Does revving the engine help jump a car
Finding out that you have a dead or dying battery will always happen at the most inconvenient time when you just needed to get somewhere fast. You will have heard that you can start revving the engine to charge battery faster, but just how true is this?
Here’s the short answer first, followed by more detail regards what people say about the damage from revving an engine in park or neutral.
Does revving the engine charge the battery? Yes, revving the engine can charge your battery faster, but only when the battery is nearly dead and close to being depleted of power. Revving will accelerate the crankshaft’s rotation, so in theory speeds up the rate of energy conversion to the battery.
There’s more to it than that though, and some warnings below on how long you should rev the engine to charge your battery.
Revving your car’s engine to charge the battery
A car’s charging system ensures the battery always has a suitable power supply providing you keep the car on the road and drive it regularly. Because of that, revving your engine when you get into the car isn’t going to have an effect.
However, in cases where the battery is dead or nearly depleted, you might find you can charge it quicker by revving the engine. I’ve read a note from a mechanic who recommends you keep the revs between 1,500 and 2,500 RPM.
There is some theory behind this though. I saw this statement on a Reddit thread when someone asked whether revving the engine charge the battery faster:
“When a car is running, the engine crankshaft is in motion. A belt goes from the engine crankshaft to a pulley attached directly to the alternator, which converts the mechanical energy from the crankshaft spinning into electrical energy to recharge the car battery. Since revving your engine (even in neutral) accelerates the engine crankshaft’s rotation, this increases the rate of mechanical energy conversion into electrical energy and should in theory charge the battery faster.”
That makes a lot of sense to me.
Revolutions of the alternator are directly proportional to the engine’s revolutions, meaning the faster the engine turns, the more electricity the alternator produces. With a dead battery running the car at idle speed, it will take forever to charge it if the alternator manages to charge it at all.
Keep in mind that revving your engine to charge the battery while the car is not moving isn’t healthy for the engine, so make sure not to go over 2,500 RPM.
Handy Hint: I analyzed the top speeds of the modern Honda Civics to see which once can go the fastest 0 to 60 mph.
How long to rev engine to charge battery?
From what I can gather, it’s not recommended that you rev the engine to charge the batter any longer than for 5 minutes.
Once your car gets moving, it’s preferable that you drive for between 20 and 30 minutes to get the battery charged up quicker.
When to rev the engine to charge the battery
Here are the specific scenarios in which it’s beneficial to rev your engine to charge the battery.
The most common reason for a dead battery is when starting your car for the first time in the morning. This problem can arise when an old battery meets cold weather, or it just means that you forgot to turn something off the night before, such as the lights or the radio.
Here is what you can do to get your car going.
Does revving your engine help jump battery or jump-start another car?
Suppose you turn your key to the on position and see no dashboard lights. In that case, it means your battery is almost at a 0% charge and trying to push start probably won’t work.
Jumper cables are your safest bet in a scenario like this. Once you connect your battery with another car, revving the donor car will significantly increase the charging rate of your dead battery.
Again, make sure you keep it under 2,500 RPM. After a couple of minutes, your car should be able to start depending on the size difference between the two vehicles. After you start your car, you should keep your car’s RPM above idle speed for about 5 minutes, and after you take it for a short drive, the battery could be back to enough power.
Push starting a car with a dead battery
In a case where your battery still has some charge but not enough to turn the engine over, you can try and push start it, but only if your manufacturer allows that.
Push starting a car might void the warranty in some vehicles and cause potential damage. Each car is different on this matter, so make sure to check that for your specific engine and model.
After you start your car this way, you can take it for a short drive right away, or you could rev the engine while the vehicle is standing still. Still, taking it for a short drive is much healthier since that won’t be a problem in this case.
Book an electrical diagnosis if you get regular dead batteries
Suppose you wake up to a dead battery regularly, every morning or a couple of times a week, and you are sure you turned all the auxiliaries off.
In that case, there is most probably a faulty electronic component that keeps draining your battery even when the car is off. A thorough electrical diagnosis will help you find the culprit.
On the other hand, a faulty alternator will be easy to notice since your car will lose electricity while driving and ultimately stop. It could also happen that your car works fine while connected to another running vehicle but dies after it’s disconnected.
If you find yourself in some scenarios where revving the engine is beneficial, ensure you keep to the mentioned instructions. Not adhering to them can cause many problems since a car isn’t designed to stand still while running for prolonged periods, especially not running above idle speed.
Issues that can arise are overheating, and an engine not getting sufficient lubrication, both of which can cause catastrophic damage.
Battery problems aren’t limited to not having enough electricity. A battery can also be overcharged, which is much more harmful than being depleted of power. Here are some symptoms to look out for if you suspect this might be a problem with your car.
- Burning wires, smell, or smoke.
- The smell of sulfuric acid.
- Interior lights are noticeably brighter than usual.
- Whining noises that increase with engine revs.
- Battery warning light.
The cause of overcharging is always the alternator, but it doesn’t mean you need to replace the whole unit. All alternators have an integrated voltage regulator that limits or increases the power going to the battery.
If you notice these symptoms, the voltage regulator is often the culprit. It will be a lot cheaper to repair than replace the alternator.
Does revving the engine help jump-start another car?
Revving the car that is trying to jump-start another does help. Make sure not to floor the throttle, but a light input keeping the car roughly 1,000 RPM above idle will do the trick just fine.
Does revving the engine make the car warm up faster?
Based on what we now know, revving the engine can help make the car warm up faster if the battery is low on power. The better solution is to get driving, as once the wheels start turning, after 20 minutes, your battery will be very well powered again.
How long should I idle my car to charge the battery?
Keeping your car at idle speed to charge the battery will take around 15 minutes on average, but I don’t recommend that. Slightly revving your car for a couple of minutes and taking it for a short drive after letting it idle is a much safer way to do it.
Does revving the engine in park damage it?
It doesn’t have to if you keep the RPM not much above idle speed and don’t do it for longer than 5 minutes. Anything more than this can substantially damage your engine.
Conclusion
A dying battery will typically happens when you wake up one morning and just want to get going. Thankfully it might be relatively simple to solve if you can still rev the engine a little to get some charge into the battery.
More simple car guides…
Does Revving The Engine Help Jump A Car? (Explained)
As a car driver, it is normal to have a dead battery. You might be driving somewhere, or your vehicle might be in your garage, but a dead battery is not new and can be experienced by any car driver. The bad thing is if you have a dead battery in a remote area, then you might have to jumpstart your car.
When we say jumpstart a car, it basically means that you have to give your vehicle a boost. This is a method that is done by car drivers to start a vehicle that has a discharged battery on it or a dead battery.
Most car drivers already know how to jumpstart a car, but some of the car drivers are still not experts on how to jumpstart a vehicle. In jumpstarting a car, there are steps to be followed. The basic jumpstart of a vehicle consists of only a few steps.
But many drivers wanted to know if revving the engine would help jumpstart your vehicle. So we have made this article to answer this question.
In this article, we will be focusing on the discussion of whether revving your engine can help while jumping your vehicle. So let’s go.
Table of Contents
Should I Rev The Car When Jump Starting?
The voltage output is regulated to a maximum of fewer than 15 volts. The voltage will push the electricity through the wires while the amperage measures how much the electricity is following. Let us imagine a garden hose.
The voltage is the water pressure, while the amperage is how much the water will leave the nozzle. If you increase the engine’s speed on the donor vehicle, it will make enough amperage or current flows into the weak battery.
Yes, you can rev your vehicle when you are jumpstarting to answer this question. You can hold it around 1,200 RPM.
Does Revving Engine Charge Battery Jumping?
Revving the engine during a jumpstart might not be a bad idea. You do not want to floor or accelerate the gas pedal in any situation, but if your engine turns faster, your engine’s alternator will also turn faster. If the alternator turns faster, it will then produce more electricity.
And so if you rev your engine up to 2,000 RPM or 2,500 RPM and hold it there while the other vehicle tries to start, you are increasing the output of your alternator, and this will give your battery a little bit of excess power. It will also donate to the other vehicles. Depending on the sizes of the respective engines and the battery’s condition, that extra power can make a difference.
Should You Accelerate While Jumping A Car?
You do not want to floor or accelerate our gas pedal, but if the engine turns faster, the engine’s alternator will also turn faster. And if the alternator is turning faster, more electricity will be produced. As a result, your battery will charge faster if you rev the engine.
This is because more power is generated. After all, the alternator will turn faster and produce more electricity that will charge the battery.
How Many RPMs Do You Need To Jump A Car?
Rev your vehicle for about 2000 or 2,500 RPM or revolution per minute. You can maintain it at that, and it will increase the output of your alternator and will give more power to donate to the other vehicle.
The jumpstarting of a vehicle might not be the same with all the vehicles. This is because this can also depend on the battery of your vehicle.
How Else Can You Help Jump A Car?
Revving your engine can help. Accelerating is a debate and is done or not at all.
There might be some other things that you can do that only experts know. You can ask for experts for any things that you can do while jumping starting your vehicle.
Summary
In summary, jumpstarting a vehicle must be known to all car drivers. This is because a dead battery can happen to anyone.
Revving your engine while jumpstarting a car can help. However, accelerating your car might be a different story.
Also Read:
- Drive-By-Wire VS Drive By Cable
- Do You Bleed Brakes With Car On Or Off?
- Engine Rattle On Startup
- Rough Idle On Startup Then Smooths Out
- How Many Crankshafts Are In A V8 Engine?
Should You Revving The Engine To Charge Your Battery Faster?
You might have heard that revving your engine will help charge your car battery faster. Technically, the short answer is yes.
That said, there are certain things that you need to look out for to avoid engine damage, and there are some rules on how to do it safely to charge a completely depleted battery during a jump-start, whether your car is the donor or the donee car.
Let’s find out how revving the engine might help charging your battery, the proper steps to do it safely during a jump-start and other important things to pay attention to in this case.
- Does Revving the Engine Charge Your Battery Faster?
- And During A Jump-Start
- … But Be Careful of Potential Engine Damage
- Minimize The Load
- Try To Stop Somewhere You Can Get Help
- Can car over revving damage the battery while trying to charge it faster?
- Can frequent revving to charge the battery shorten alternator life?
- Is there an ideal RPM to help charge the battery faster without damaging the engine?
- Can revving the engine cause sudden voltage spikes that harm electronics?
- What happen when you do engine revving while driving?
- What should you do when car revving on its own?
Does Revving the Engine Charge Your Battery Faster?
Technically Yes. Revving up your engine technically does help charge your car battery faster but only when the battery is in a significant state of discharge. If your battery is not, there’s no merit in doing so.
This is because automotive systems are engineered in a way that makes sure the battery remains charged throughout usage, that is if it is discharged, it will be charged immediately unless the car sits idle for an extended period of time.
What happens when you turn the ignition key is that the battery provides power to turn the engine, which turns the alternator, and the alternator produces electricity to charge the battery.
The most common type of car battery is lead-acid batteries. This type of battery only requires the level of amperage supplied by the alternator when it runs in idle.
However, when the battery is depleted or discharged to a certain low level, it will be primed to receive more amperage from the alternator compared to when the car is idling.
When this happens, it makes sense to rev the engine. Because when the engine turns faster, the alternator also turns faster and thus will produce more electricity to charge the battery faster with a higher amperage.
And During A Jump-Start
For the car giving the jump-start
If you are giving another car a jump-start, revving your engine with the jumper cables connected would only make sense if your battery is in a deep discharge state.
By revving your engine up to 2,000 RPM or 2,500 RPM and holding it there while the other car tries to start, you’re making the alternator turn faster and thus supplying a little bit of extra power to your battery, which it can in turn donate to the other car.
And depending on the respective engine sizes and battery conditions, that extra power could make a difference. You just don’t want to push the gas pedal to the floor in any case.
For the car receiving the jump-start
If you’re the donee car, once your engine starts, you should rev the engine to between 1,200 RPM and 2,000 RPM for around five minutes while the jumper cables are still connected (higher RPM is not advisable for reasons that will be explained further below).
Revving the engine will, as above, deliver more amperage to the battery and warm it up, thus makes charging quicker. When you’re needing a jump-start because of a completely depleted battery, car engine rev also adds a surface charge to the battery.
A surface charge is important for a battery in a deep discharge state, as it will top up the voltage of the battery and ready it for receiving more amperage from the alternator.
After the engine rev to charge your battery, make sure to take your car out for a drive to allow the alternator to continue charging the battery.
You can rev the engine to charge a deeply discharged battery faster. (Photo: Popular-Mechanics)
Depending on how depleted your battery is, you generally need to drive the car at least 30 minutes up to an hour to give the battery any meaningful charge and get it back to a safe level for your next start, so that you won’t need another jump start very soon after.
If you don’t want to drive for an hour just to top your battery off, the trick here is to use as little electricity as possible to make sure nothing is unnecessarily draining power.
This ensures that the alternator is sending as much energy into the battery as possible. It’s best to go for a drive when it’s bright outside, and turn off all lights and other electrical systems and accessories.
… But Be Careful of Potential Engine Damage
It’s important to note that if the engine is cold or if the car is in neutral, revving the engine to charge the battery faster can cause excessive engine wear due to sudden spikes in the temperature of the engine. For this reason, you should also avoid car revving too frequently.
The proper and safe way to rev the engine when trying to charge your car battery faster is to avoid significant spikes in engine temperature.
To do this, you need to warm your engine up beforehand by letting the engine idle for a few minutes. This will help prevent engine damages from revving and can also help charge the battery more efficiently.
Unfortunately, if you’re dealing with a dead battery and need to jump start your car, you won’t have a warmed engine.
In this case, the risk of hurting your engine is higher, but do follow the steps below to safely rev your engine during a jump-start.
The Safest Way to Rev the Engine During A Jump-Start
To safely revving the engine while receiving a jump-start with a dead battery, you need to consider the temperature of the engine.
After you start the engine, you should allow it to idle for about a minute to let the engine oil properly circulate. Letting the oil warm up and flowing can help prevent engine damage while revving.
Next, rev your car. Press down on the accelerator pedal until the needle on your tachometer dips into the red end of the gauge, which indicates that your car has reached maximum safe engine speed.
When you are finished revving your car, slowly release the accelerator pedal until the engine returns to idle.
Other Important Things To Do When Jump-Starting
Minimize The Load
When you jump-start another car, you should turn off all electrical accessories, including the headlights, the air conditioning unit, the radio, even the subwoofer and the electric butt-scratcher.
The less power your own car is consuming, the more you can give to the other car. The same rules apply if your car is the one receiving the jump-start.
Without any accessories that might be draining power, the alternator can deliver as much power as possible to the battery to restore it.
Once your engine starts, you can rev it up to charge the battery faster and drive it for at least 30 minutes to keep the battery charged.
Try To Stop Somewhere You Can Get Help
A battery can withstand a certain number of full discharges, or it can die and be recharged back to life for a limited number of times.
So when you’re dealing with a dead battery and need a jump-start, there’s also the possibility that your battery might be at the end of its life, especially if your battery is old, that is if it’s at least 3 years old.
In this case, there’s a good chance that after the jump-start, it will die on you again pretty soon, and this time it might be dead and gone for real.
For this reason, if you have just jump-started a dead battery and have been driving it for a while, make sure that if you need to stop somewhere on the way and turn your car off, do stop somewhere you can easily get help.
Because you might need another jump start right away. With this kind of dead battery, the only thing you can do is to have it replaced.
A battery can withstand a certain number of full discharges. (Photo: Boggs Automotive)
FAQs on Revving The Engine
Can car over revving damage the battery while trying to charge it faster?
Not directly. The battery has a regulator to prevent overcharging, but consistently high revs can overwork the alternator, leading to heat buildup and potential premature failure.
Can frequent revving to charge the battery shorten alternator life?
Yes. While occasional revving is harmless, repeatedly revving hard just to boost charging can stress the alternator bearings and electronics over time.
Is there an ideal RPM to help charge the battery faster without damaging the engine?
Generally, keeping the engine around 1,500–2,000 RPM is enough to maximize alternator output safely without stressing engine components.
Can revving the engine cause sudden voltage spikes that harm electronics?
In rare cases, especially if the alternator’s voltage regulator is failing, revving could create voltage spikes that may damage sensitive electronics like the ECU or sensors.
What happen when you do engine revving while driving?
Revving the engine while driving wastes fuel, increases wear and tear, and generates unnecessary noise and heat.
It can also damage the drivetrain, especially in manual transmission vehicles, and potentially lead to loss of control in low-traction situations.
What should you do when car revving on its own?
If your car revs on its own, pull over safely, turn off the engine, and call a tow truck.
This indicates a serious problem like a vacuum leak, throttle issue, or sensor malfunction that requires professional diagnosis and repair. Do not continue driving.
Final Words
Revving the engine is not really an effective or recommended way to charge a car battery frequently due to several potentials for damage.
And if you want a safest way to rev a car engine during a jump-start, take note on some cautious beforehand!
For more insightful Car maintenance tips, follow Car From Japan today!
Should You Revving The Engine To Charge Your Battery Faster?
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