How To Jumpstart Your Car

If your battery drains out, then to start your car, the battery needs recharging, and it would help if you knew how to jumpstart your car. You can use another vehicle and some jumper cables to recharge your battery. You can also recharge your battery through an extra battery booster that you can keep in your car if you can't find any good samaritan and their vehicle. Let's dive in!

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Why Does a Battery Drain Out? 

Forgetting to Turn off Lights After Parking

This probably is the most common reason why a battery drains out. When you leave your car with the lights turned on, the lights suck the battery and drain it. These days carmakers install alarm systems to ensure that you turn off your lights before leaving your car. 

Charging Electronic Devices for Long Periods

If you ever charge your devices on battery, you run a risk of being drained. These devices take up a lot of juice, and your battery can quickly get drained if you charge your devices on battery for an extended period. 

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How to Jumpstart your Car Through Another Vehicle

1. Equip yourself with your jumper cables.
2. Line up both the cars. 
3. Park the cars in neutral or shut off the ignition of both the cars.
4. Engage the parking brakes on both cars. 
5. Attach a red clip to the positive terminal of your battery. It will have a (POS) or (+) on it, or it might be bigger than the negative terminal. 
6. Attach the other side of the cable (red clip) to the other car's positive terminal. 
7. Attach the black clip's one side to the other battery's negative terminal. 
8. Attach the other side of the black clip to your car's unpainted metal surface away from your battery. 
9. Then turn on the helping vehicle and let it run for a few minutes. The engine must be running for a while to recharge the stopped vehicle's battery. 
10. Now start your vehicle.
11. Ensure that the cables are properly connected and let the helping car's engine run for about 5 minutes.

And voila! You have just recharged your car's battery. Once you recharge your car's battery, do not turn your car off before driving for at least 15 minutes. You need to keep your car running as it will allow your car's alternator to recharge the car's battery on its own. 

How Often Should you Change your Battery?

Batteries today last for about 5 to 7 years on average. However, you should only consider changing your car's battery if it shows any sign of deterioration. It is better to be safe than sorry because you don't want to get stranded in the middle of the road with no help because of an old and struggling battery. 

Get your battery checked out on the first sign of struggle.