How to Jump-Start a Car

If your Lexus doesn’t respond when you turn the key in the ignition, you’re most likely dealing with a dead battery. Fortunately, you can shock your battery back to life with a jolt of power from another driver’s battery. Find out what you need to know about how to jump-start a car battery, and how to know when it’s time to get in touch with your Lawrenceville Lexus service center about battery replacement.

How to Properly Jump Start a Car

To jump-start a dead car battery, all you need are jumper cables and access to another car’s battery. You’ll simply use the jumper cables to connect your car’s battery to the other car so that power flows from the other car to yours. To ensure safety, follow these steps for the proper way to jump-start a car:

1. Park the car with the good battery facing your car.
2. Place both vehicles in Park or Neutral, and shut off both ignitions.
3. Make sure both parking brakes are engaged.
4. Open the hoods and find each car’s battery. The battery may be covered by a plastic hood, which you’ll need to lift off to expose the terminal.
5. Identify the positive and negative terminals on both car batteries, and inspect to make sure they’re clean and free of corrosion.
6. Connect one of the red cable clamps to the positive terminal of your dead battery.
7. Attach the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the good battery.
8. Connect one of the black clamps to the negative terminal of the good battery.
9. Attach the final black clamp to an unpainted metal surface on your car’s frame (and away from the battery).
10. With all 4 clamps secure, start the engine of the donor vehicle and allow it to run for a couple minutes.
11. Now try starting your engine. If your car starts, the jump has worked!
12. However, don’t turn the engine back off right away! Drive the car around for at least 15 minutes to recharge the battery.

If you’re not comfortable enough to jump-start a car battery yourself, can’t find another driver, or your car won’t jump-start, you can call a jump-start car service in Lawrenceville or Princeton, NJ to take care of it!

More Battery Tips and Tricks

If your engine doesn’t start after a jump attempt, there are a few more things you can try before calling a jump-start car service. Re-connect the batteries and run the other engine for at least five more minutes before trying again. If your engine still won’t start, your car could have one of the following issues:

• You need a new battery. Schedule service for a battery replacement at your local Lexus dealership.
• There’s a problem with the starter. Listen for the telltale clicking sound as you turn the key in the ignition.

If the interior lights and radio turn on, but the engine fails to turn over, there could be an underlying problem with anything from the ignition switch, battery, starter, or a fuse — so it’s important that a Lexus technician take a look at your car and properly diagnose the issue.

Rely on Haldeman Lexus of Princeton for Expert Service and OEM Parts

Now that you know how to properly jump-start a car, make sure you have a good set of jumper cables in your trunk. Visit our service center near Yardley, PA to learn more about routine maintenance services like tire rotation.