Jump starting another car with 300E?
 

Hi,

I have to go and jump start my girlfriend's Toyota Corolla.

Anything I ought not to do?

Correct procedure to protect my OVP?

Thanks.

I've had to jump other cars with my 300E with no problems...

And you don't need to "protect" your OVP...that's the job IT IS supposed to do for you!

But I start by connecting the negative lead to the dead battery to a ground source on your car (not the battery).

Then the positive lead on your battery to the positive lead on the dead battery.

Disconnect in the reverse manner as you connected.

I'm sure others might question this procedure, but it has worked for me with no ill effects.

BTW, I have some serious jumper cables (you could attach these to a Lincoln arc welder). The crappy ones aren't stout enough to provide the charge needed for a completely dead battery...

It is definitely safer to connect
 

the positive lead from battery to battery FIRST and then the negative lead to ground points away from the battery. The point is to have whatever spark occurs when the fourth connection is made happen away from the top of the battery where there may be a concentration of explosive battery gases from the chemical reactions connected with it discharging. If you haven't had a problem (i.e. serious injuries or damage) with this yet, it's either because you're lucky or have only jumped cars which haven't had their batteries subjected to any current draw for some time, so there were no gases nearby.

Unless, of course, you're jumping old British cars or Fords from 1955 or earlier. My son has just acquired a '64 Sprite to restore, and one of my colleagues has a pristine '55 MGTF which I have to jump start most of the times she wants to take it out for a little exercise, so I have to keep that constantly in mind.

Look in your owner's manual...
 

it is described there (if you have one).:cool:

Hi,

Thanks for the advice.

All went well.

Positive on my car to Positive on Toyota
Negative on my car to ground on Toyota.

After starting and charging Toyota, I reversed above.

Regards,