If your vehicle’s battery has ever died, join the club. A dead car battery is one of the most common vehicle problems. However, as common as it is, not many people are capable of jump-starting their vehicle when the time comes. That is why we have listed several steps to help you bring your vehicle back to life when your battery does die.
It begins with having the know-how and the proper equipment.
What Do You Need to Jump Your Car?
You are going to need two things:
- Jumper cables
- Power source – either another vehicle or a portable jump battery
If you have never worked with or seen jumper cables before, they are long, insulated cables with large, metal clips on both ends. The clips come in either red or black, which indicates positive and negative polarity. The red is positive and the black is negative.
A portable jump battery helps jumpstart your vehicle with special jump cables. These cables utilize a portable battery, which connects to your dead battery. It removes the need for another vehicle to help jump the battery.
Using Jumper Cables with Another Vehicle
This causes the most anxiety amongst people; however, the process is simple. To begin, position the vehicles nose-to-nose. The vehicles need to be close enough that the jumper cables can reach each battery. Then place both vehicles in park, turn off the ignition, and open the hoods.
Attach the jumper cables to the proper terminals. The owner of the dead vehicle needs to connect the red clip to the positive terminal and the black clip to the negative terminal of the donor car. The vehicle providing the energy needs to connect the red clip to the positive terminal and the black clip to an unpainted metal part of the dead car.
You then start the donor vehicle so that it can supply the power to the dead battery. Let the vehicle run for a few minutes. After that span, check the interior lights of the dead car. If they turn on, power is flowing to the battery.
You then can start the dead car and hope that the battery has enough juice to make the car run again. Unclip the cables on go about your way.
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Safety Tips
- Never jump corroded, cracked, leaking, or damaged batteries.
- Never jump dry batteries.
- Never jump frozen batteries.
- Don’t touch the clips together.
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