DIY: How to Jump-Start a Car Battery

Wondering how to jump-start a car battery? At Springfield Mitsubishi, we’re proud to offer a full inventory of new and pre-owned vehicles to match just about every budget and lifestyle! But we’re also a fully-equipped service center that can take care of anything from routine maintenance to emergency repairs on your Philadelphia-area vehicles. In addition to performing services in-house, our team has plenty of tips and tricks that you can do yourself to keep your car running in the best condition possible. If you run into trouble and find that your battery is dead, it’s good to know how to properly jump-start a car so you can safely get back on the road. Our jump start car service has everything you need to know about the proper way to jump-start a car in the guide below – check it out!

The Proper Way to Jump-Start a Car

If the idea of jump-starting your car is a little too intimidating, don’t hesitate to call our jump-start car service near Delaware County! But as long as you follow the steps to the letter, you should be able to get your battery back up and running in no time. Get ahold of a second car from a friend, family member, or neighbor, and you should be good to go! Then, just follow these instructions:

1. Maneuver the two vehicles so their batteries are facing each other (this usually means hood-to-hood, although some foreign cars store their batteries in the trunk). Turn the engines off and apply the parking brakes.
2. Open up the hood and gain access to both batteries. Find the positive and negative terminals and make sure they’re free of dirt and corrosion.
3. Separate the red ends of your cables from the black ends. Never touch the ends together, as they could spark and hurt you. 
4. Connect one red clamp to the positive post on the dead battery, and the other to the positive terminal on the charged battery.
5. Connect one black clamp to the negative post on the charged battery, and the last black clamp to an unpainted metal surface on your car’s exterior frame. 
6. Start the engine on the vehicle with the good battery. Let it run for a bit, then start up your own vehicle and the battery should successfully jump-start. 
7. Remove the jumper cables in the reverse order that you applied them in (meaning the last black clamp first and the first red clamp last), all while keeping both vehicles running.
8. Keep the engine running on your vehicle for at least 10 minutes to make sure the battery doesn’t die again.

Additional Car Battery Tips & Tricks

If you find that your car won’t jump-start or the car isn’t starting even though you have a working battery, there are some things to keep in mind:

1. If you try to start your car but you hear a clicking sound instead, your starter might not be working.
2. If your electrical systems turn on but the engine doesn’t, you could have an issue with your ignition switch, starter, or fuse. It’s best to have a service technician check out your vehicle at this point.
3. As we discussed above, it’s a good idea to keep your vehicle running for a while after it’s been jump-started, so the battery can recharge as much as possible.
4. If your car won’t jump-start even though you followed the directions above, the battery could simply be worn out and in need of replacing. Our parts department can help you out with that!

Keep Your Car In Top Condition with Springfield Mitsubishi

If you want to have a professional check out your vehicle and diagnose a potential problem, schedule an appointment on our website! We’ll take care of everything and get you back on the Morton, PA roads in no time. Be sure to check out our service specials if you’re interested in saving on your next appointment.