How To Avoid The Dangers And Inconveniences Of A Dead Battery This Winter

There are many things you can complain about when it comes to winter, but one of the worst irritations is finding your car battery is dead and needs a jump.

Low temperatures reduce a battery’s cranking power and thickens the motor oil, so it’s harder to turn over the car’s engine and the battery drains. You need to recharge it quickly or the battery could freeze and not be able to be charged.

Jim Ward, service manager at Smart Motors in Madison, said this is a problem for both traditional cars and hybrids. Hybrid owners might not realize the hybrid is fundamentally a different design and has batteries located in different spots and takes on power differently.

“Hybrids with the 12-volt battery inside the passenger compartment like the Prius use an AGM battery, which uses absorbed glass mats so there is no ‘loose’ liquid to spray,” Ward said. “Some hybrids use conventional 12-volt batteries located outside the passenger compartment which do carry the concern of potential explosion.”

For safe starting both hybrids and conventional batteries, Ward has put together a checklist for keeping you and your battery safe in winter:

How to jump-start a hybrid vehicle:

1. Don’t make a practice of using your hybrid to jump-start other vehicles as you could greatly damage the discharged vehicle’s electrical system.
2. Apply the parking brake and turn off the headlight switch and interior light.
3. Turn off the hybrid system and remove the key if inserted.
4. Open the hood; fuse block cover, and exclusive jump-starting terminal cover.
5. Connect positive clamp (red) jumper cable to the exclusive jump-starting terminal.
6. Connect the negative clamp (black) to a solid, stationary, unpainted, metallic point of the vehicle with the discharged battery.
7. If the booster battery is installed in another vehicle, make sure the vehicles are not touching. Turn off all unnecessary lights and accessories.
8. When boosting, use the battery of matching or higher quality. Any other battery may make for a difficult start.
9. Allow the discharged battery to rest with the jumper cables connected for approximately five minutes. At this time, run the engine in the vehicle with the booster battery at about 2,000 RPM with the accelerator pedal lightly depressed.
10. Start the hybrid system. Make sure the “ready” light is on.
11. Disconnect the cables in reverse order: the negative cable and then the positive cable.

How to jump-start a traditional vehicle:

1. Park the booster vehicle close but not touching the one that needs to be jumped.
2. Begin the process by clamping one of the positive jumper cable ends (red) to the positive battery terminal (labeled with a plus sign on the battery) of the discharged vehicle.
3. Connect the other end of the positive cable (red) to the positive battery terminal on the booster vehicle (again, confirm that a plus sign is next to the battery terminal).
4. Connect the negative cable end (black) to the negative battery terminal on the booster car (marked with a negative sign). Finally, attach the other end of the negative cable to an unpainted metal surface on the engine of the discharged car.
5. Start the discharged vehicle and let the two vehicles idle for a few minutes.
6. Once the discharged vehicle is started and running smoothly, disconnect the jumper cables in the reverse order that they were connected.
7. Drive the revived car to somewhere safe and secure before shutting off the engine.