JumpStart Service Near Me

• Keep Jumper Cables In Your Vehicle At All Times

Along with road reflectors, a flashlight and some extra wiper fluid, it’s a good idea to have jumper cables stashed in your vehicle’s emergency kit just in case. If your battery goes bad and you need a jump start to get back home, you’ve already got half of the tools you’ll need to do the job. All you need is a donor vehicle with a healthy battery to lend your car a jump start.

Don’t want to fuss with another car just to jump yours, or maybe you’re too shy to ask a stranger to lend a hand? You might invest in a portable jump starter. Portable jump starters feature built-in cables and hold a charge that can jump start your car in seconds the next time you get stuck.

• Remember Red On Dead When Attaching Jumper Cables

When hooking up jumper cables between two vehicles, it’s important to do things in the correct order. Remember, you’re working with live electricity. A short-circuit could cause a spark that can even detonate the fumes released by the battery, causing a dangerous explosion! Before attempting a jump start, be sure you know which order to hook the cables up in, and take care to ensure both cars are off before you begin.

A handy mnemonic device can help you remember how to begin when hooking up jumper cables: “Red on Dead” means to connect the red (positive) battery cable up to the dead vehicle’s battery first. This will help eliminate the risk of shock, spark and explosion.

• Don’t Hook Up Both Cables Directly To The Dead Battery

Even if you’ve jump started your car this way before, conventional wisdom suggests its not a good idea. Connecting both the positive and negative battery cables to the positive and negative terminals on the dead battery can increase the risk of an explosion. Also, it’s not necessary, either.

To determine if this battery can still hold a charge, a technician performs a battery health test

Instead, the negative battery terminal should be grounded onto an unpainted piece of bare metal under the hood. This completes the circuit without the increased risk of an explosion. Can’t find a good spot to attach the battery cable? Consult your owner’s manual. Many modern cars now provide a special, stamped and marked piece of metal under the hood to which you can simply attach the negative battery cable — that is, if you can find it. If you still can’t find a good place to attach both battery cables, give us a call and speak with one of our technicians.

• Remove The Battery Cables In Reverse Order

Once you’ve allowed the donor vehicle to charge the dead battery, you can try starting the car. If your car starts right up, congratulations: you’ve just jumped started your car! Now it’s time to remove the battery cables, but there’s still a spark and explosion risk. To reduce this risk, make sure you remove your battery cables in the opposite order of how they were attached: begin by removing the negative battery terminal from where it’s clamped to your vehicle, then work your way backwards until you lastly remove the positive cable from the formerly dead battery.

• Allow The Vehicle To Run For At Least 30 Minutes Before Turning Off

So, why does a jump start work? Because the car battery doesn’t need to run the entire time your engine is running. It just needs to store a charge so that your radio, lights and climate controls can run even when the engine is off. That charge also engages the starter to turn the engine on when you turn the key.

However, once the engine is running, it’s running under its own power with no help from the battery. While the engine is running, an accessory called the alternator converts power generated by the engine into a current that recharges your battery. So, the donor car doesn’t need to stick around while your battery recharges — your engine is recharging the battery as soon as the jump start takes place! You can let your helpful friend get on with their life. Let your car run for about a half hour and the battery should now have enough charge to start your vehicle up again next time