Last Updated on March 7, 2021 by themechanic
Car batteries can completely die for several reasons. Perhaps your vehicle sat parked for a long time in colder environments. Maybe you left some of your electronic accessories on in your vehicle after you turned off the engine. It is common for people to leave their headlights and radio on too. These things can easily eat up all the juice in the battery until there is nothing left.
5 Easy Steps to Crank up a Car Engine
It is a horrible feeling to have a completely dead battery in your car. You won’t be able to power your starter motor and engine unless you have a functional car battery. Fortunately, not all hope is lost because it is possible to jump-start a dead car battery so that you can power the motor and crank up the engine. Just make sure you drive straight to an auto shop and get a new battery after you do this.
Below are the 5 steps for jump-starting a car battery that is completely dead.
1) Inspect the Battery
Before you even begin attaching jumper cables to your dead battery, you should inspect the battery first. Take notice of its physical condition and see whether it has any cracks or leaky areas on it. Signs of acid or corrosion is a clear indication of leakiness. If any of these issues exist, then you must remove that battery and replace it with a new one immediately. Do not attempt to jump-start a battery in this kind of condition.
2) Gather Your Tools
If the outside of the battery appears to be in good condition, then it is possible to jump start it. Obviously, you’ll need to use a mobile battery charging device or a pair of jumper cables and another car battery which works. Either way, you’ll need to attach the appropriate jumper cables to the corresponding terminals of the dead car battery.
Read also:
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- 5 Tips for Easy Starting Your Car in Cold Weather
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3) Connect the Jumper Cables
Usually, the red jumper cable connects to the positive (+) terminal and the black jumper cable connects to the negative (-) terminal. Make sure you get this right or else it could make your problem worse. The terminals are clearly marked, so you’ll know which one is positive and which one is negative. If you’re using another vehicle’s battery for the jump start, then connect the other ends of the cables to that battery in the same manner. And also, do not forget to use best jumper cable
Please Note: It is recommended that you connect the positive cables first and then the negative cables second.
4) Start the Engine
Once the cables are properly connected, turn on the battery charger or the vehicle with the good battery in it. Do not turn on the vehicle with the dead battery just yet. Wait for about 5 minutes because the charge from the good battery will build up for the dead battery. After 5 minutes have passed, try to start the vehicle which has the dead battery. You should notice the engine turning over just fine. If it doesn’t turn over, wait another 5 minutes and do the same thing again.
5) Remove the Cables
Now that the engine is running, you can remove the jumper cables from the car battery. Make sure you remove them in the reverse order this time. In other words, remove the negative cable first and then the positive cable. If you fail to do this properly, an explosion might occur as the vehicle is running.
Conclusion
You’ll probably get about 20 minutes of use out of your battery before it goes dead again. This should be just enough time to get your vehicle to the nearest mechanic and have them replace the battery with a new one. At least you won’t need to get your vehicle towed to the mechanic by using this jump-starting method.
