Jump starting your car can be something that saves you money, time and headaches if done safely and properly. People often ask, how do i jump start my car? The first thing you need to do is have the proper equipment. A set of jumper cables, a pair of gloves and a pair of safety glasses.
Once you have the equipment you need to know when a jump starts warranted. There are allot of misconceptions on when a jump start would actually start your car. For example if you were driving your car and it stopped running, a jump start typically won’t do you any good, this usually means something other than the battery is wrong. But if you came out of your house or from work and the car won’t start then jumping it or giving it a boost may work.
Can I safely jump start my car?
First thing you need to do is to make sure jumping your car can be safely done. You will need to look at the area in front of your car and make sure it has enough room to have another car in front of it and that it is in a safe area to do so away from traffic and other dangers.
Next you will need to position the car that will jump start your car in front of it, nose to nose. Next you can release the hood or “pop” the hoods on both vehicles and gather your cables and safety equipment.
Once you have put on your gloves and safety glasses you are ready to attach the cables to both cars.
Now you need to connect one end to the car that is jumping off the dead battery, make sure that the opposite ends of the cable are not touching each other and not touching either car. Connect the positive (Red) end to the positive (Red) on the battery. Then connect the negative (Black) to the negative.
Now, carefully pick up the other end of the jumper cables making sure not to touch the ends together, they will spark. Connect the positive (Red) to the positive (Red) on the dead battery. Next place the negative (Black) to a metal bracket somewhere on the engine, do NOT connect this end to the battery. Finding a spot needs to be a heavy metal like a bracket and ensuring the cable will not interfere or touch any moving part when you start the engine.
At this point you can go to the car with the dead battery and start it up.
Once the engine is running you now need to remove the jumper cables. To do this disconnect the negative on the car that was just jumped off (the dead battery) first. Then disconnect the positive cable remember to not let them touch together or parts of the car. Once done you can disconnect the negative on the other car followed by the positive.
Congratulations, you’re done, put your tools away, close the hoods and be safe. Now, you have answered the question, how do I jump start my car?
Remember to bring your car in as soon as possible so we can check your battery and offer a solution. You can call, come by or schedule your visit.
For more information and visual demonstration visit Edmunds.com
