I tried to jumpstart my wife's Chevy with my 09 Fit and could not figure out how to do it. The manual said the plug the + end of the cable onto the + lead on the battery which I did, but it said to plug the - end of the cable somewhere else which I have never scene; I did not end up jumping her car due to this.

Any advise?

 

You can just clip it to the negative terminal if you want, it achieves the same thing as clipping it to the frame like the manual tells you to

 

You are supposed to clip it to a chassis ground (any bare metal). It is generally not recommended to clip it to the Neg. battery terminal because if you had clipped the other car wrong, or the handles touched, etc. the battery could arc and ignite the flammable gas which the battery produces under load. Keeping the Neg. away from the Pos. will prevent any arc from being near the gases. That being said, I always clip directly to the battery terminals anyway.

 

i hope the chevy is not a truck. if it is, forget about it.

 

So anywhere on the metal chasis is fine?

 

just clip it to the negative terminal and be careful the other side doesn't touch each other. make sure the fit is running the whole time too.

 

Yes, anywhere that is not painted, and isn't insulated via rubber or plastic mounts. Just clip it to where it says in the manual.

 

Avoid clipping that last connection onto the battery negative terminal.

Others have posted to clip to the battery (being careful). That is wrong and dangerous. Don't do it that way!

Even without a short, there is often a spark when doing that final connection.

Lead-acid storage batteries produce hydrogen and oxygen gases when they are charging and discharging. Hydrogen mixed with oxygen is very explosive and can be ignited by a spark or a flame.

Connect to the chassis (away from battery) for that final connection instead.

 

I've jumped a totally dead Lincoln Aviator with the Fit.

 

i've always jumped it by clipping it to the negative. been doing it that way with no problems for over 10 years.

as long as the car is running, you shouldnt have a problem jumping a truck. it might take the fit being rev'd a bit, but should be okay.

 

The small-car-can't-jump-start-a-big-car misconception happens because people leave out the time factor. With that logic, a 10 amp battery charger would be of no assistance in ever starting a car. But we all know that 10 amps of current pumped into the battery over time completely recharges it. In the jump-start scenario, the same thing happens. As soon as you connect the donor and dead vehicles the donor vehicle (hopefully running) begins charging the dead one. While it may only be 20 or 30 amps of inrush current, that can be plenty of juice if allowed to happen for even a couple minutes because the starting event will be pulling that power back out over maybe a 5 second period. As such, 20 amps charging for 3 minutes could ideally provide 720 amps of starting current for 5 seconds.

 

Here's an example of a good place to make that final negative connection.



Clip to the bolt circled in red. ==========================^^^^^^

 

I work with electronics and electrical power systems, so when it comes to electricity, Safety first.

1. Connect the positive clamp to the positive terminal of the charging vehicle.

2. Connect the other end of the positive line to to the positive terminal of the vehicle being charged

3. While verifying the other end of the cable is not in contact with any metal, connect the negative clamp to the negative terminal of the vehicle being charged.

4. Connect the other end of the negative line to the frame of the charging vehicle.

This sequence will give you the least potential for any electrical hazard or shock, also fire hazard.

The Navy's Thumb Rule, 1mA can be felt, 10mA can cause muscle contraction, and 100mA is sufficient to stop the heart. At 12V and with a body resistance of 100 ohms, that's 120mA. Of course the body's resistance can be several thousand ohms, but someone's sweaty and dirty hands can have a resistance as low as 100 ohms.

As far as being able to start your wife's Chevy, it would depend on the the Fit's battery and it's current capacity. One thing you can do is let your battery charge hers for a few minutes then try to crank the vehicle.

 

I'm starting to see that there are a lot of differing opinions posted here.

Please refer to your manual for your safety. Page 299

It clearly shows the proper procedure.

 

The reason why you're getting alot of different opinion is because theoretically, all you really need to do is attach the negative terminal to a grounded object. Also, if you're not on standing on an insulated platform, then you can also be counted as grounded, which is not good if the battery uses you for grounding... You'll just get electricuted, that's all.

The reason why the manual doesn't suggest hooking up the negative terminals together is because there's a possible chance, but pretty small chance that the battery might surge and destroy the other battery...and they don't want a lawsuit from it.

 

i just roll my car and bump start. autos ftl.

 

I completely disagree. The manual is showing a procedure to avoid having a spark over the battery when the final connection is made. It's done that way to avoid an explosion of the hydrogen and oxygen gases.

The chance of electrocution is close to nil.

 

My wifes Del Sol could not jump start my Dodge Stealth no matter what you did. Even though a battery exploding is incredibly rare it does happen. My grandpa had it happen when someone hooked up the cables incorrectly. Just follow the owners manual and you will be golden.

 

I just took a look at the manual and it's not very clear in the picture where to connect the negative terminal, although to me and probably many others, the process is simple.

The manual is written with respect to jump starting your vehicle. If you're not completely sure what to do, I would follow the Chevy's instruction manual. If you follow the steps i listed in post 13, that's a more universal instruction set.

 

Yeah but it's wrong. Connecting the positive last causes a spark over the battery. Precisely what is to be avoided.