Be Careful When You Use Your Car To Jumpstart Your Motorcycle

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If your motorcycle is not staring, and you have determined that the cause is a dead battery, you can use your car to jumpstart your battery. However, your car is a lot bigger than your motorcycle, so you are going to have to use caution and follow the steps below in order to jumpstart your motorcycle with your car.

Position The Vehicles

You will want to position your car and your motorcycle so that they are as close as possible without touching. It is extremely important they do not touch; you want to send the electricity for your car's battery to your motorcycle's battery, not to the whole thing.

Shut It Down

Unlike when you jump start a car, your vehicle actually needs to be off in order to jumpstart your motorcycle. Make sure your motorcycle is also off.

Identify The Positive And Negative Terminals And Cables

Before you try to connect the cables, take the time to identify the positive and negative terminal on both batteries. If there is a corrosion on either of the batteries, you may need to wipe it away or clean it off in order to read the charges.

Once you are identified the positive and negative terminal on each battery, take out the jumper cables. The red clips and cable represents the positive clips. The black clips and cable represent the negative clips.

Connect The Cables To The Terminals

First, connect the red positive clip to the positive terminal on the motorcycle battery. Once it is firmly in place, connect the other red positive clip to the positive terminal on your car battery. Make sure that both clips are locked on tight, and are only touching the battery. You do not want the clips to be making contact with any metal sources.

Next, connect the black negative clip to the negative terminal on the car battery.

Now, connect the black negative clip onto a piece of metal on the motorcycle. You can attach it to a part of the frame. Do not attach it to the negative terminal of the motorcycle battery. By attaching it to a piece of metal, you are grounding the circuit and preventing an explosion of electricity from occurring.

Time To Wait

Do not under any circumstance turn on your car while charging your motorcycle battery; this will fry the battery for sure.

After about three minutes, try to turn on your motorcycle. If it will not turn on, then it really needs some time to charge. Set a stopwatch or timer, and wait between 20 to 30 minutes before you try to start your motorcycle again.

Getting It Running

After 20 to 30 minutes passes, try to start up your motor again. If it starts up, you can now disconnect the cables.

You need to disconnect them in the reverse order that you attached them in order to keep yourself safe. Detach the negative clip from what metal part of the bike you attached it to. Then remove the black negative clip from the negative terminal of your car battery. Next, remove the red positive clip from your car battery. Finally, remove the red positive clip from your motorcycle battery.

Allow your motorcycle to run for at least twenty to thirty minutes in order to make the charge stick. Put away the jumper cables and take a ride on your bike!

For more information, contact a business such as Foley Auto & RV Repair.

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10 December 2014