Help! - Car battery dead

[shola]

i pulled out of my garagae last night with no probs starting. phone rang, pulled over to side of road for 10 mins and then car wouldnt start again. no lights, wipers etc. knowing nothing about cars i presume the battery is gone?
anyhow, made a few calls this moring to friends, family to see if someone could come to jump start me and everyone seems reluctant! they say the battery prob needs to be taken out to be recharged or that i need a new battery all together??? how do i know what the prob is? and can jump starting from someone elses car damage their battery? (when i mention getting a jump start they dont seem too keen!!!)
finally can anyone recommend a mechanic in raheny/clontarf area who could come out to have a look and get me started?

 

[ottobock]

To jump start a car one needs jump leads which most people wouldnt have. You are unlucky in that all those people u asked apparntly havent got them as there is no problem in jump starting from another car and doesnt damage either battery. Keep the car with the good battery ticking over and connect +ve to +ve and negative to negative and turn the engine over and it should start then keep it running/driving until the battery charges up again. However if the alternator is gone the problem will have to wait until a garage is open

 

[mathepac]

... connect +ve to +ve and negative to negative ...

Connect the negative lead to the body-work / chassis of the car with the dead battery.

One reason people are nervous of jump-starting a car these days is that an incorrectly connected battery can cause expensive damage to the ECU or other electrical systems of the car providing the current, hence the popularity of portable power packs.

 

[Leo]

See the car batery FAQ here for how to test your battery to see if it is at the end of it's usable life.
Leo

 

[pudds]

My battery is 10yrs old and it's still firing up (although) fairly quitely during this bad spell, but I make sure to drive the car every day to give it some chance.