Every driver needs to know how to jump-start a car, as it’s often easier and faster to do this yourself than to wait for help. As your Jeep dealer, we’d like to tell you the easy steps to jump a battery. In the example below, your Jeep will have a good battery and will be used to jump the other vehicle’s battery.
Locate the Battery
Before you can start, it’s important to know where the battery is in the other vehicle. The battery is often under the hood, but some vehicles have the battery in the trunk. Once you’ve found it, check the position of the battery terminals. Most batteries have the positive terminal on the left as you face the battery, and the negative terminal is on the right. They are usually marked with “+” and “-” signs to distinguish them. The positive terminal might also have a red cover.
Get in Position
Now you know where the battery is, position your Jeep so its battery is as close as possible to the other vehicle’s battery. The jumper cables have metal clamps that allow them to connect to the battery terminals. The closer you park, the less chance there is that a clamp could slip off. If the clamps are not securely connected, recharging won’t work.
Connect Jumper Cables
The cables must be connected in the correct order, and red and black cables must never touch each other if they’re connected. If the cables touch, they could damage your battery or even start a fire. Jumper cables have a red cable and a black cable. The red cable is positive, and the black cable is negative.
Connect one side of the red cable to the positive terminal on the dead battery, then connect the other side of the cable to the positive terminal on your battery. Take one end of the black cable and connect it to the negative terminal on your battery, then connect the other side of the black cable to any unpolished surface in the other vehicle’s engine compartment. Check all the clamps to make sure they are securely attached.
Jump the Battery
Turn on your engine and allow it to idle for a few minutes, then try and start the other vehicle. If it doesn’t start immediately, return to your Jeep and allow it to idle for several more minutes.
Disconnect the Cables
Once the other engine is running, you can disconnect the cables. Remove the cables in reverse order, starting with the black cable attached to the unpolished metal surface in the other vehicle’s engine.
If you’d like to know more about jump-starting, visit us today at Blue Ribbon CDJR in Sallisaw, OK.
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