How to Jump Start a Car

Anderson Nissan is your source for quality vehicles in the Lake Havasu CIty area. We are eager to provide you with answers to all of your auto-related questions, even when it comes to DIY service & repairs. Our service team is eager to help you ensure your vehicle runs smoothly, so, with that in mind, if you need to know how to jump-start your car, keep reading! You can also contact us if you have any questions so we can help you learn the proper way to jump-start a car. We want to help you eliminate your anxiety and save on spending money unnecessarily on a jump-start car service with our guide.

How to Properly Jump-Start a Car

While you can call a jump start car service if your car won’t jump start, it’s always a good idea to do it yourself as it’s a relatively simple process. You will, however, need another person and another vehicle for this, as well as a set of jumper cables. Once you’ve collected all the gear and extra hands, you’ll be ready to go! Here is the proper way to jump-start a car:

1. Face the two vehicles with the batteries facing each other. Most vehicles have batteries in the engines, meaning they’ll usually face hood-hood. After you’ve parked the vehicles, turn them off and set the parking brakes before starting.
2. Gain access to the batteries. Some cars may involve removing a plastic hood to expose the battery terminals.
3. Find the positive and negative battery terminals. Make sure they are clean and free of any corrosion or dirt.
4. Look at your cables and separate the red ends from the black ends. You don’t want them to touch, ever, as they could spark. Connect the red clamp to the positive post on the dead battery.
5. Uncoiling the battery cable, hook the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the battery with the charge.
6. Connect the black clamp to the negative post on the good battery.
7. Connect the last black clamp to a grounded, unpainted metal surface on your car’s frame.
8. Once everything is hooked up securely, start the engine of the vehicle with the good battery. Let the car with the good battery run for a bit. It’ll need some time to charge. Then, try starting the engine of the other vehicle.
9. Once the dead vehicle has been successfully jump-started, carefully remove the jumper cables in the reverse order that they were placed on, and keep the other vehicle running.
10. Be sure to keep the engine running on the restarted vehicle for at least ten minutes to ensure that the weak battery doesn’t die again. Consult your owner’s manual for more info on recommended times. It’s also recommended that you get your battery tested and/or replaced ASAP in these situations.

Jump Start Car Battery: Additional Tips & Tricks

There are plenty of reasons aside from a dead car battery why your vehicle may not be starting. If you have to jump-start car battery on the Bullhead City road, here are just a few things worth noting:

1. If you’re trying to start your car, but you only hear a clicking sound, your starter may not be functioning.
2. If the electrical systems of your car turn on, but the engine doesn’t, the issue could be the ignition switch, starter, or something as simple as a fuse. We recommend bringing your vehicle to a qualified service center for further diagnostics and investigation.
3. Don’t forget to keep your vehicle running for a while after it’s received a jump. That allows the battery to recharge some after it’s been completely drained.

Some batteries still can hold a charge for some time after being jumped. This is usually the case after a vehicle with a good or newer battery has been sitting idle. A remedy to prevent this is using a battery trickle charger. Sometimes an old and worn-out battery that requires replacing is the reason to jump-start the car battery.

Visit Anderson Nissan for Your Battery Service in Lake Havasu City!

Are you ready to explore more service and maintenance tips? We have the details to help! If you think it’s time to trade in that old vehicle for something newer with more features, be sure to check out our entire selection of new Nissan and quality used vehicles for sale!