How to Jump Start Your Car

Feb 22, 2018

You’re leaving work after a long day and want to get home and relax. You get into your and go to turn the key and — nothing. Your car battery died, and you’re stuck wherever you are trying to figure out what you can do to get yourself out of this predicament. If you have one of those services that send roadside help, just sit and wait for help to arrive. If you don’t have a membership with one of those services, you still have options.

If a Good Samaritan comes around, they can give your car with a dead battery a needed jump. For those occasions, it’s always wise to keep a set of jumper cables in the trunk. However, the times you need the jumper cables might be few and far between, so you may not be intimately familiar with how to use them. This guide will help you be prepared for the next time you need them.

Make Sure the Cars Are Ready

First things first — both cars need to be parked and shut completely off. Keep the vehicles close to each other, but make sure they aren’t touching before attaching the cables. Once this is in place, pop the hoods of the cars and have the cables untangled and ready to go. Engaging the parking brake is an additional safety precaution you can use to keep your vehicles safely in place.

Attach the Clips to the Correct Connectors

The next step involves attaching the correct clamp onto the corresponding battery terminal. Getting them mixed up means your dead battery won’t get the necessary charge to get moving again.

Attach one of the red clamps on the jumper cable to the positive terminal on your battery (it will either be marked with a + sign or POS.) Attach the other red clip to the positive battery terminal of the other car.

While you’re there, put one of the black clamps to the negative terminal of your rescuer’s car. Take the other black clip and attach it to a non-painted metal surface of your vehicle (like a metal strut that holds the hood open), a surface NOT near the battery.

Start Your Engine

This next step is crucial to getting your dead car battery charged to the point where you can drive to a local mechanic. The Good Samaritan should start their vehicle and let it run for a few minutes. Then, try and start yours.

If you have no luck, check that all the cables are properly connected. Then you should try again in a few minutes. If your battery still doesn’t cooperate, it may need to be replaced by a professional.

But, if the engine does turn over, thank your newfound friend, and then drive around for at least 15 minutes to build up some juice in the battery. At this point, you should be fine to get where you need to go without worrying that your car will suddenly die.

What Happens If It Still Doesn’t Start?

If, the next time you go to start the car, and it doesn’t, your battery isn’t holding the charge — which means you’ll need to get a new one. The typical car battery lasts an average of four years. If you discover that you do need a new car battery, bring your vehicle to our Nissan service center.

In addition to replacing your battery, our service experts will check many other parts of your car to ensure it is running correctly. If you’re looking to purchase a new Nissan vehicle, Peruzzi Nissan also has a vast selection of over 240 new Nissan vehicles in the Levittown, PA, and Trenton, NJ areas in stock and ready to purchase.

If you’re looking for a used vehicle, we also have a selection of over 500 pre-owned vehicles from every major manufacturer. Visit Peruzzi Nissan today at 165 Lincoln Highway in Fairless Hills, PA, or give us a call to schedule an appointment or learn more.