How to Jump-Start a Car

It can be frustrating when your vehicle won’t start and you need to get that meeting in Provo fast, but you probably just need a jump-start. It’s easy to do this at home if you have two cars or with the help of a neighbor or jump-start car service. Learn how to jump-start a car from the Brent Brown Toyota service center in this guide. Then come visit us and see our inventory of pre-owned Toyota Highlander models. 

Steps for How to Jump Start a Car

If you have a set of jumper cables and another vehicle, you can jump-start your car right at home in Lehi. A jump-start car service like AAA can also help. Just follow these steps: 

1. Park the car with the good battery so that it’s facing the car that won’t start. Turn both vehicles off and engage their parking brakes.
2. Open the hoods of each vehicle and find their batteries. There may be a plastic hood covering the battery, so remove it to expose the battery terminals.
3. Make sure the terminals are free of any corrosion and clean. Then, identify the positive and negative terminals.
4. Now, it’s time to connect the jumper cables. Start by connecting the red clamp to the positive terminal of the dead battery.
5. Then, connect the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the live battery.
6. Then, connect the black clamp to the negative terminal of the live battery. 
7. Finally, connect the last black clamp to an unpainted metal surface such as your car’s frame. 
8. When you’ve hooked everything up securely, start the engine of the vehicle with the live battery.
9. Then, attempt to start the vehicle with the dead battery. If it doesn’t start at first, have someone rev the engine of the vehicle with the live battery while you try to start. 
10. The dead vehicle should jump-start. Leave it running, and carefully remove the jumper cables in the reverse order that you hooked them up. You can now shut off the car that helped you jump-start the dead car.
11. A running engine charges your battery and ensures it won’t die again right away. Leave your engine running for at least ten minutes, but your owner’s manual will likely contain recommended times. 

If Your Car Won’t Jump Start

If you can’t jump-start your car and a jump-start car service from the Draper area can’t help, it’s possible your battery needs to be replaced or that there’s some other problem with your vehicle. These steps can help you troubleshoot the problem: 

1. If when you try to start the car you only hear a clicking sound, you might have a non-functioning starter. Schedule service with us at Brent Brown Toyota and we can install a replacement. 
2. If your engine fails to turn over, but all the electrical systems of the car turn on, a number of different things could be wrong. Parts including the ignition switch, battery, starter, or a fuse can all cause this problem if malfunctioning. 
3. Did you keep your vehicle running after jump-starting it? Failing to do so will prevent your battery from fully recharging. 

Brent Brown Toyota Can Help

At our dealership in Orem we don’t just have a wide inventory that includes pre-owned Toyota Highlander models. We also have talented staff that can answer your questions or help you with your vehicle. Just contact us if you’re having issues.

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