Do YOU know how to jump-start a car?

GlassOnion

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#22
I can't believe that many people in a snowy area didn't have cables WOW!
My thoughts exactly. Soon as I got the dreaded "rrrrr-rrrrr-rrrrrr" sound I was thinking "no big deal, the hotel will have cables I'm sure". Nope. "Oh well, it's a cheap hotel ($56 a night), can't expect everything...but surely this guy will have them....ok maybe this guy.....alright this girl maybe? **** it....ok maybe this couple here...."

They also sell jumper cables that are attached to a battery... so you can jump your own car... this is probably the best to have because you dont need any help from others.
I used to have one of those but it lost its charge too quickly. I had to recharge it pretty much every day. Maybe it was just a bad brand or something.
 

k9krazee

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#23
Oh yes. My last car had to be jumped almost every day. I had an extra battery in my trunk if needed, along with the tools to install it, one of those jump-start batteries (which I only ever charged once or twice, and used 3-4 times in a row without a problem), and a pair of jumper cables. My dad eventually installed an on-off switch on my battery. There was some sort of drain on the battery (the broken automatic seatbelts?) that we couldn't figure out.

I learned that the jumper cables that come in those cheapy car kits are NOT worth it. I had two kits and the jumper cables were only good for one jump. So in that sense it was good to have working cables, but in my experience weren't reusable.
 

Lilavati

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#24
Yes and yes. Dad wouldn't let me get my license until I could jump a car and change a tire. I still have the cables he gave me . . . not sure what happened to tire iron.
 

elegy

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#25
i have them but don't know how to use them. i did recently get a crash course in how to pop the clutch though ;)

also, i have AAA.
 
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#26
Yes and yes. Dad made sure all his daughters knew these things ... also how to change a tire.
('Course sometimes it's dang-near impossible to get machine-tightened lug nuts off ... so I also have triple A just in case, also as recommended by Dad.)
 

GlassOnion

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#29
Yes and yes. Dad wouldn't let me get my license until I could jump a car and change a tire. I still have the cables he gave me . . . not sure what happened to tire iron.
See I really feel those two things should be part of the driving test. That and how to check oil.
 

CaliTerp07

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#30
See I really feel those two things should be part of the driving test. That and how to check oil.
Ehh....should you have to know how to unclog a drain or rewire a light switch before you're approved for a mortgage? (Agree, good skills to know/have when you start driving, but I don't think they should be mandatory).
 

Southpaw

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#31
I think I used to have jumper cables in my car, but not anymore. Wouldn't matter though because I have no idea how to use them. A couple months ago I went to a dog show, I was there for definitely no more than an hour (it was a lame show, haha)... go out to my car, power locks don't work. Take a quick glance and notice my headlights are still on. :eek: I had to call my dad and have him come out, he was less than pleased because it was about a 40 minute drive... whooops. That's what happens when you have an old car that doesn't beep when your lights are left on!
 

Gustav

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#32
Why would you need cables?

Put it in first gear, get someone to push or if you're lucky you're on a hill, get the car moving and then just let go of the clutch.. Et voila, the car is "bump" started! ;)

I suppose that could be ever so slightly more problematic if you have an automatic car though, having only ever owned a geared car I wouldn't know though!
 

Saeleofu

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#33
With the last car I had, I had to choice but to learn to do it. It wouldn't start without a jump. I had a portable jumper for a while. I do have jumper cables, and I do know how to use them. And for the record, I can change a tire too ;)
 

Lilavati

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#34
On the note about triple AAA . . . everyone should have AAA! Dad bought me a AAA membership too . . . and the number of times I have been glad to see the AAA guy!
 
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#35
See I really feel those two things should be part of the driving test. That and how to check oil.
Ehh....should you have to know how to unclog a drain or rewire a light switch before you're approved for a mortgage? (Agree, good skills to know/have when you start driving, but I don't think they should be mandatory).
^^^ Agree with CaliTerp. They should NOT be mandatory.

We already have way too many laws designed for nothing but to protect people from themselves. Most of those laws don't work to protect the people they're designed to protect anyway. Those kinds of laws just end up a pain in the arse for everybody else, while people who need to be protected from themselves can always be counted on to find some way to screw themselves up. :rolleyes:

GO brings up a good point on checking oil. Anybody who can't check their own oil is a dipstick.
(Before anybody who doesn't know how starts whining ... relax, it's just a JOKE ... 'cause the dipstick is what you pull to check, and ... oh that's right, you don't know how. It's not hard, really! The first time you do it yourself you won't believe how freakin' easy it is.)

Checking oil might be even more important than knowing how to jump a car or change a tire. Dead batteries and flat tires are easy to recognize and (hopefully) not a thing that happens repeatedly. But if your car is continually running low on oil you may never know it until something very expensive-to-fix goes wrong. It's really easy to check oil ... look it up in your owner's manual. Don't have an owner's manual? Many are available online ... or if not easy instructions on checking oil, including exactly where to find the dipstick on any car. But here's the basics:

1. Lift the hood.
2. Look for a thing with a little loop on top that's sticking up .. that's the dipstick.
3. Pull gently on that looped thingy.
4. See the oil on the bottom? Wipe that off with a clean paper towel.
5. Look carefully at the bottom of the dipstick. Those lines on the bottom tell you how much oil your car has when you check it ... and indicate how much it should have if it's low on oil.
6. Put the paper-towel-cleaned dipstick back where it was.
7. Lift the dipstick up again.
8. Look to see where the oil stops on those lines at the bottom ... if it's down too low you need to add oil. If the oil you see is very black ... you need to have your oil changed.

If the oil is low and you have no idea where to pour in another quart ... take the car in to have more oil put in or the oil changed if needed. It doesn't have to be expensive to have oil changed ... Jiffy Lube and WalMart are both cheap.... and having oil changed/added if needed will save a lot more money down the line for expensive repairs that will be needed if you keep running the car with low oil and/or filthy oil.
 

ACooper

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#36
Why would you need cables?

Put it in first gear, get someone to push or if you're lucky you're on a hill, get the car moving and then just let go of the clutch.. Et voila, the car is "bump" started! ;)

I suppose that could be ever so slightly more problematic if you have an automatic car though, having only ever owned a geared car I wouldn't know though!
OMG Louie! You just brought back a traumatic memory for me :rofl1:

A friend and myself were all dolled up to go shopping, hang out, whatever in shall we say "non school attire" (non parent approved either!) We went out, hopped in my little ford and it wouldn't turn over! We got out, looked under the hood (as if, LOL) and who should pull up but our PRINCIPAL! :eek: MORTIFYING!

He got out of his car, instructed us to get in and he push started us while in his suit, tie and dress shoes! :eek: We couldn't look him in the eye at school for a good long while! hahaahhahaha
 

BostonBanker

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#37
Best money I ever spent was on one of those jump starter boxes. After one too many times with my car dying in the garage, and it being a pain to get it out so another car could reach it, I got one. $70 or so? I keep it charged and in the car. Hook it up, it won't even turn itself on unless everything is hooked correctly, then start the car. Voila. No need for a second car or person, no scary sparks. I've used it a couple times myself, and probably five or so times for other people with dead cars, and they are always impressed by it!
 

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