night - are aware of this. Your local battery shop should have a battery tester to assess the main electrical characteristics of the battery and the charging circuitry on the car.
It is worth to do a check on your battery, it might be just as simple as replacing the old battery.
You can push-start a manual transmission car alone (with no-one to help you push) if you can push in reverse (using your back) to back the car up onto a slight hill. Not too steep otherwise you will not be able to push it up. Long and almost flat is the best. Even up a moderately steep hill, you can push car up one step at a time by your leg and back muscles.
Keeping the driver's door opened, put transmission into first gear, push the clutch down with your right leg, and push car backwards uphill with your left leg through the opened door (assuming steering wheel is on the left side of the car). When you are tired, disengage clutch and car will stop in the middle of the hill. Repeat until you are far enough uphill so that you have chance to develop enough speed downhill.
Then, to start, you put the car into neutral, push the car forward a bit, jump in, wait for a bit speed to develop using gravity, and put it into first gear to start engine (and pray it works first time so you don't have to repeat).
If you are in flat area with no hill to back up to, starting in reverse gives you more power: Get into reverse, push clutch with right leg and push thru opened door with left leg to develop some speed, then release clutch to try start engine. Be prepared to press clutch again, because when car starts, will have not enough speed to run (and might die like when you slow down without engaging the clutch).
If your batteries are dead because you forgot to turn off lights (for few hours not days, so battery is not 100% dead, only nearly dead and has not enough juice to start your car): Before starting, turn off the lights and wait an hour or few to let the battery recover. You may also use time to find someone to jump-start car or help you to push :-)
There is a method that works for most manual cars, which simply involves getting the car moving before starting the engine, otherwise knows as a push start - this will work for new batteries without damaging them as the method above would.
Two variations of the method which would have the same effect:
Get a few people to help push the car, push the clutch all the way down and put it into the second gear (do not release clutch just yet). Begin pushing the car and once it has gathered some speed - pop the clutch and the engine should start, and the car's alternator should start charging the battery again. The ignition should be turned to 'on'. If it doesn't work initially, keep depressing and releasing the clutch and it should eventually be successful.
Park at the top of a hill / incline facing down - make sure you have the emergency brake on. When you return to your car, release the brake and do the same as mentioned in the previous method. - This method doesn't need people but there is a slight lack of control as your brakes will be less effective with the engine off should this method fail.
For both of these variations you only need to be up to a speed of ~ 5 mph (~ 8 kph) before releasing the clutch for it to work - any slower and it will likely fail, faster will still work but has greater risks involved (i.e. lack of power steering when engine off - child in road, no easy way to swerve, splat. Child pancakes for breakfast.)
