How to Jumpstart a Hybrid Vehicle
Almost all people who are concerned about environmental pollution have switched to hybrid vehicles because these vehicles use only small amounts of gasoline. Apart from being environmental friendly, the cost of maintaining a hybrid car is way less than that of a regular car. One of the common problems in hybrid and regular cars is that they sometimes break down and would not start. In that case, you will have to jumpstart the vehicle. All you need for jump starting a hybrid is a pair of jumper cables and a functional car.
Instructions
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1
Park both cars close to each other. Facing them nose to nose will be a good idea. This will ensure that you can run jumper cables from the booster vehicle to the hybrid vehicle.
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2
Turn off the booster car to ensure that you do not get an electric shock while making the desired connections. Open the hood of both cars.
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3
Make a connection between the positive terminals of the dead hybrid and the functioning cable. Use a jumper cable for this purpose. In order to identify the positive terminal, look for a plus sign next to the car terminals.
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4
Connect the clamp of a second jumper cable to the negative terminal on the booster vehicle. Make sure that you do not incidentally touch this clamp to the positive terminal clamp because if you do so, you may get an electric shock.
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5
Now it comes to connecting the last clamp to the dead hybrid’s negative terminal. If it is a Prius hybrid you are jumpstarting, look for an unpainted metal strip. That will be the negative terminal. For a Honda, the negative terminal is a grounding strap which should be located somewhere near the car’s front.
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6
After you have made all the connections, start the booster vehicle. Leave it running for about two to three minutes. Within this time, both the booster and the hybrid vehicles will warm up. Start the hybrid and leave it running for another two to three minutes.
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7
Start removing the clamps in opposite order in which you connected the clamps. Make sure that the clamps do not touch each other while you remove them. You have successfully jumpstarted the hybrid vehicle.
