There is nothing worse than getting in your car, turning your key and hearing the clicks or the complete silence that mean you have a flat battery. Jumpstarting your vehicle is an easy task, but, if you’ve never done it before it can be daunting. Here we have an easy guide to help you get your car started and on the road again.
A car battery is responsible for more than just powering your engine. All the electrical components like the headlights, power windows, air-conditioning and windshield wipers, draw their power from the car battery.
Car troubles?
If your car won’t or is struggling to start, you may need to jump-start your car. A set of jumper cables are a great tool to have in your boot. You never know where or when your battery will go dead. To jump-start your car, you will need another functioning vehicle. Just like recharging your phone on a dock, you can use the other car to charge up your weak or flat battery.
If you can, pull the other car up to yours with their noses or bonnets close, make sure they aren’t touching.
Both cars should be off and in either neutral or park.
Pop the hoods of both vehicles.
Attach the red or (+) positive cable to the (+) positive terminal on your battery and the other end of the red or (+) positive cable to the (+) positive terminal on the charged car battery.
Now, attach the black or (-)negative clamp to the (-)negative terminal of the charged battery. DON’T connect the black cable to your flat battery. This will cause a dangerous spark. The other end of the black cable needs to be attached to an earth point like the engine block of the disabled vehicle. This will ensure that the connection is a safe one.
Now try starting your car. If it doesn’t turn on, you might just need a bit more time connected to charge up the battery.
Once your car has started, you can remove all the clamps in the reverse order. Remove the black from the grounding source, now the black from the donor car. The red from the donor and then the red from your car. Place any caps back where they were. DON’T let the clamps touch each other at any point.
Driving for about 30 minutes will help to charge up the battery.
If you feel you have a faulty battery, we recommend you visit the team at Express Lube. With stores at Tuggerah, West Gosford, Woy Woy, Erina, Long Jetty and Cessnock, It’s now easier than ever to find a convenient location.
