Car battery short out when jumping

Asked by Tuesday777 Jan 10, 2018 at 04:28 AM about the 1994 Honda Civic LX

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I had to jump my 94 Honda Civic. My friends
battery had lots of corrosion on the terminals, don't
know if that was a factor. We put the jumpers on,
he started his car first, my interior lights came on,
and when I turned the key my car shorted out and
interior lights went off, car was dead and wouldn't
start. Did I fry the battery? Do I need a new one? I
also tried to jump it with a much newer car, and it
was dead.

2 Answers
159,085

Bob answered 6 years ago

First thing when trying to solve electrical issues is address problems at the battery. The battery terminals must be absolutely clean, free from corrosion and tight. This includes the connection of the ground to the engine and the battery connection to the starter. Did you have the battery cables on the proper terminals or were they reversed? Is it very cold where you are and is it possible the battery was frozen internally? I would take the battery and have it charged and tested.

Mark helpful
40,015

beatupchevy answered 6 years ago

look for a large fuse under the hood by the batt, sounds like there was a power surge you're supposed to have the donor car running then hook up the cables , W-d will clean up the corrosion or a water baking soda mix ,, the corrosion will eat up clothing , skin it's acidic

Mark helpful

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