With colder weather moving in across the nation, you might be more inclined to start your car earlier in the morning so the windows are cleared of snow and frost. But the dip in temperatures can also cause your car battery to become a bit cranky resulting in some really cold mornings where you just can’t get your car to start.
If you have a pair of jumper cables on hand in your car emergency supplies kit, just follow these directions to get your battery some juice so you can get on the road again:
* Ask a neighbor, friend, coworker or anyone else handy with a running vehicle to bring the hood of their car close to the hood of your car for some vehicle assistance. Turn off the running car and start to connect the cables. Connect them first to the car with a dead battery. This helps to prevent you from getting a spark or a shock if the cables were to accidentally connect, because that battery shouldn’t be exuding any power. Put the positive (+) cable on the positive connector of the dead battery. You may discover that several layers of dirt or corrosion are covering up the symbols or the clamps, so clean those off first.
* Take the other end of the positive cable (these are usually red or orange colored, but check to make sure) and connect it to the good battery’s positive connector.
* Connect one negative (-) cable to the good battery’s negative connector. Connect the other negative end of the cable either to the negative connector on the dead battery or a solid, non-corroded part of the car’s frame.
* In both cars, turn off all energy-drawing accessories, including cell phone chargers, the heater, lights, radio, etc. If kept on, these items would pull electricity from the battery, and slow down the recharging process.
* Turn on the operational car and let it run at least a minute before attempting to start the dead battery car. Depending on how long the battery has been drained, or how cold it is, you may need to let them sit awhile.
* Once the engine turns over and is running, remove all the clamps in the reverse order that you put them on – make sure they don’t accidentally come in contact with each other, or metal parts. Let your recharged engine run for awhile so the alternator can recharge the battery.
Always make sure you keep a set of jumper cables with your car tools so you can easily get your engine restarted no matter if you’re at home or on the road. They don’t take a lot of space, and good emergency equipment to have handy if you accidentally leave your lights on overnight.
