The answer to this question usually varies based on the circumstances surrounding this issue.
However, there are at least 6 different reasons why a car may take a long time to jump start. Each one of the most common reasons is listed below.
- Bad starter. The problem may not be related to the condition of your battery but due to an issue with a bad starter.
- Malfunction with one or more car parts. If you can turn on your radio and your car’s interior lights, the problem may be linked to one of the following: a bad alternator, ignition switch, starter, or a fuse that has started to malfunction.
- Neutral or park switch. The switch that prevents your transmission from starting in park or neutral may not be working properly. Therefore, until this malfunction is repaired, jump-starting the vehicle will not solve the issue.
- Cold Temperature. When the temperature outside is freezing, it may be too cold to generate the spark that is needed to start the car.
- Cheap Jumper Cables. The jumper cables are too cheap to charge the battery. So, you will more than likely need to ask someone else for their jumper cables to do the job.
- Corroded battery terminals. The terminal on the car’s battery is corroded. And, whenever this happens, you will need to clean off the corrosions first. For instance, you can remove all of the corrosion from your terminals with a wire terminal battery cleaner.
Contents
Can a car battery be too dead to jump-start it?
There is a huge difference between a dead battery and a drained battery. So, you will need to know the differences between the two to make the appropriate decision. Here are the distinctions between each.
A dead battery is normally too old, worn, and corroded to be healthy. As such, it will not hold enough charge to start up again on its own.
Therefore, it will need to be replaced with a new battery as soon as possible to eliminate your start-up problems. Simply put, you will need to buy a new battery as quickly as possible before you need a jump start again.
A drained battery is usually a new or healthy battery. Yet, it has temporarily lost its charge, For example, if the driver or someone else leaves the car lights on for too long (i.e. several hours, etc.) without driving, the energy from the battery will be drained.
Therefore, after the jump start, there is no need to do anything else since you can drive it as normal.
How long leave jumper cables on a dead battery?
On average, it normally takes about 5 minutes to charge the battery whenever it is dead. For instance, after you have connected both the negative and the positive cables from the donor battery to the dead battery on your car, you should keep them connected for approximately 5 minutes before attempting to start your vehicle.
On the other hand, in some cases, the timing may be a little longer, especially if the battery does not have enough electrical energy to ignite properly.
Additionally, once the car has received its jump-start, you may want to drive the car for about 30 minutes before you stop at your next destination.
Otherwise, if the battery does not take a full enough charge, you will need someone else to jump-start your battery again.
Conclusion
Why does the car take a long time to jump-start it? As you can see, the reason is often determined based on several different factors.
Some of the most common reasons include a bad starter, a broken neutral switch, cheap jumper cables, extra cold temperatures, or corroded battery terminals.
So, you must check out each of these things to complete the charge successfully without any unnecessary problems.
Also, it is important to know if your battery is bad due to age and wear and tear. Or, if the energy from the battery has been drained by leaving the vehicle lights on for extended periods.
Either of these will help you to determine if you need to buy a new battery before you continue to drive to your next destination.
