Let’s say for a moment that you successfully get your car battery jumped, and are able to make it to your destination. But then, the next time you try to start your engine, you experience the same problems—clicks, sputters, all the telltale sign of a dead battery. Show If your battery “dies” twice in a row like that, it simply means that it didn’t successfully hold its charge the first time. There are several potential causes to consider. The Causes of a Failed ChargeSome of the most common reasons why a battery won’t hold its charge include: – You’ve left your lights on—or some other accessory that draws battery power—even when the car hasn’t been running. These are not the only potential causes of your battery woes, but they represent the most likely scenarios. Diagnosing the ProblemTo determine which of these scenarios you’re dealing with, here are a few troubleshooting tips. 1. First, simply turn on your headlights. If they come on with their normal brightness, your problem is probably a bad starter or poor wiring—not the battery itself. If the lights do not come on at all, or if they’re dimmer than normal, then the problem is more likely with the battery. These are some effective ways to figure out why your battery won’t hold a charge—but what if it won’t jumpstart at all? If you followed our step-by-step guide and your engine still won’t turn, there could be a number of potential reasons. Published Tue April 10, 2018 Few things are more frustrating than getting into your car only to find that the engine won’t start. Often, the problem is as simple as a dead battery. Although this is obviously inconvenient, you can always attempt to jump start the car in order to revive the dead battery. This is assuming you have jumper cables, another vehicle with a working engine and some basic knowledge of how battery recharges work. We Can Jump Start Your Car! Find a Meineke Shop Nearby If you’ve never jumped a dead battery before, you may have a few questions. For example: How long does it take to charge the battery? How long should you give it before trying to power the engine and get back on the road—and at what point do you throw in the towel and admit that there might be a deeper issue with the car engine? Jumping a Dead Battery: Birdseye ViewTo start the process of re-charging the battery, you’ll first need to get the good car and the bad car as close together as possible. Then, you’ll attach the red/positive cable to the battery terminal in the good car and then to the dead one. You’ll also do the same with the black/negative cable. Now here is where you’ll want to time things. Turn on the engine in the good car and wait two minutes. Then turn on the bad/dead one and wait an additional two minutes. From there you’ll remove the cable in the reverse order at which you put them on, and you’ll let the car run for two more minutes before you get back on the road. What if That Doesn’t Work?So what happens if that doesn’t work? If that’s the case, there may be something else wrong with your vehicle. Some possibilities for this scenario include:
Obviously, there are times when a battery recharge is not only possible, but fairly straightforward. So long as you know what you are doing, it shouldn’t take but a few minutes to recharge the dead battery. But if you are still unsure about the process, you may want to request help as it can be dangerous. If the problem turns out to be something more serious than a dead battery, you’ll want to take your car to your local Meineke Car Care Center, where the problem can be diagnosed and repaired as quickly as possible. If you can’t start your vehicle, read our step-by-step guide with pictures on how to jump-start a car battery, it may be helpful! How long should it take to jump a car battery?Once you've got the cables connected, jumpstarting your car should only take a few minutes. Like five minutes tops in normal cases and 30 minutes in extreme conditions. To fully recharge the battery, you must drive for at least 15 minutes after starting the vehicle.
Can you jump a completely dead battery?A dead battery is no-one's idea of fun, but you can still jump a car by connecting the bad battery to a fully charged one using jumper cables.
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