How to Jump-Start a Car

Shopping around Houston for a brand new or pre-owned Buick, GMC? There’s no better place to shop for cars, trucks, or SUVs in the greater Channelview area than Big Star Buick GMC. However, we offer more than just an impressive inventory of vehicles on our Baytown lot. 

We strive to provide you answers to your many auto-related questions, such as what to do if your car won’t jump start. If you need to know how to jump-start a car battery, read on or contact us. Any one of our loyal team members is ready, willing, and able to provide you with jump-start car services whenever you need them.

How to Jump-Start a Car Battery

Of course, you can always reach out to a jump-start car service provider if you’re not exactly a handyman. However, we wholly believe you are more than capable of learning how to jump-start a car battery, as the process isn’t difficult. Keep in mind, though, that you will need another person and another vehicle for this, as well as a set of jumper cables. If you don’t feel comfortable recruiting a stranger to help you, and you’re in a part of Crosby that you don’t recognize, you may wish to just call a jump start car service. Otherwise, if you’re in a situation where your car won’t jump start, we’ve broken down the necessary DIY steps below:

1. Face the two vehicles with the batteries facing each other. Most vehicles have batteries in the engines, meaning they’ll usually face hood-hood. Some foreign cars, though, have the battery in the trunk. After you’ve parked the vehicles, turn them off and set the parking brakes.
2. Gain access to the batteries. Note: you may need to remove a plastic hood to expose the battery terminals.
3. Find the positive and negative battery terminals. Make sure they are clean and free of any corrosion or dirt.
4. Take stock of your cables and separate the red ends from the black ends. You don’t want them to touch, ever, as they could spark. Next, connect the red clamp to the positive post on the dead battery.
5. Uncoil the battery cable, and 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. Connect the last black clamp to a grounded, unpainted metal surface on your car’s frame.
8. Once everything is hooked up securely, start the engine of the vehicle with a good battery. You may try to start the engine right away, but it’s probably a good idea to let the car with the good battery run for a bit, then try starting the engine of the other vehicle. 
9. Once the dead vehicle has been successfully jump-started, carefully remove the jumper cables in the reverse order that they were placed on, and keep the other vehicle running.
10. Be sure to 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. It’s also recommended that you get your battery tested and/or replaced ASAP.

Get Expert Car Repairs at Big Star Buick GMC

As previously mentioned, you can trust the maintenance experts at Big Star Buick GMC with any potential service you may need. If your car won’t jump start after testing out our instructions above, or if you need assistance with any other vehicular repairs, give us a call today. Our trusty repairmen will provide you with the fixes you need, and our lucrative service specials will make sure you don’t pay a dollar more than you ought to.