How Long Does It Take to Jump Start a Car? (Explained!)

If you’re on the road and your car battery died, you might have planned on calling roadside assistance for a jumpstart. However, one of the questions aside from its cost would be how long it will take. Setting aside the time for the arrival of roadside assistance, you may wonder how long the process will take. So, you may ask:

How long does it take to jumpstart a car? A jumpstart would only take less than 10 minutes. First, you’ll need to clip the jumper cable from your car to the battery of another car. Afterward, you can start it and allow the engine to run for at least two minutes. Then you’ll reconnect the engine to your dead battery to recharge it.

If you have all the things you need, you’ll only need a couple of minutes to get your car up and to run. As long as the assistance you called is near your location, you won’t have to worry about being out all day on the road to get your car started.

In this article, we’ll walk you through some of the processes and answer some questions related to the matter. This way, you can understand how it works and estimate how long it will take if it ever happens to you.

Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Table of Contents

How Long Does It Take to Jump Start a Car Battery?

As I mentioned earlier, it doesn’t take long to jumpstart a car battery. So in total, you’ll only need a couple of minutes to get the engine running.

As soon as the engine runs, it will recharge the battery until you turn it off. But, of course, it will still depend on other factors such as the condition of your engine, the alternator’s output, and the battery you use to jumpstart your dead battery.

Another factor to consider is the time of arrival of the jumpstarting service and how they would deal with your problem.

In extreme cases, it may take at least half an hour for the whole process. It won’t likely take any more than that unless your car has other problems.

How Long Does It Take to Jump Start a Car That’s Been Sitting?

If your car has been sitting for quite some time, it may not start so quickly, which means you need to jumpstart it. But, like all other cases, jumpstarting a car that’s been sitting should only take a couple of minutes as well.

Here are some of the things you need to replace before jumpstarting a car that’s been sitting:

Engine oil
Oil filter
Transmission fluid
Battery (if already old)
Radiator and coolant
Brake fluid
Power steering fluid

In general, the jumpstarting process remains the same as you would do for a used car. However, you may want to replace the items mentioned.

Since the car hasn’t run for a long time, the parts can get a little worn out from being still for a long time. Thus, you need to ensure that your engine will be in perfect condition after a long dormancy.

How Long Does AAA Take Jumpstart a Car?

If you don’t know AAA, it’s a famous company that offers roadside assistance, and their service includes jumping a car that won’t turn on due to a dead battery.

If you’re wondering how long it takes for the company to jumpstart a car, it would be the same at 10-30 minutes. However, keep in mind that the mentioned time frame only includes the process of jumpstarting per se.

It doesn’t include the travel of the service crew to your location. This duration will depend on your location and how far you are from the nearest AAA station.

In general, you can depend on AAA as they are experts in giving this service. Further, you can ensure that you’ll receive the best service since they use top-notch tools for your car.

AAA’s roadside assistance is usually free of charge for members who sign up for their plan. However, if you’re a non-member, they would likely ask for some service charge for you.

Can You Speed Up the Jumpstart Process?

In general, a jumpstart process takes a couple of minutes as long as you have the right tools and you know how to do it.

It’s as simple as attaching jumper cables from another car’s battery to your engine so you can start your car. Let it remain running for 2-3 minutes before removing the cables and reconnecting the engine to your dead battery to recharge.

In short, you’ll only spend a couple of minutes if your only problem is a dead battery. While you can’t speed up the process, you can speed up the recharging of your dead battery by doing a couple of things.

For instance, you can step on the gas while on neutral to rev the engine. The revving can create extra output from your engine, which will level up the alternator’s charge to your battery.

Also, you can lessen the battery’s power consumption by turning off the accessories. Among the frequent accessories are the A/C, stereo, and lights in your car.

Summary

In a nutshell, it doesn’t take that long to jumpstart a car as it’s a quick process with simple steps. A jumpstart would take no more than ten minutes. First, you’ll need to connect your car’s jumper cord to the battery of another vehicle. After that, start the engine and let it run for at least two minutes. The engine will then be connected to your dead battery to be recharged.

Of course, you also need to consider other factors that can adjust the time frame. Such factors include the assistance you would call and how fast they can reach your location. Also, it would depend on the condition of your battery and engine.

It shouldn’t take you more than 30 minutes or half an hour to get your car up and running in most cases.

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