How to jump-start a car using a battery charger's jump-start capability.
 

Dear friends:

My battery charger has a 100 Ampere jump start feature. In the past, whenever I wanted to jump-start my gasoline cars using this capability of my battery charger, I just connected the + and -
cables from the battery charger to the discharged battery's electrodes WITHOUT disconnecting the battery cables from the battery's electrodes. However, Haynes manual for 240D says that I have to completely remove the battery cables from the battery's electrodes first and then connect the cables from a battery charger to the battery cables in order to jump-start a car using a battery charger. Otherwise, it will cause damage to a car's electrical system.

So which is the best and safest way to jump-start a car using a battery charger's jump-start capability?

For a diesel car with glow plugs (e.g. a 240D), will jump-starting a car using a battery charger (with 100 A jump-start capability) cause damage to the glow plugs' inner heating elements?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Eric

well... I don't have a deisel engine but, here's what I have done over the past winter when the battery would drain on the 190e: Don't remove battery terminals, hook batt tender cable up to + terminal then hook - up to engine block. Then plug in charger. Usually I'd set it on high for just a minute or two then unplug the beast take off the leads to batt/engine and try to fire it up. Never took too long hasn't had any deleterious effect on the car so far, but don't know about the diesel question you posed.

CDT

your owner's manual for the car should cover this though, doesn't it?