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i was told today that jump starting your car when dead, is bad for the on board computer and the rest of your car. is that true?

anybody?

 
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i heard that too on my moms accord

 
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well i know when i jumped my sisters car with my moms, the radar, which was a voice cobra one, went crazy and talks all distorted after that. but havent had any ecu problems or anything yet.

 
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nah ive had to jump my car like 5 times over a 5 yr period and no problems at all. Stock battery and alternator is running strong still.

 
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NO...it's not bad for your car as long as you are doing it properly. Most people connect positive to positive and negative to negative...which is wrong.

See here for the proper procedure of jump starting your car:
http://www.carbuyingtips.com/jumpstart.htm

basically:

DEAD CAR....................................GOOD CAR
positive terminal--------------------positive terminal
ground-------------------------------negative terminal

That's the proper way to setup your jumper cables. If you do it incorrectly you can potentially zap either or both your batteries as well as electrical components.

 
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It is true on some vehicles, though i don't know if it's the case with an EM2. Jumping a vehicle off can cause a power "spike" to the engine ECU. To avoid this, simply apply a load or two to the vehicle once the jump leads are connected, but before you turn the key. E.G., switch on lights, wipers, heated screen etc. It might not apply to the EM2, but it won't hurt to get into the good habit for the future.

I have to do it with the Renault trucks i work on, every time i do a jump start.

 
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MECHANCIC WHO SAID THIS WAS WORKING ON MOTHER INLAWS DODGE CARAVAN. SO SHE CAME HOME AND WAS YELLING AT ME ABOUT HOW BAD IT WAS TO JUMP CARS? wHAT THE HELL R U SUPPOSE TO DO, BUY BATTERY EVERYTIME YOUR CAR DIES? WTF

 
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If you're worried about this potential "spiking" problem, just add a "load" to the electrical system before you physically start the vehicle...as stated, switch on something (or things, plural) that draw(s) a decent current before you crank the car over.

You can do a battery test to see if your battery is still within manufacturers tolerances. If it is, you'll be fine and the battery will just need charging up (either by some fairly long driving/use, or actually attach a battery charging device to the battery over night).

 
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all right then.

 
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all youre doing is using someone elses battery to start your car. how would that cause a problem.

 
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I did say i don't know if it applies to the EM2... but the 24 volt trucks i work on have incredibly complex electrical systems and you DO have to be careful how you jump start them. I didn't say you had to do it on your Civ.