How to Jumpstart Your Car

Despite your best efforts to keep your car in pristine condition, life happens. Whether you accidentally left your lights on overnight or your battery unexpectedly lets you down, it’s important to know how to jumpstart your car in the case of an emergency.

Materials Needed to Jumpstart Your Vehicle
In order to recharge your car’s battery and hit the road once again, our Nissan dealer near Calumet City knows you’ll need the following:

Jumper cables
A power source such as a portable jump battery or another vehicle
If you aren’t familiar with jumper cables, they are long and insulated, designed to jump start a vehicle without the need of another vehicle. These cables have either black or red alligator clips at the end to signify positive or negative polarity. It’s important to note that the red clip is positive and the black clip is negative.

More Information on Jumper Cables
Once you open the hood of your car, you’ll see the battery. It has two nubs referred to as terminals, one is positive and one is negative. It’s important to connect the right cable to the right terminal to help power your car’s dead battery.

The positive terminal is typically bigger and it’s marked with either “POS” or “+” and it will connect to the positive or red jumper cable.
The negative terminal is marked as “NEG” or “-” and it attaches to the other clip that is typically black.
Be Careful!
Make sure to read the owner’s manual before you start this process. If you notice that your battery is cracked or corroded, do not jump it.

Steps to Jumpstart Your Car
Once you have your jumper cables ready, put both cars in park or neutral and turn off the ignition in both cars. Attach a red clip to the positive battery terminal of your vehicle. Attach the red clip to the positive terminal of the other car. Then, attach one of the black clips to the negative terminal on the other battery.

Take the last black clip and attach it to an unpainted metal surface on your car that is far enough away from your battery. Start the vehicle that works and allow the engine to run for a few minutes. Then, try to start your car. If your car still hasn’t started after a few attempts, you’ll need to visit our Service Center to get it replaced.

Visit Our Nissan Dealer Near Calumet City
Our Service Center can help ensure your Nissan vehicle near Calumet City is running properly! Regular maintenance can extend your car’s lifespan. Schedule service directly with us today!