How to Jump Start a Car

It’s not fun to start your vehicle and realize your vehicle’s battery is dead. Learning how to jump start a car is one of the best service tips that you can have in your repertoire of auto knowledge. If you park your car in the Prairie du Chien-area and your car won’t jump start when inserting the keys, you can save a lot of money knowing how to jump start a car battery instead of calling a tow truck and the works. 

Learning how to jump start a car isn’t the hardest thing, and after trying it a few times, it’ll become second nature. But if you’re still having trouble trying to jump start a car battery, then bring your vehicle down to our Oelwein dealer service center and let professionals take care of it. Also, if you’re interested in any of our new and used vehicles, reach out to our finance center for more information!

Jump Starting a Car Correctly

There’s a tried and tested method to juicing up your battery if your car won’t jump start. If you do it right, you can charge your battery enough to get to our Decorah-area service center to have the battery replaced promptly. The best way to jump start a car battery is:

1. Have the car with the good battery park facing the other vehicle, then make sure that the vehicle is turned off. Check to make sure both parking brakes are engaged.
2. Open both hoods and find the batteries. You may need to remove a plastic hood to expose the battery terminals.
3. Identify the positive and negative terminals. Make sure they’re clean and free of any corrosion.
4. Connect the red clamp to the positive post on the dead battery.
5. Uncoiling the battery cable, hook the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the battery with the charge.
6. Connect the black clamp to the negative post on the good battery. 
7. For the final clamp, connect it to an unpainted metal surface on your car’s frame.
8. Once everything is hooked up securely, start the engine of the vehicle with the good battery first, then the one with the dead battery.
9. Once the dead vehicle has been jump-started, carefully remove the jumper cables in the reverse order that they were placed on, then shut off the car that was used to help jump-start the dead car.
10. Keep the engine running on the restarted vehicle for at least 10 minutes to ensure that the weak battery doesn’t die again right away. Consult your owner’s manual for more info on recommended times.

The Reasons Why Your Car Won’t Jump Start 

Now, if you don’t want to go through all of this trouble, there are some tell-all signs when your car’s battery needs replacement. This can save you the trouble of trying to jump start a car battery in the middle of your busy day in West Union. Some of these signs and solutions include:

• If you try to start the car but only hear a clicking sound, the starter might not be functioning. Schedule service at Birdnow Dealerships near Decorah for a replacement.
• If the electrical systems of the car turn on, but the engine fails to turn over, the problem could be several issues. The ignition switch, battery, starter, or fuse could be the problem. It’s worth bringing your vehicle to a service center so they can diagnose the issue.
• Be sure to keep your vehicle running for a while after getting the jump. That allows the battery to recharge fully after it’s been drained.

Service Your Vehicle at Birdnow Dealerships 

Another thing you can do if you notice that your car’s battery is weak is by bringing it down to our service center in Oelwein. Our technicians can teach you how to jump start a car as well as replace your car’s old battery with a fresh one. Contact or visit us at Birdnow Dealerships for more information and service!