During the year-end holiday season, AAA estimates that it will provide assistance to nearly one million motorists. AAA expects that most stranded drivers will be stuck due to flat tires, failed batteries, and lockouts. With failed batteries expected to be one of the three leading causes for people needing help on the road during the upcoming holidays, everyone at our Porsche dealership near St. Augustine, FL thought it would be a good idea to tell you how to jump start your car.

It doesn’t matter if you drive one of our new Porsche cars like the 2017 Porsche 911, an older Porsche model, or another kind of car, knowing how to jump start your vehicle can help you stay safe on the road, especially if you’re traveling to an area that experiences extreme weather conditions. The first step to jump starting your automobile is to make sure you stow jumper cables in your car before you even leave home.

Follow the instructions provided below to jump start your car if your battery goes dead during the holiday season or another time of year:

  • Position the assisting vehicle so that it’s nose-to-nose with yours. Leave about 18 inches between the automobiles and ensure both cars are in park, have their emergency brakes on, and are turned off.
  • Clamp an end of the red cable to the dead battery’s positive terminal and attach the red cable’s other end to the “live” battery’s positive terminal.
  • Clamp an end of the black cable to the working battery’s negative terminal and the cable’s other end to a metal surface in the car with the dead battery to ground it. You can put the second clamp on the dead battery’s negative terminal or you can attach it to another surface such as a bracket or bolt that isn’t near any of the automobile’s moving parts.
  • Start the car that has the functioning battery and let it run for a minute or two while you rev the engine lightly.
  • Try to start the vehicle that has the dead battery. You may have to try to start the automobile several times, but don’t attempt to start it more than three or four times in a row to avoid damaging your electrical system.
  • When the car with the dead battery is running again, disconnect the cables in the reverse order from which you attached them. Remember – It is critical that you do not let the clamps touch each other while you are removing them!
  • Drive the car that had a dead battery for a little while to let its battery charge to full capacity so it will start the next time you get behind the wheel.

If your car simply won’t start after you try to jump it a few times, your battery may be corroded or you may have an issue with your fuses, generator, ignition switch, or starter connection. Bring your automobile to Porsche of Jacksonville so we can inspect your battery and resolve these issues for you so that your car will start with ease after a jump start. Give us a call, visit our website, or stop by Porsche of Jacksonville to schedule a service appointment today.