Is it safe to “bridge” when you run out of battery in the car?

Most likely, if your car can’t start, it’s because the battery is dead, that is, it’s completely discharged or with such a minimal charge that it doesn’t have enough power. energy to operate the vehicle. The most advisable will always be to change it, this is how he explains it Cristian Ogaz Álvarez, professor at the School of Engineering and Natural Resources DUOC UC Headquarters of Maipú, which ensures that “It is important that the vehicle does not remain without a battery for a long time, because important data for correct operation can be erased, such as the programming of keys, modules, etc.”

However, and generally, the battery runs out without warning, we are dropped off in a parking lot or in a place where we cannot necessarily make this replacement and we have to move the vehicle.

The most classic thing is to help us with another car on and connect them with pliers to its battery, but as Álvarez points out, “Ideally the process of making a jumper is exclusively in an emergency . In the event that the battery is in poor condition, it is advisable to change the component avoiding the bridge”.

But it’s not to happen and do it, which is why we need to be clear about care the moment we decide to bridge.

For example, the first thing that Sergio Olivares Abarca, professor at the School of Engineering and Natural Resources DUOC UC Maipú Campus, indicates that we must review the user manual, looking for the correct procedure stipulated by the manufacturer .

For Olivares “In the event that the manufacturer does not indicate what the procedure is, but does not deny that it can be done, it is advisable to follow a standard step by step.”

1. Where the positive clamp is first connected to the terminal of the vehicle battery which is discharged and the other end of the clamp to the positive terminal of the vehicle battery which is charged
2. Then connect the negative terminal of the vehicle which has a load on one side and the other end to the chassis of the vehicle which has no load.
3. Start the loaded vehicle by turning on the headlights
4. Start the vehicle that has no charge.

It is possible that the vehicle that does not have a charge does not start immediately, in some cases it is advisable to “recover the battery” for a short time if it is very discharged.

Now we have another question here. Is a vehicle used to make a bridge? Can we kill the battery that helps us?

The professors of Duoc UC Maipú insist that sometimes it is necessary to consider which car we are going to power the battery, this because, for example, the batteries of a diesel vehicle are normally larger than those of a tank gasoline, due to the compression of it, so if a gasoline engine could be started using the battery of a diesel vehicle. Otherwise the petrol battery will try to start the diesel, it is possible that if the battery is very small it will not be able to do so, so it is advisable to first recover the battery for a few minutes then start.

Now, can you make a bridge between an electric vehicle and a conventional vehicle? The answer is simple. The batteries of an electric vehicle are normally smaller than those of a conventional vehicle, so it would be inadvisable to start a petrol engine, let alone a diesel, with an electric vehicle battery, due to the effort that the battery should provide .even.

Being clear with which models we could do it, it is also good to know that “If the vehicle that provides the load is on, there should be no problem, although if it is done from an auxiliary battery ( external without connection to a vehicle), it is possible that if the start is very long, its voltage drops excessively and discharges”, explains Álvarez.

Another question immediately arises, and what happens if a large displacement engine is used to charge a battery of a small car or vice versa, can there be a problem with the power supply? The important thing here is to see that the system used is 12V, so there should be no problem. “The problems arise when there are different voltage systems, because there is a risk of burning out part of the vehicle’s electronics. For example, never start a 24V truck or machine on a 12V system,” says Olivares.

In summary we can say that the important thing is to be sure that the defect that the vehicle has presented is a problem in the battery, if it cannot be changed immediately it is essential to try to bridge the gap with a vehicle that has similar specifications and Always check that the system is 12V.