gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
My FIL doesn’t know much about cars. He just called my wife to ask me how to help him figure out an issue he had when he attempted to jump his wife’s car. He said he used the (unknown) cables he had and it “caught on fire”. He disconnected them. He figured the cables were bad, and wanted to get a new set, because his only concern (seemingly) is to get his wife back on the road, so she doesn’t miss work. He‘s a highly skilled blue collar guy (with experience with hot work) and because of his hard work he has a good chunk of change saved. His wife can miss work…
His English is also very bad, so it was hard to get info, even though my wife is fluent in his language. There is an automotive language barrier, as well, if you will.
My response: ALL STOP! Disconnect the cables and you’re done (the cables were already disconnected when he called, from what I gather). Don’t touch anything else, and most certainly don’t try to jump it again. Most importantly, call 911 if the smoke is still there or comes back or if you’re concerned for any reason whatsoever.
I then asked if he knew how to jump a car, and if not, did he consult the Googles. It does not seem as if he looked up how to do it and when I told my wife to relay how it should be done he didn’t confirm nor deny that it was done correctly, leading me to assume he shorted the cable.
He also said that the donee vehicle, his wife’s vehicle that wouldn’t start, is now displaying Christmas tree lights on the dash. He does not have a DMM nor a code reader. He was looking for help, but I’m 3 hrs away and I’m assuming that my checks will reveal that a repair that I’m unable to do is possible, meaning I’d be wasting my time driving up just for that.
I couldn’t even determine from my wife asking him why he even decided to jump it to begin with, ie, what were the symptoms? I had to ask, because I’ve personally been asked for a jump by people who‘s starter cranked normally, ie, not likely a battery issue.
The latest is that it was just smoking, not actually on fire.
The fact that the bad vehicle’s dash lights are on after this is a good sign, I guess.
He doesn’t know how to email, but basic sketches of how to jump a vehicle are easy to find online. I had my wife send him one I liked via text. I’m now trying to determine:
1. How he hooked up his jumpers and the sequence of events (more clearly)
2. What kind of jumper cables he has and what they look like now
3. Where the smoke was coming from
4. Whether there is any risk of fire and further damage to the vehicle or home (car is in garage).
I want to have him remove the battery from his wife’s vehicle and just remove all potential energy, but is that too extreme?
I apologize for the hectic nature of the thread. I’m just kind of blown away by the fact that it is likely user error, based on trying to jump a vehicle and not really knowing what he was doing. Again, he is a smart man, but there are some serious gaps in his knowledge based on past interactions.
I‘m only posting this to figure out whether anything else should be done or if I should risk driving up 3+ hrs just to check on this. He has no one else near him he knows or trusts.
His English is also very bad, so it was hard to get info, even though my wife is fluent in his language. There is an automotive language barrier, as well, if you will.
My response: ALL STOP! Disconnect the cables and you’re done (the cables were already disconnected when he called, from what I gather). Don’t touch anything else, and most certainly don’t try to jump it again. Most importantly, call 911 if the smoke is still there or comes back or if you’re concerned for any reason whatsoever.
I then asked if he knew how to jump a car, and if not, did he consult the Googles. It does not seem as if he looked up how to do it and when I told my wife to relay how it should be done he didn’t confirm nor deny that it was done correctly, leading me to assume he shorted the cable.
He also said that the donee vehicle, his wife’s vehicle that wouldn’t start, is now displaying Christmas tree lights on the dash. He does not have a DMM nor a code reader. He was looking for help, but I’m 3 hrs away and I’m assuming that my checks will reveal that a repair that I’m unable to do is possible, meaning I’d be wasting my time driving up just for that.
I couldn’t even determine from my wife asking him why he even decided to jump it to begin with, ie, what were the symptoms? I had to ask, because I’ve personally been asked for a jump by people who‘s starter cranked normally, ie, not likely a battery issue.
The latest is that it was just smoking, not actually on fire.
The fact that the bad vehicle’s dash lights are on after this is a good sign, I guess.
He doesn’t know how to email, but basic sketches of how to jump a vehicle are easy to find online. I had my wife send him one I liked via text. I’m now trying to determine:
1. How he hooked up his jumpers and the sequence of events (more clearly)
2. What kind of jumper cables he has and what they look like now
3. Where the smoke was coming from
4. Whether there is any risk of fire and further damage to the vehicle or home (car is in garage).
I want to have him remove the battery from his wife’s vehicle and just remove all potential energy, but is that too extreme?
I apologize for the hectic nature of the thread. I’m just kind of blown away by the fact that it is likely user error, based on trying to jump a vehicle and not really knowing what he was doing. Again, he is a smart man, but there are some serious gaps in his knowledge based on past interactions.
I‘m only posting this to figure out whether anything else should be done or if I should risk driving up 3+ hrs just to check on this. He has no one else near him he knows or trusts.
Last edited: