Jump starting battery

Merlin5

Merlin5

Merlin5

Soldato
Joined
17 Aug 2009
Posts
18,598
Location
Finchley, London
I left my lights on and the red switch on for both indicators to flash last night as I was unloading some stuff and completely forgot to turn them off. A few hours later everything is dead. I tried jump starting with the help of a neighbour but it seems to be completely dead, no turnover sound. When his leads were connected, my headlights came on and then went off randomly even though I'd turned the lights off. That's a bit weird isn't it? The only thing lit on the dash was the battery icon. It's a Varta D47 60 Ah 540A sealed battery that I bought new last summer, 2020 I think. I presume it can be jump started or recharged and shouldn't be completely dead and thrown, right? It wouldn't be anything to do with an immobiliser stopping it from starting, would it?

Sod's law of course, my breakdown service with Start Rescue had expired. So I've just rejoined for £58.85 and can use the service in 24 hours. When I turn the ignition on now, I can hear a sort of whirring sound but that's it. Car is a 2007 Toyota Auris.
 
I am wondering if it's an immobiliser that's preventing the battery starting and if I should just disconnect the terminals completely and reconnect to reset? There's a red light flashing every second below a label that says 'SECURITY'. Could that be to do with the immobiliser?
 
Sounds like a poor connection from the jump car and/or not enough time. Cars do all sorts of weird stuff when the battery is low so investigate any issues after that's charged back up.

Here's how to do it "properly" given the situation you are in:
  1. Get the jump car started
  2. Hook the jump leads up between the cars. Follow any relevant procedures/warnings in your manual (eg for a BMW, never connect directly to the battery, use the jump posts under the bonnet).
  3. Make sure that EVERYTHING is off in your car - headlights, internal lights, radio etc etc
  4. Wait 5 minutes - the jump car is going to be barely producing enough power at idle to recharge its own battery from the start let alone your car. Give it some time to put some power into your deeply discharged battery.
  5. Give the jump car a few RPM above idle - say 2.5k-3k RPM. Not bouncing off the redline but a good bit above idle
  6. While the above is happening, try and start your car.
  7. Take your car out for a long-ish drive, 30 minutes or more. Put on a conditioner/charger ASAP if you can.
 
Don't forget to connect and disconnect to the battery terminals in the correct order to avoid blowing fuses or units.

Connect POSITIVE FIRST, then negative.
Disconnect NEGATIVE FIRST, then positive.
 
On the car that needs the jump start, if it doesn't have a specific earthing point for jump starts, DO NOT connect the -ve jump lead to the battery but instead connect to an exposed piece of the body work away from the battery.
 
Alibaba99 said:
On the car that needs the jump start, if it doesn't have a specific earthing point for jump starts, DO NOT connect the -ve jump lead to the battery but instead connect to an exposed piece of the body work away from the battery.
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Why is that?

@OP, by red button for indicator flash so you mean your hazard lights? No wonder people use them inappropriately when parking badly, if they don't know what they're for :D

In terms of behaviour, best to look at your car's manual for any funny behaviour around immobiliser/jump starts/electrics.
 
Whirring sound might be the fuel pump priming, but battery not having enough power to turn the starter motor. A jump from one of those power packs should start the car.

A neighbour had a flat battery and I connected jump leads from the Mrs's car to his, the engine turned slowly but didn't start. Another neighbour came out with a power pack starter and the car started immediately.
 
If there's a machine gun sound coming from under the bonnet, the it's the starter motor not getting enough power from the battery.

If you have a multimeter, test the battery to see what voltage it's holding.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I can't get the neighbour to try jump starting me again. I rejoined Start Rescue yesterday and I can use them 24 hours after joining which is 3.40pm this afternoon. They'll no doubt bring a heavy duty jump starter to get me going.

When I joined I was asked if there were any faults and I said no. Do you think I can call them today after 3.40pm without it looking suspicious or should I wait until tomorrow?
 
Merlin5 said:
When I joined I was asked if there were any faults and I said no. Do you think I can call them today after 3.40pm without it looking suspicious or should I wait until tomorrow?
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Well, having called AA and asked to join while my car was broken down, I think they have a specific policy of no same-day support. So you may get away with it... Especially if you just need a jump. TBH though couldn't you just buy a jump start kit from a nearby shop? Then you're prepared for next time too.

Disclaimer: my battery was dead last Feb and after manually charging it on my kitchen table I did NOT buy a jump start kit and ran it for another year like an idiot!
 
LuckyBenski said:
Ah! Sound. Good reasoning, I'm surprised all the guides from companies like AA don't mention this. Maybe because batteries have vent tubes now?


Bit vague but I understand now :p
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I made it efficient without being scientific.

I basically didn't add the gases bit to the boom boom:D
 
LuckyBenski said:
Well, having called AA and asked to join while my car was broken down, I think they have a specific policy of no same-day support. So you may get away with it... Especially if you just need a jump. TBH though couldn't you just buy a jump start kit from a nearby shop? Then you're prepared for next time too.

Disclaimer: my battery was dead last Feb and after manually charging it on my kitchen table I did NOT buy a jump start kit and ran it for another year like an idiot!
Click to expand...

Well I could buy one, but I seriously don't anticipate me making this mistake again, so I might as well just use the rescue service since I've paid for them.
 
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