Finding Better Auto Service

How To Boost A Car Battery

A dead battery can happen at any time and it can be something as simple as leaving your headlights running that can leave your car without enough power to start. A dead battery will need to be boosted by another car to recharge the power and begin the power cycle in the dead battery cells. Here is a set of instructions that will teach you how to boost a dead car battery

1 – Locate a working vehicle that you can use to boost the car with the dead battery. Park the car with the hood of the car facing the hood of the car with the dead battery to allow booster cables to reach from battery to battery.

2 - Park the car and pop the hood latch and prop up the hood of both vehicles.

3 – The booster cables will be marked with a positive and a negative. The positive cable will usually be colored red and have a symbol of a plus sign on the battery post. For the negative the cable will usually be black and the terminal will have a minus sign on it. Start by taking the red positive cable and connect it to the positive terminal on the dead battery. Make sure that you never cross the cables or allow them to touch once connected as there is the potential for electrocution.

4 – On the car with the working car connect the positive cable to the positive terminal on the battery.

5 – Connect the negative black cable to the negative post on the working car. Make sure that the cable is secure and has a tight connection.

6 – Take the final negative cable and connect it to a piece of metal under the hood of the car with the dead battery. Make sure that the metal is not connected to the engine in any way. A screw or bolt will work fine and ground the connection and allow the battery to charge.

7 – Start the working car and allow it to run for five full minutes to charge the other battery.

8 – After letting the battery charge, attempt to start the car with the dead battery. The car should start and you will need to let it run for close to a full hour to allow the battery to fully charge. If possible take the car for a drive rather than let it sit in the driveway and run.

If the car does not start then it needs to be taken to a professional mechanic that can diagnose exactly what the mechanical issue is causing the car not to start.

To learn more, contact a company like G P Automotive.