Does Revving The Engine Help Jump Start A Car?Find Out

Jump starting a car helps in running the RPM (revolution per minute) in the vehicle much faster than usual and by so doing provides the high voltage needed by the generator to work more effectively.

However, in most modern vehicles that have alternators, an increase in RPM does not result in any higher voltage, though it may give a higher amperage.

Essentially, therefore, does revving the engine help to jump-start a car? This question, along with many others, will be answered in this article.

When you increase the speed of the engine, it ensures that enough amperage is generated and supplied to a weak car battery in order to jump-start it. This is because voltage sends electricity through the wires and the amperage is a measure of how much electricity is flowing.

Read Also: Does Revving The Engine In Neutral Charge The Battery?

Drawing from this explanation, revving the engine certainly helps to jump-start a car. It is worthy of note that running or revving the engine releases lots of gases that go into the intake valves and can possibly choke the engine, but this is not any serious issue in cars that use fuel injection mechanisms.

The same cannot be said in cars that use carburetors because in their case, fuel enrichment is quite capable of choking an engine since it permits the gas flow until the choke is either opened or released to relieve the obstruction.

Read Also: Why Does My Car Die After I Jump Start It? Find Out Now

Does Revving The Engine Hurt The Car?

In reality, revving the engine may not necessarily hurt the engine but absolute care must be taken in doing this harmlessly. For instance,  when you start the car, especially in the morning, allow the engine to run freely for some time such that the oil will build up enough pressure and circulate in the cavities of the engine without stepping on the gas pedal.

If you allow the engine to run freely at low RPM, especially when it is cold without any coercion, the engine will not be hurt in any way, but if you assist by pressing on the gas pedal, then the engine may develop sudden faults due to excessive friction since the lubricating oil has not circulated in its crevices for any smooth or harmless movements.(Read Also:Can Jumper Cables Get Wet?)

The such forceful revving of the cold engine is bound to hurt components like the rings, cylinder walls, valves, crankshaft, bearings, and many others.

Should I Rev My Engine In Park Or Neutral?

It does not matter whether you rev your engine with the car in either park or neutral because it is equally effective whichever way you do it.

However, you must not rev the engine when it is cold or it is on the rev limiter. In fact, you can rev your engine when it is in either neutral or park up to about 4500 rpm without any harm provided the engine is not cold and also not on any rev limiter.

Is It Good To Rev Your Engine Occasionally?

Yes, revving the engine frequently harms the engine especially when the engine is cold. This is because revving a cold engine will cause it to wear and tear prematurely. Furthermore, we must avoid revving the engine for un-unnecessarily long periods which is liable to cause engine damage and also to burn oil excessively.

Even though you are free to rev your engine occasionally, provided it is done correctly, you are advised against doing it at very high RPMs which is likely going to cause some engine damage. (Read Also: How To Charge A Car Battery With RC Battery)

Does Revving The Engine Charge The Battery Faster When Jumping?

Yes, your battery charges faster when you rev the engine because more power is generated because the alternator turns faster and thus produces more electricity which charges the battery to enable it to donate maximally to the other car.

Depending, of course, on the different engine sizes and conditions of the batteries of the cars used in jumping, any extra power is bound to make all the difference in charging a dead battery more efficiently.

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Simply rev your car to about 2000 or 2500 RPM ( revolution per minute) and maintain it at that which will increase the output of your alternator thus giving it more power to donate to the other car in order to jump-start its battery. To make this more efficient, turn off all accessories that are likely to drain your battery which will enable it to donate more effectively to the other car.

These accessories may include car stereos, interior lights, air conditioners, side or parking lights and so on. The moment the battery is charged, rev the engine to charge the battery faster or better still, drive it for a few minutes or even hours depending on how dead the battery was.

What Causes A Car To Rev Up While Driving?

 It is logical to understand that while you drive, the various components of your engine turn more vigorously than they would ordinarily if it were not moving. This simply explains why the engine revs up as you drive because the alternator turns faster, just like the various parts of the engine which move more forcefully and consequently results in revving up as you do so.

Does The Car Need To Be Running To Jump Start?

Yes, the car needs to be running in order to jump-start a dead battery for many reasons. One to start with, the battery which you plan to jump-start will tap from your battery which drains it. This draining is quite capable of running down your own battery especially if it is not being continuously charged itself.

Read Also: How Long To Keep Car Running After Battery Died?

This is further worsened when the battery you are jump-starting is so dead that it requires a lot of input from your battery to wake it up.  Essentially, if the car is running while you jump start, your battery is most likely going to have enough power to enable it to donate sufficiently without any risk to your own battery as you do so.

This is particularly important where the battery you are jump-starting is of higher capacity than yours and has run down significantly too. In essence, you should always jump-start when your car is running so that you can do it satisfactorily and without any harm to your own battery as well.

How Long Does It Take To Jump A Completely Dead Battery?

How long you take to jump-start any battery depends on certain very important factors such as how dead the battery is and also its capacity. The more its capacity, the longer it takes to jump-start it and it also takes longer to jump-start a completely dead battery compared to a fairly dead one.

In a nutshell, all things being equal, it takes an average of between thirty minutes to one hour in order to satisfactorily jump-start a dead battery, regardless of its capacity or extent of its draining.

What Are The Causes Of High Engine RPM While Driving?

The revolution per minute (RPM) is simply the number of times the crankshaft revolves around its axis each minute as the engine runs. This is because as the engine does this, the pistons move up and down which releases enough energy to move the crankshaft and by extension the vehicle and its burden too. It is best to keep your vehicle RPM as low as possible since keeping it high leads to excessive fuel consumption. But, what factors keep RPM  high in a vehicle? (Read Also:Does Bluetooth Headphones Drain A battery?)

1. Transmission Of Fluid Problems

 Transmission fluid is used to convey power from the engine to the transmission in automatic vehicles. In addition, the transmission fluid is also used to lubricate the various components parts of your transmission system.

However, when this fluid starts to leak, the vehicle is likely to begin to rev abnormally because its torque converter or the gearbox band may start to slip. This development may be worsened by either delayed or abnormal gear shifts.

2. Worn Or Slipping Clutch

 The clutch functions by interacting with the transmission system to enable you to change gears in manual vehicles, but a slipping clutch will make the engine rev abnormally high as the transmission toils to work efficiently. In case of any slipping clutch, the clutch pedal will require less pressure to engage, and also the vehicle is likely to lose power or struggle to maintain speed.

3. Faulty Speed Sensor

Quite unlike manual vehicles, automatic cars need a speed sensor to determine when the gear should be changed either up or down. When you have a faulty speed sensor, the car might not effectively change gears when needed which in most cases leads to high RPM since the engine is required to do more work.

4. Faulty Idle Control Valve

When your car has high RPM while idling, this may not be unconnected with the problem in the idle control valve which is known to help the car to maintain a specific RPM while idling. This fault usually develops when the fuse in the idle control valve is blown and thus stops the valve from working entirely leading to excessively high RPM.

If your car is revving abnormally high while driving, chances are that you are using too much fuel and also creating excessive environmental air pollution as well. To prevent this unwholesome development, you are advised to seek the help of qualified and experienced mechanics.

Recommended Products

It is pertinent at this juncture to introduce to you certain products related to the topic of discussion that enjoys very wide acclaim and favorable customer reviews worldwide because of their exemplary qualities, price affordability, and terms of sales.

• Optima Batteries 8020-164 35 RedToo Starting Battery: This product is known to provide maximal starting power even in very poor weather conditions coupled with its resistance to vibration and exemplary durability. It can also provide 90 minutes of reserve capacity to enable you to seek help where necessary.
• ACDelco ACDB24R Advantage AGM Automotive BCI Group 51 Battery: The Adelco battery sports a calcium alloy that protects it against corrosion and is well known for its high capacity and impressive durability which make it suitable for various kinds of cars, trucks, and all manner of vehicles.
• Interstate Batteries 12V 35AH Sealed Lead Acid(SLA) AGM Deep Cycle Battery: This unique battery is rechargeable and is supplied with free maintenance, not to talk of its spill-proof quality that can also be used to power wheelchairs, scooters, and golf carts.

Does Revving The Engine Help Jump Start A Car – Conclusion

Nothing disturbs the mind more than getting set to leave for work or embark on a journey only to find out that the vehicle won’t start at all due to one battery fault or another. This is because when a vehicle fails to start, the battery is logically the first to be suspected.

However, quick procedures are readily available that will assist you in resolving most of these complaints. The choice of very good batteries from reputable suppliers should also not be jettisoned as a panacea to avoiding frequent battery complaints.

Despite every assurance, however, problems are bound to happen and easily applicable procedures have been explained as regards what to do when any of them arise. You never know when this knowledge will come in handy and for this reason, you are enjoined to equip yourself with these all-important titbits; they are an indispensable tool to any driver, just in case.

Additionally, buying the correct car battery on its own is not enough insurance against the battery dying on you when you needed it the most, but regular and efficient car battery maintenance is also as good. When you put all these together,   you can see that they help you to identify any problem before it spirals out of control, as well as keep you safely on the road.

I can’t imagine how any driver without these basic skills can safely remain on the road without facing overwhelming challenges. It is a fearful thought to contemplate the consequences of a car dying on you in the middle of nowhere and at an odd hour without the slightest idea of what to do.