Learning how to fix a dead car battery is a skill that every car owner should have. You need to have a few tricks up your sleeve in case your battery dies while you’re in the middle of nowhere.
As long as you know a few tricks on how to get around this issue you won’t have to worry about a dead car battery. We made a short list of popular tips and tricks to help you start your car.
Table of Contents
Fixing a Dead Car Battery
1. Using Epsom Salt
A dead car battery might be caused by a lot of different reasons. This is the reason why you usually need to troubleshoot the problem before you try a specific technique.
If your dead car battery is caused by a low electrolyte level, having Epsom salt in your car can help you create an electrolyte solution. This is used to revive the battery of your car.
Take note that Epsom salt is a strong acid and it has a lot of hydrates. This would tip the chemical balance and help create enough charge for your battery to start.
Here’s a simple guide to creating an electrolyte solution:
- Dissolve 1 part Epsom salt with 3 parts warm water.
- Start adding the solution to each cell until the plates are actually covered by 25 to 50 percent electrolyte solution.
2. Tricking the Car Computer
This might actually look silly to some people because how can you possibly trick a car to run? The trick is actually related to the electronic control module. There are issues when your car is not starting because of a bad coolant temperature sensor.
The best way to handle this is to send fuel to the fuel pump. Before you start your car, make sure that you press down on the accelerator. By doing this, you are engaging the fuel pump and you send fuel to the engine. This would fix the coolant temperature sensor problem.
Take note that you can only do this if you already know that the problem is with the coolant temperature sensor. If not, you can opt for roadside assistance.
carstrucksbatteryservice
3. Use the “Chainsaw Method”
This is one of the unorthodox methods that a lot of people have been doing, especially if they want to charge the battery.
In this kind of method, you need to use a chainsaw. It will be used to drive the alternator, which is located on the engine itself.
The first thing to do is to prepare the chainsaw. Remove the blade and chain, as well as the drive sprocket from the chainsaw. You need to turn it into a pulley as you will need it for the alternator.
Take out the drive belts from the alternator mechanism and use them to connect the chainsaw drive spindle and the alternator.
Once the drive belt is fully engaged, plug your chainsaw and apply gentle pressure on the belt. Remember not to overdo it since the belt might disengage midway and you might get hurt. You need to gently apply pressure to charge the battery slowly.
This kind of method is effective, but it is very risky since the belts might disengage while it is spinning rapidly. If you’ve done this before, then it won’t be a problem to do it again. If it’s your first time and you have no idea what to do, let someone else do it for you.
4. The Soda Trick
You’ve probably seen a lot of memes about cola and how toxic it is to your body. Since it is said to clean a whole bunch of dirt and dust, you can also use it to remove the corrosion in your battery.
If you see blue, white, or any green substance on the cables or battery terminals, corrosion is the culprit. This problem can prevent a dying battery from conducting electricity, which means that it won’t be able to send electricity to help you start a vehicle.
The best way to take care of battery cable corrosion is to use any kind of fizzy drink or soda. So how do you do this?
Start by removing the cables of your battery and start pouring the soda on the corroded parts of the battery. Let them soak for a few minutes before you scrub away the corrosion on that area.
5. Aspirin is For Cars Too?
Before you do this specific trick, make sure that you always have gloves and protective goggles. This type of trick carries a certain risk and you might get hurt so always do this with care. Also, take note that this kind of trick will only work if you are using a lead-acid battery.
The first thing to do is to remove the weak and old battery from the vehicle. Lift the hood of your car and use a screwdriver to remove the battery cell covers. After opening it, drop two aspirin tablets on every battery cell and wait for about an hour to check if the battery already has power.
Are you wondering how human medicine can help with car batteries? Aspiring has acetylsalicylic acid, which would combine with sulfuric acid to help create a charge.
You should also know that by using aspiring to the battery cells, you are also shortening the lifespan of your battery. This is only applicable if the car batteries are very old or you are planning to replace them.
j_robert429
6. Distilled Water is the Key
If you’re in the middle of nowhere and your car battery died on you, distilled water is probably one of the things that you will always have in your car. Hopefully, you kept the distilled water that you bought a few months ago because you’re going to use it to start your car.
This is the simplest and one of the most effective ways to deal with a dead car battery. You should start by adding distilled water to the battery cells to submerge the battery’s plates. This would give the starter a few more turns so it is one of the first things that you need to do.
This would be very useful if the electrolyte levels of your battery are very low. This can be used as a booster if you don’t have aspirin or Epsom salt.
7. Use Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum jelly is not only effective on your skin. You can also use this for a dead battery. Soda and baking soda can help with corrosion problems, but petroleum jelly is used to prevent corrosion build-up. This means that this technique is more of a preventive measure.
However, petroleum jelly can also be used when the battery is already dead. It actually has electrical conduction properties, which means that it can help carry electricity if your dead battery is completely eroded.
The best thing to do is to apply petroleum jelly to the terminals of your car battery. It would be a big help in transporting electricity from the dying battery to your starter.
8. Start your Car in Neutral
This is a trick that you can only use if your car has an automatic transmission. Basically, manual transmission cars have to be started in neutral so it won’t really work on them.
What you need to do is to move the gear stick so you can establish a connection to the neutral safety switch of your car. This trick can only work if your car only has a low electric battery charge. If the battery is completely dead, you need to use the other tricks on this list.
boostbuddyca
9. 18-Volt Drill Batter
You can use the 18-volt drill battery as a jumpstart method. You have to fully charge the 18-volt drill battery and the jump leads.
By using the jump leads, you need to improvise a connection between the dead car battery and the 18-volt drill battery. This would be like a typical jump start method to get your car running.
10. Hot Ash Method
The hot ash method is usually a last resort when all else fails. Here’s a short guide on what you should do.
- Light a fire and make sure that you let the paper burn down until it turns to hot ashes.
- Remove the battery from your car and place it on the hot ash.
- The hot ash will then warm up your battery. Place it back in your car and solely restart the ignition.
Final Thoughts
Fixing a dead car battery is a very important skill that you need to have as an owner and driver. This would allow you to fix the situation even if you are in an unknown location. However, the best remedy is to consider a battery replacement.
A good battery will not make it hard for you to start your engine. A fully functional battery will never be a problem on the road. Always check your car batteries before going out of your house. It’s better to have car battery chargers as well in case of emergency.
If you have any comments or suggestions, you can comment down below and we will try to help you.