Flat battery not a problem
I have recently had big problems with my car’s battery, I had to educate myself when it came to jump starting (Sådan får du starthjælp is the term in Denmark) the car or bump starting it down a slight hill or incline. I have had the car in to the local garage and they have been unable to diagnose the fault on three occasions. It is a little frustrating and my only option left is to book the car in to the main dealers and have them put it on the diagnostic test machine. This is expensive and they are currently booked up for a week, so I have to wait any how!
Bump starting:
I have been reading about how to go about bump starting a car. If I am lucky or clever enough to park on a slight incline or hill, then I can carry out this simple task. With the hand brake applied I am to turn on the ignition then I am to put the car in to second gear. Next I am to put my foot on the clutch. Now the interesting bit, I have to release the hand brake, then when I start to roll down the hill or slight incline, as soon as my speed becomes fast enough probably about twenty miles per hour, I am to release the clutch slowly. The engine should start quickly and without effort. As soon as the engine is running I can drive the car in the usual way with one exception, I should rev the engine a little higher to keep the car running and charge up the flat battery.
Jump starting:
If I am nowhere near a hill or slight incline, I may have to jump start my cay. This method of dealing with a flat battery (we Danes call that dødt batteri på bilen) is simple if you follow the steps and keep to the basic rules. Every battery has two terminals, the red is positive and the black is negative. The jump leads are colored the same, so they should only be connected to the corresponding terminal. The battery terminals are also marked with symbols the positive is with a + and the negative is with a – symbol. The golden rule when jump starting your flat battery is never allow the red lead to come in to contact with any metal of either car. It is red for a reason “DANGER” if it does touch metal it can spark and cause electrical components to be damaged. With a donor car parked next to, or facing your car with both bonnets up, the batteries will be close to each other. Connect the leads to the donor car first, followed by the car with the flat battery. Once the leads are correctly fitted it is time to start the car with the defective battery. It can be useful to rev the car with the good battery to offer a higher cranking voltage.
If you follow these simple steps, a flat battery can be dealt with without too much drama.
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