How to Jump-Start a Car

While no one wants their vehicle to break down while they’re out running errands or on their way to work, it’s important to know how to deal with the situation if your car battery dies on you on the Newark roads. Land Rover Wilmington has easy step-by-step instructions on how to properly jump-start a car if you don’t want to resort to calling a jump-start car service like AAA. Follow our instructions below!

The Proper Way to Jump-Start a Car

Make sure you always keep jumper cables in your car in case you need a jump-start while out and about. You can wait for the help of a good Samaritan or play it safe and call a friend to come to where you’ve broken down, but the bottom line is you’ll need the help of another vehicle with a working battery for the jump-starting process:

• Park the car with the good battery so that the vehicles’ hoods are facing each other.
• Check to make sure both parking brakes are engaged.
• Open both hoods and locate the batteries–if there is a plastic cover on the battery, remove it to expose the terminals.
• Find the positive and negative terminals and make sure they’re clean of any corrosion.

Be sure to follow the remaining steps in the specified order to avoid sparks or damage:

• Connect one red jumper cable clamp to the positive post on the dead battery.
• Connect the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the good battery.
• Connect the black clamp to the negative terminal on the good battery.
• Connect the final clamp to an unpainted metal surface on the frame of the dead car.
• Start the engine of the vehicle with the good battery, keeping the engine on.
• Start the engine of the vehicle with the dead battery.
• Once the dead vehicle has been jump-started, carefully remove the jumper cables in the reverse order that they were placed on
• Shut off the car that was used to help jump-start the dead car.
• Keep the engine running on the restarted vehicle for at least 10 minutes to ensure that the weak battery doesn’t die again right away. Consult your owner’s manual for more info on recommended times.

Car Battery Troubleshooting

If you’ve tried the process above but your car won’t jump-start, you may need a complete battery replacement, or there may be a different component that is causing the problem. Some troubleshooting tips to figure out what the issue is include:

• If you try and start the car but only hear a clicking sound, the starter might not be functioning. Schedule service at Land Rover Wilmington near Middletown for a replacement.
• If the electrical systems of the car turn on, but the engine fails to turn over, the problem could be a number of issues. The ignition switch, battery, starter, or a fuse could be the problem. It’s worth bringing your vehicle to a service center so they can diagnose the issue.
• Be sure to keep your vehicle running for a while after getting the jump. That allows the battery to recharge fully after it’s been drained.

Rely on Land Rover Wilmington for Your Service Needs

If you have any questions about car batteries, oil change frequency, or other vehicle maintenance concerns, contact Land Rover Wilmington and our experts will be happy to help you out.