We recently wrote an article about the problems that sometime happen when you cannot get your engine to start. Sometimes the problem is serious and you will need to take your car in to a Utah auto repair shop to get it looked at. When the problem is caused by a dead battery this is something that most people can solve by themselves.

Jump starting your car safely starts by taking precautions. Look through your car’s manual to make sure you understand where the parts of your car are. Focus specifically on where your battery is, and how to use your jumper cables to charge it.

Locate your jumper cables. The best place to have them is in your car trunk. I would highly recommend investing in jumper cables, as they can come in handy when you forget to turn your lights off or your car door doesn’t close all the way. You don’t always expect for your battery to be dead, so it’s always good to be prepared ahead of time.

Call a friend to come down with their car. Other wise you may have to rely on a Good Samaritan or tow truck for help. Have your friend park next to your car and turn both engines off.

Place the car in park or neutral. Be sure that the emergency brake is on. Don’t have your car set in drive or reverse.

After you have located the battery of your car it is time to connect the jumper cables. Positive cables use red clips, and negative cables use black clips. Get familiar with this and attach them accordingly.

Locate the positive and negative terminals of your battery. The positive terminal can usually be identified by a + or POS, and is typically bigger than the negative terminal. Attach the red and black clips accordingly. Do the same to your friend’s car and battery.

Once everything is attached you can try to start your vehicle. When it starts don’t turn off your engine until your battery is fully recharged. Drive around for a while to recharge it. If your car won’t start, check to make sure the cables are connected correctly. If you try again and it still doesn’t work there may be a more serious issue than a dead battery that a Utah auto repair mechanic will need to look at. Utah auto repair shops are trained to know these types of problems and you can usually find out what the issue is in a short amount of time.