Can You Jump Start A Mower With A Car Or Vice Versa?

Getting a flat battery on your lawnmower can be disappointing, leaving you unable to use your mower again until you buy a replacement battery, all you hear is the unforgivable clicking noise coming from your mower and you know it is the dreaded battery.

A thought may cross your mind, surely I can jumpstart my lawnmower with a car?

The answer to that is, yes, you can jumpstart your mower with a car as long as it is a riding mower and has a 12-volt battery. However, jumpstarting your mower’s battery is something you need to be cautious about. 

We have put together an information guide below about how to check your mower’s battery and jumpstart it safely with a car, always remember if you are unsure about the process, it’s better to hold off and get a replacement battery instead.

So without further ado, let’s get into it!

Precautions To Consider Before Jumpstarting Your Mowers Battery

Before we get into our step by step guide about how to jumpstart your riding mower’s battery, there are a couple of factors to consider first and foremost.

Firstly, as we mentioned briefly above you need to make sure that your lawnmower is using a 12-volt battery, you also need to ensure that your battery is not leaking and it hasn’t reached its end of life.

You likewise need to eliminate that it could be other components causing issues with your mower before jumpstarting the battery. Other places to check on your mower are the; spark plug, filers, fuel level and oil on your machine.

A clicking noise coming from your mower will always be the biggest indicator that something is wrong with your battery.

How To Jumpstart Your Mowers Battery With a Car

Now have covered the other factors to consider before jumping your lawnmowers battery, we can get on to how to do it.

There’s a couple of tools you will need on hand before starting the jumping process.

Tools Required

• Leather gloves.
• Vaseline.
• Jumper cables.
• Baking soda.
• Goggles.
• A wire brush.

Preparation Steps

Before you start jumping your mower, you will need to check the following list below to ensure you are safe and your mower’s battery is prepared.

• Wear gloves and safety goggles to protect yourself from the battery of your mower in case it is leaking.
• Sprinkle some baking soda on to the terminals of your lawnmowers battery beforehand to neutralise the acid.
• Clean your battery with a wire brush and put Vaseline on the poles to prevent corrosion.
• Make sure the terminals are not damaged as this can stop the battery from being recharged by the alternator.

Steps For Jumping Your Lawnmower

Step one

Move the car to your mower but ensure they are not touching to avoid short-circuiting the mower. You just need to ensure the jumper cables will be able to reach the car to the mower.

Step two

As we mentioned in our preparation steps above, you need to clean the corrosion from your battery terminals before connecting up the batteries together.

You can do this with a wire brush and some Vaseline.

Step three

Now it’s time to connect the batteries, you must make sure this is done in the right order otherwise the jumping process may not work.

Take the red clamp of your jumper cable and connect it to the positive terminal of the battery on your car, then take the other red clamp and attach it to the positive terminal of the battery in your mower.

Then take the black clamp of the cable nearest to the car and attach it to the negative terminal on your car’s battery, put the other black clamp on the side of your mower to a part of your mower’s engine (do not connect it to the negative terminal on your mower’s battery).

Start the car and allow the mower’s battery to charge up, in case nothing works always start by disconnecting the batteries in the correct order, starting with the red clamp connected to your cars positive terminal first.

Step four

Try turning on your mower while the engine of your car is running to see if the mower’s battery has charged, keep allowing the mower’s battery to charge if it’s still not starting yet.

Step five

When your mower’s battery has got enough charge to power on, remove the cables in reverse order.

This means you should start by disconnecting the black jumper cable clamp from the engine of your mower and then so on.

Is There Another Way To Start My Mower If Jumpstarting Doesn’t Work?

If this jumpstarting method doesn’t get your mower’s battery going then you may have an issue with your mowers; alternator, voltage regulator or the battery may have reached its end of life which is common after about two-three years of heavy use.

There are some other methods we will list out below that you can try to get your mower’s battery going if it still won’t start or your nervous to try battery jumping your mower.

• Push start it – If your riding mower has a manual transmission you can try to push start it like you would with a car. Simply move your mower up a steep hill and depress the clutch while your mower is on the lowest gear, hold the clutch down and release the brake on your mower, allow your mower to roll down the hill and release the clutch when it reaches the top speed.
• Use an extra car battery – Install a spare battery from your car like normal with thick cables and see if it can provide enough power to start your mower, this may not work but it’s worth a try!

How To Look After Your Lawnmowers Battery

Now you know how to jumpstart your mower’s battery, it’s a good idea to be familiar with how to maintain it to avoid running into issues like this in the future.

We have listed out some important maintenance tips for your mower’s battery below to keep it in the best shape possible.

• Invest in a maintenance charger – The battery of your mower will most likely need to stay with a regular charge cycle, linking it up to a maintenance charger is a great way to keep your battery healthy.
• Fill it up – Not all but some lawnmowers batteries need to be maintained and filled with water to work. Always fill your battery with distilled water when it is running low.
• Clean the battery – Corrosion build-up can ruin your batteries terminals quickly if you don’t clean them regularly. Try cleaning the terminals with a wire brush as we mentioned above and putting Vaseline on them to stop build up.
• Secure & use the correct battery – Make sure you are using the right voltage and sized battery in your mower, also ensure the terminal connections are tight enough.

Frequently Asked Questions About Jumpstarting Your Mower

How do I know if the battery is dead on my mower?

Check the oil and fuel levels on your mower first, then listen out for a clicking noise coming from your mower’s battery when you are in a quiet place, a clicking noise tends to mean a dead battery.

Is there a way to maintain my batteries charge?

Yes, you can make sure your mower has a good battery charge by using it at least once a week, if your planning to leave it untouched for a long period then buy a maintenance charger for it.

Is it dangerous to jump-start your mowers batteries?

There is always danger involved with jumpstarting your battery, however as long as you are wearing the correct safety equipment such as leather gloves and goggles and you follow the right order of jumping, you should be fine.

Last Words

It is possible and easy to jumpstart your mower’s battery with the three methods above, however, always check oil and fuel levels, as well as the spark plug on your mower before deciding the battery is the issue.

If you are not confident with jumpstarting your mower’s battery, its better you swap it out for a new one or get a professionals help.