Nobody wants to be stranded with a car that won’t start, but when you find yourself in this situation it’s important to know what to do. Follow these tips to safely jumpstart your car before you schedule a service appointment with Jim Schmidt Chevrolet to have that battery tested or replaced.
Find Another Vehicle
The first step is to find a friend or neighbor nearby that can help with a vehicle to get you going. Position the vehicles close together so that you can easily reach the batteries with your jumper cables, being sure to leave enough space to move around and ensuring that the vehicles are never in contact with each other.
Lay out your Cables
Stretch your cables out on the ground, ensuring that each end has a red and black clamp. Then, attach one red clamp to the red terminal on the battery of the disabled vehicle. Take the black clamp and rest it on the rubber cable, ensuring it doesn’t touch the battery or anything metal under the hood. Then, take the other red clamp and attach it to the red terminal on the good battery. You’ll then take the black clamp and attach it to the opposite terminal on the good battery. Finally, you’ll go back to the disabled vehicle, and attach the black clamp to a piece of unfinished metal under the hood. This can be a bolt, engine mount, or suspension post. Never attach it to the black terminal of the disabled battery, as this can cause a spark that starts a fire.
Start the Good Vehicle
After turning off all electric devices and features in both vehicles, start the good vehicle and wait a few minutes. Then, start the disabled vehicle, disconnect all cables carefully, and ensure that they never touch ends while attached to either battery. Finally, pay us a visit and see if your battery might need replacing!