How to Jump Start Your Toyota

Every driver needs to know how to jump-start a car. It might seem like a complicated process, but as your Toyota dealer, we’d like to tell you the way to jump-start like a pro. In this example, your Toyota will have a healthy battery and will be used to jump the other car’s battery. Before we begin, the only item you need is a set of jumper cables. Always keep a set in your trunk just in case they’re needed.

Park Close

This might seem obvious, but it can be easy to overlook when you’re preparing for a jump-start. The cables attach to the battery terminals by clamps, and the closer the vehicles are to each other, the less likely it is for a clamp to accidentally loosen.

Find the Terminals

It’s important to identify the terminals correctly before you start. The terminals may be marked with a + and a – sign to show the positive and negative terminals. It’s also possible that the positive terminal may have a red plastic cover on it. In addition, most car batteries are located in the front​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​, but some vehicles have the engine and the battery in the rear.

Positive Then Negative

Jumper cables consist of a red cable, which is positive, and a black negative cable. The clamps on each end of the cables are used to connect them to the two vehicles. The cables must be connected in a specific order for safety and to ensure that the current easily travels from your battery to the dead battery.

Red First

Connect one end of the red cable to the positive terminal on the dead battery. Once the clamp is securely attached, connect the second clamp to the positive terminal on your battery. When you’re connecting the cables, make sure that the black and red cables don’t touch each other.

Next, take one end of the black cable and connect it to the negative terminal on your battery. Finally, connect the remaining clamp to any unpolished metal surface in the other vehicle’s engine compartment.

Start Your Engine

Now the cables are in place, return to your car and start the engine. Allow the engine to idle for a few minutes, then go to the other car and try and start it. If the other car starts, you can now begin removing the cables.

if the other car doesn’t start, idle your engine for another ten to fifteen minutes and try to start the other car again. Once the engine starts, all that’s left to do is to remove the cables in the reverse order of how you connected them.

Congratulations! You’ve just mastered the art of jump-starting! If you’d like to know more, visit us at Perry Motors Toyota in Bishop, CA.

Tags: Engine Trouble in Bishop CA, Jump Start Your Car
Posted in Bishop Toyota Service, Guide | No Comments »