How to Jump-Start a Car

If your vehicle is having trouble starting, you’ll likely need to jump-start your battery with car jumper cables. Follow this guide from Temecula Valley Toyota so that Murrieta drivers can learn how to properly jump-start a car, as well as some maintenance tips that can keep your vehicle running smoothly. You can also learn how to utilize our service center near Lake Elsinore, especially if your battery is getting near the end of its life, so you don’t have to worry about what happens if your car won’t jump-start.

How to Properly Jump-Start a Car With Cables

To get started, you’ll need a set of car jumper cables, and a second vehicle. If you don’t feel comfortable jumpstarting, or you don’t have the tools necessary to jump-start a car battery, then you can contact a jump-start car service like AAA. If you’ve decided to move forward with trying to jump-start a car battery yourself then follow these steps:

1. Have the car with the good battery park facing the other vehicle, then make sure that the vehicle is turned off. 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 securely attached, 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. As always, consult your owner’s manual for more info on recommended times.

And with that, you’ve been able to learn how to jump-start a car, so you’ll never be stuck near Menifee.

Tips and Tricks To Keep Your Battery Running

If your car won’t jump-start, then you’ll need to schedule a battery replacement in our service center. But know that this could be a sign of more serious problems, so don’t dally on it. You can find out more about what to do about if your car won’t jump-start by following these steps:

1. When you start your car, if all you hear is a clicking sound, then you might have a fault in your starter. If your starter is not working, you’ll need to schedule service today.
2. If the electrical systems of the car turn on, but the engine fails to turn over, the problem could be a number of issues. The ignition switch, battery, starter, or a fuse could be the problem. Our trained service technicians can diagnose the exact problem, so that you can get it fixed.
3. After you get your vehicle jump-started, make sure you leave it running. If it turns off, the battery will lose its charge, and you’ll need to get another jump-start through that set of car jumper cables.

Trust Temecula Valley Toyota to Handle Your Service Needs

Whether you need a new battery, oil change, or other service, you can find it at Temecula Valley Toyota. Contact us to schedule service, or you can check our tips and tricks section for more information, just like this guide on how to jump-start a car with cables.