When you learn to drive, you should make sure that you learn how to jumpstart a car. Having that knowledge will make the experience less scary when you actually need to put that knowledge to work. Here are some tips from SDS Automotive that can help you when the time comes.
Check Out the Jumper Cables
If you’ve never used jumper cables before, they can be intimidating at first. There are two sets of clamps, a red and black one, on each end of the cables. It’s a good habit to make sure you never touch the clamps against each other, but it’s only dangerous when one end is connected to a live battery. Make sure the cables aren’t knotted and stretch them out so you can see how close the cars need to be to each other.
Pull the Vehicles Close Together
You’re going to want to make sure that you move the car with a good battery close to the other car. It’s best if at least the engine compartments are near each other when parked. You need some space to move in between the cars as well. Once the cars are close together, shut the working car off.
Make Sure The Cables Are Connected Properly
It’s important that both cars are switched to “off” before connecting the jumper cables. Start out by placing the red clamp on the positive post of the bad battery. Then attach the red clamp on the other side to the positive post on the good battery. Next take the black clamp on that same car’s end of the cable and attach it securely to the negative post on the good battery. The last black clamp needs to attach to the negative post on the bad battery.
Start the Car With The Working Battery First
Once you’ve got the cables attached firmly and properly, start up the car that is functioning. Let that vehicle run for a minute or so and then try starting the car with the bad battery. If the battery just needed a little help, it should start up right away. Sometimes the battery needs to have a little more charging help from the other car’s battery before it will start. If you’ve left everything clamped on longer than about five minutes or so and the battery won’t start, it may be dead and unable to jumpstart.
Worried that your car’s battery is dead for sure? Call SDS Automotive in Sacramento, CA, today. We can test your battery for you and help you to find out if it just needs to charge or if you need to replace it.