It can happen to anyone, even the close family member of a AAA Car Care Plus® technician.

Jump-starting a battery, which used to be fairly common do-it-yourself auto knowledge, has become increasingly hazardous. A major reason for the additional risk is the computer modules stationed throughout modern cars that perform thousands of monitoring tasks. Plus,  manufacturers are now placing the battery in different locations under the hood, making the task of finding the right terminal location for a jumpstart even more challenging.

According to Gerry Morgante, a AAA Car Care Plus® technician in Clarence, these high-tech modules are susceptible to damage when a battery is jumped improperly. That's exactly what happened to Morgante's family member.

“When it comes to batteries in newer cars, you might not want to 'do it yourself',” Morgante explains.

Morgante's family member had worked with a friend to try to jump-start a dead battery. When the friend used his jumper cables to mistakenly connect a positive terminal to a negative terminal, a huge surge of electricity was sent between the cars.

The result: a disabled car with a host of damaged modules that required an expensive trip to a  dealership.

“It takes just a second to make that mistake,” says Morgante. “You're going to get an arc, and you are going to go, 'Oh, what did I do?' And once you've made that mistake, it's too late.”

If you botch a jump-start and are lucky, you may just need to switch out a fuse and your car will function again. But as technology becomes more integrated into our cars, the potential for damage to the carʼs computer and electrical systems has increased, Morgante says.

“Very small things can go wrong very quickly and be very expensive,” he said.

Jump-starting a dead battery can be physically dangerous, too. Charging a battery produces the highly flammable gas hydrogen, and if lingering hydrogen meets an ignition source, the battery can catch fire or even explode.

So what do you do when your car battery is dead? Morgante advises that AAA members take advantage of AAA’s Mobile Battery Service, which will bring a technician to you to test and service your battery with state-of-the-art equipment.

What’s Draining Your Battery?

Morgante’s family member needed a jump-start because the battery had reached the end of its life expectancy. Most car batteries last three to five years, but factors such as driving habits and weather conditions can impact a battery’s lifespan as well.

But even a healthy battery can fall victim to parasitic battery drain, in which the car’s accessories and components discharge the battery even when the engine is off. So what parasitic drains should you be looking out for?

• Key fob: A smart key fob that is stored in range of its car can potentially drain the car’s battery.
• With the key remaining in communication with the car’s computer, the parasitic draw could result in a dead battery.
• Lights: Make sure your headlights, dome lights and glove box lights are all off before stepping away from your car. This is a very common cause of a dead battery.
• Cigarette lighter devices: Air fresheners, radar detectors, phone chargers, dash cams and other accessories that plug into the cigarette lighter socket can drain the battery. Some cars are made to shut off power to the cigarette lighter when the car stops running, but certain manufactures allow the car battery to feed power to accessories while the engine is off.

The cause of your battery draining problem may be less obvious. A car battery can be depleted by a short circuit, a worn or loose alternator belt or engine problems that can cause excessive drain during cranking.

Warning Signs of a Weak Battery

According to Morgante, his family member had needed to jump-start the car battery multiple times before the catastrophe hit.

The consistent need to recharge the battery was a sign that the battery needed to be replaced, Morgante says. However, there are other signs that your battery is on its way out. They include:

• A slow cranking engine
• Dim headlights, particularly at idle
• The battery/charging warning lamp is illuminated

Why Get Your Battery Tested Now?

While the region’s cold winters are well known for sapping batteries of their charge, the warm temperatures of recent months can also stress the battery and its components. Interestingly, car batteries that are kept in warm climates year-round have a shorter life expectancy than batteries kept in cold climates.

AAA technicians are used to dealing with dead batteries in the winter that probably should have been retired a few seasons earlier.

Morgante recommends getting your battery tested before the winter weather sets in, which can help avoid breakdowns and keep you from waiting for service in the cold.

AAA’s Mobile Battery Service

AAA members have access to our free Mobile Battery Service*, which will dispatch a truck equipped to test your battery and install a new one if needed. Members also enjoy a $25 discount on a new battery if one is installed, and the service call is covered by your membership.

“If you think your battery might have an issue, it’s really a great opportunity for AAA to come out to you to take a few minutes and make sure that you and your family are safe,” says Morgante. 

Don't risk it. Let one of AAA's expert technicians inspect your battery.

AAA BATTERY SERVICE