Need A Jump, Here’s Your Jumpstarting Guide

You know the feeling: you’re ready to go, and suddenly your car won’t start. For many drivers, it’s likely the case of a dead or dying car battery. Fortunately, with a jumpstart from another vehicle, you should be able to get your vehicle running again so you can drive it to the nearest mechanic. Every car should have a set of jumper cables in the trunk. Check out this step-by-step guide to jumpstarting your vehicle from Advantage Auto Service so you’ll be prepared the next time an emergency strikes.

How to Jumpstart Your Vehicle

Use these step-by-step instructions to help you get your vehicle jumpstarted correctly:

1. Make sure your car and the car giving you a jump are close together but make sure they are not touching. Turn both car engines off.
2. Connect the positive jumper cable (typically a red color) to the positive terminal of the dead battery. The positive terminal is usually marked with a plus sign and the negative terminal should indicate a minus sign. Never touch the metal clamps to any other metal or you run the risk of electric shock.
3. Connect the other end of your positive cable to the positive battery terminal located on the vehicle that’s giving you a jump.
4. Connect the negative cable (usually black in color) to the negative terminal on the same vehicle giving you a jump.
5. Connect the other end of your negative cable to an exposed metal part of your vehicle. It’s best to connect to places like bolts or brackets that are unpainted. This will help to provide a ground and prevent any sparking from occurring.
6. Make sure that your jumper cables are not located near any moving parts of the engine.
7. Start the vehicle that is giving you a jump and let the engine sit idle for at least a few minutes. You can rev the engine if it’s an old battery or if it’s been sitting dead for several weeks. This will speed up the charging process.
8. Start your vehicle. If it starts, let it sit idle for around 20 minutes. If you’re unable to get it to start, check the cable connections and try again.
9. Remove the jumper cables in reverse order by removing the black or negative cable from the ground on your vehicle, but keep your engine running.
10. Remove the other end of the negative cable from the battery of the person giving you the jump.
11. Remove the positive cable from the battery of the vehicle giving you the jump, then remove the final positive cable from your vehicle.

With this handy guide, getting a jumpstart should be easy. You should let your engine run for around 20 minutes or so just to make sure it’s properly charged. If you still can’t get the engine to start, it may be time to call for help from a professional.

For all your automotive service and repair needs, contact Advantage Auto Service in Marietta, GA to schedule an appointment today!