Nothing is more frustrating than dealing with a dead battery, especially if you have places to be! It's bound to happen to you at some point in your driving career, so it would be advantageous if you knew how to jump-start your car. Even though it looks slightly frightening at first, jump-starting a vehicle is a straightforward process.
Before you do anything, you will need to grab the following items: power source (such as another powered vehicle) and jumper cables. Jumper cables are coated cables with clips, and they're relatively inexpensive. Typically, they are red and black to symbolize positive and negative charges. Red means positive, and black means negative.
How to Jump-Start Your Car in 6 Steps
- Please make sure both vehicles are powered off and parked in an accessible position. Don't forget the parking brake!
- Open the hood of both cars.
- Attach the clips to the battery terminals in this order:
- Red to Dead (vehicle with the dead battery)
- Red to Doner (vehicle with the working battery)
- Black to Donor
- Black to Metal - Attach the black clip on an unpainted metal surface with the dead battery on the vehicle. A good example would be one of the metal struts that holds the hood open.
- Start the engine on thedonor car (or car with the working battery). Let it run for several minutes.
- Start your engine on the car with the dead battery. If your engine starts without any problems, leave both vehicles on for several more minutes to let the battery charge. [If your engine does NOT start, then your battery may be beyond repair.]
- Remove the cables from both cars in the OPPOSITE order that you clipped them on.
Not so bad, right? If your battery is completely drained and you need a new one, please do not hesitate to get a replacement done by our professionals at City Garage. We have 14 convenient locations, and you can make an appointment online with us today!