Does Revving the Engine Help Jump Start a Car?

When your car battery is dead, you may be tempted to try to jump start it by revving the engine of the donor car. However, this is not a recommended practice, and it can actually do more harm than good.

How Does Jump Starting Work?

When you jump start a car, you are connecting the dead battery to a live battery with jumper cables. This allows the live battery to provide power to the dead battery, so that it can start the car.

The amount of power that is transferred from the live battery to the dead battery depends on the voltage of the live battery, the amperage of the jumper cables, and the condition of the dead battery.

Why Revving the Engine Doesn’t Help

Revving the engine of the donor car does not increase the voltage or amperage of the live battery. In fact, it can actually decrease the voltage, as the alternator is not designed to handle the increased load.

In addition, revving the engine can put unnecessary stress on the donor car’s electrical system. This can lead to damage to the alternator, voltage regulator, or other components.

What to Do Instead

If your car battery is dead, the best thing to do is to use jumper cables to connect it to a live battery. Make sure that the jumper cables are properly connected, and that the donor car is running at a low idle speed.

Once the jumper cables are connected, wait a few minutes for the dead battery to charge. Then, try to start your car. If the car starts, let it run for a few minutes to charge the battery.

Conclusion

Revving the engine of the donor car does not help to jump start a car. In fact, it can actually do more harm than good. If your car battery is dead, the best thing to do is to use jumper cables to connect it to a live battery.