How To Jumpstart a Car: Steps and Tips To Follow

There are several reasons why a car fails to start. It can be due to battery or engine problems. Although, usually, this would be due to a dead battery that causes the failure to start. What you need to do is to find ways to jumpstart a car using these methods.

Tools to prepare:

• Another car with a charged or functioning battery
• Jumper cables or leads

1. Find a Safe Location To Park Both Cars

First, you need another car that has a working battery. Keep your car that won’t start near to the location of the car that has a fully functioning battery. Find an area where you can park both cars safely. It must be in an area with enough space and not have any nearby distractions.

Avoid spaces that are too tight to park both cars. Ideally, there should be adequate space for you to move around. It’s also best to avoid going near power lines when doing the jump start procedure.

2. Have a Jumper Cable Ready to jumpstart a car

A jumper cable allows you to transfer power from one battery to another. It has two attachments, each with a distinct color. The red one is the positive terminal, while the black one is the negative terminal. Remember the proper labeling of the jumper cables as you will be attaching each exact terminal later on according to the matching battery attachment.

Jumper cables or leads are useful in emergencies where you have a dead battery. Have them ready, especially if you already notice signs that your car doesn’t start as quickly as before.

3. Locate the Battery in Each Car

Pop up the hood and make sure to find the battery in each car. This will make it easy to attach the terminals from the jumper cable later. You will save time also for you to connect the jumper cable right away instead of wrongly connecting them to other parts of the car.

If you’re jump-starting the car at night, it’s all the more important to locate the batteries first before connecting the jumper cable terminals. This prevents the mistake of connecting the wrong terminal to each battery attachment.

4. Connect the Red (Positive) Terminals

With the jumper cable ready, select the terminal with a red color first. This is the positive terminal that you need to connect to the same positive attachment in the car battery.

Place the red terminal to the positive attachment of the discharged battery first. After which, you can then place the other red terminal to the corresponding positive terminal of the car with a charged battery.

5. Properly Attaching the Black (Negative) Terminals

As for the other end of the jumper cable, this is the negative terminal with black color. Attach the black terminal first to the car battery where you will get power from. Don’t attach the other remaining black terminal yet.

What you need to do is to look for a metal piece, like the engine block or other metal surface of the car. Make sure that this metal is away from the battery. This metal surface will act as the ground. Connect the black terminal of the jumper cable to the designated metal ground.

6. Try Starting the Car

Once both terminals are already in place, you can try to start the car ignition. The car may not start right away on the first try. Do them again until the car starts.

Before you attempt to start the car, see to it that you’ve already placed the terminals for some time first. This is to ensure that you’re already charging the battery with sufficient power before starting the engine.

7. Removing the Jumper Cables to Jumpstart a Car

Once the car is already starting, let the jumper cables stay for a while before removing them. This is to ensure that you’ve already jumped started the car before proceeding to drive on them.

You also need to follow the proper sequence to remove the jumper cable. First to remove will be the black negative clamp that you attached to a metal ground. Next will be the other black terminal. For the red positive clamp, remove the ones from the car with a charged battery. The last would be the red positive clamp from the vehicle that didn’t start before.

It is important to remember the proper sequence when it comes to jumpstarting a car. The jumper cables have their correct designation and labels – the red for positive and black for negative – with their corresponding clamp attachment in the battery. Make sure that you follow the exact order of connecting the jumper cables to fill up the battery of your car and to help prevent damage.

You would also need to follow a few more tips as you do the jumpstart activity. These additional tips will ensure a proper and safe way to jumpstart the car and get your car ready to drive again.

Additional Tips Before Jumpstart a Car

Aside from the jumpstart methods discussed above, it’s also important to take note of other tips. Jumpstarting a car, while a relatively safe procedure, is not one without risks involved. To ensure that you’re keeping your car and battery from getting damaged, take note of some of these tips before you consider jump-starting the car.

Check the Battery and Jump Leads

Make sure to check the battery first before attempting to do a jumpstart. Is there enough power from the other charged battery? As for the dead battery, are there any visible damages, or is it leaking? Never attempt to jumpstart if you notice any of these. Jumpstart only when there are no leaks and other damages that you noticeably observe from both the battery and the jumper cables.

Away From Metal Objects

While doing the jumpstart activity, it’s best to keep metal objects away from the perimeter. This includes bracelets, rings, necklaces, and other metal objects that may impede the jumpstart procedure. Metal objects can get stuck or affect how the car battery gets its power.

Watch Out for a Ticking Noise

A ticking or clicking noise is a sign that there is something wrong with either the battery or the engine. The noise can be due to a malfunctioning circuit that can affect the jumpstart procedure. You need to diagnose this problem before proceeding with the jumpstart.

When the Battery Dies Immediately

You can continue doing the jumpstart. When the battery dies right away, this could be a sign that it’s not yet fully charged. Wait a little longer for the vehicle battery to get enough power before proceeding to start them again.

Jumpstart a Car in the Rain

It is perfectly safe to jumpstart the car when it’s raining. However, you have to make sure that there is no water dripping or reaching out to the cables. Following the right sequence of attaching the terminals is also one way to jumpstart the car safely.

What if I Can’t Find Another Car With a Charged Battery?

The common method most people would be looking for is how to jumpstart a car with another car. However, there might be cases where there is no other car available, so you must learn how to properly jumpstart a car by yourself.

Having a dead battery in the middle of the road with no vehicle to assist you can be a problem. Good thing there are options you can still do to jumpstart the car. A battery booster device can help you jumpstart a dead battery in the absence of another car with a charged battery.

If you don’t have a battery booster available, what you can do is hail a towing service instead. The advantage of towing services is that they are efficient and can readily provide assistance. Whether you only need to jumpstart your car, get a new battery, or even tow the car altogether, a towing service is helpful in situations with a dead battery.

Coburg towing is among the towing services that solve the problem of having a car that doesn’t seem to start. The towing service from Coburg is available Monday to Friday. Thus, ensuring that you have emergency roadside assistance regardless of what hour or time of the day your battery gets stalled. An efficient and reliable crew will help you to either jump-start the car, get you a new battery, or tow the car altogether in situations where the car cannot start already.

Towing services provide immediate response in times when you need help to start the car. With its complete and well-maintained equipment, you don’t have to worry about having a stalled car.