Ever find yourself late for a meeting, but your car suddenly won’t start? Have you turned on the ignition only to find that it still won’t work, no matter how many times you try? This could probably be caused by a dead battery.
A quick remedy would be to jump your car. Make sure that you are ready to take on the challenge and follow these tips to safely jump your car:
- Use good quality jumper cables.
It is always good to be prepared and have a set of jumper cables ready at the back of your trunk. You may have your own jumper cables, or you may need to borrow from someone else. Either way, it is essential that you use good quality jumper cables. Make sure the clamps never touch each other.
- Remember to place both vehicles in ‘Park’ or ‘Neutral’ and to turn off the ignition of both cars.
For you to be able to jump your car, you must find another functioning vehicle. Hopefully a stranger would be able to help you out with that, or you may need to call certain services that can help. It is important that you turn off the ignition of both your car and the working one and to place both in Park or Neutral.
- Hold on to the jumper cables and attach the clips.
First, attach the red clips of the cables to the positive (+) terminals of both batteries. Next, attach a black clip to the negative (–) terminal of the battery of the working car. Lastly, attach the other black clip to a clean, unpainted metal surface on your car that is far away from your battery.
- Start the other vehicle.
You can now turn on the ignition of the functioning car and let the engine run for a few minutes. You can rev the engine slightly for 30 or 60 seconds. Depending on the battery, a minute or two might be needed to get the jump to work.
- Test it out by starting your own vehicle after.
After a few minutes, you can turn on the ignition of your own car. If it doesn’t start, let the other vehicle charge your battery for an additional minute or so, and then try turning it on again. If this does not work after a few tries, your battery may be beyond repair and you would need to call a towing service.
- Disconnect the clips and remove the cables.
Remember to remove the cables in reverse order. Unclip the black clamps first before the red ones. Again, make sure that the clips don’t come into contact with each other.
- Drive around to recharge your battery.
When your car starts, don’t turn off your engine. You can drive around for 15 minutes for the battery to completely recharge. This also ensures that your car won’t die again once you turn it off.
- Ask a professional in auto repair to jump your car for you.
Last but not the least – it’s always safest to allow a trusted professional to this task for you. If you are not yet confident, or if an auto repair expert can be easily contacted, we highly recommend that you ask for expert assistance.
Written by the staff at KB Tire & Auto. KB Tire & Auto is the leading expert in auto repair Moberly MO has to offer.