5 Tips to Jump a Car When You’re Stranded in the Middle of Nowhere
Photo by nevillekingston on Pixabay
You know that sinking feeling when you get a notification that your car battery has been disconnected because of an error code? Or when you try to start your car, but it remains stubbornly silent? You’re stranded, friend. A broken-down vehicle is never fun, but it’s even more annoying when you’re in the middle of nowhere with no cell signal and nobody around to help. It can be a scary experience, especially if you have no clue how to fix it. So what do you do if this ever happens again? Well, read for some helpful tips on jumping a car when you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere.
Keep your car battery charged.
The first thing you should do to ensure you never find yourself stranded with a non-working car is to keep your battery charged. Many assume that a car battery will last them a lifetime, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Over time, your battery will slowly lose its ability to hold a charge, and it’ll need to be replaced before you find yourself out of luck in a roadside situation. There are a few signs that your battery is on its last legs, so keep an eye out for them. If your car takes a long time to start or doesn’t start at all, then you should have your battery tested as soon as possible to avoid being stranded.
Jumping a car to get it running again
If your car’s battery has wholly gone, you may need to jump it to get it running again. To do this, you’ll need to locate the positive and negative terminals on your car battery. They’re usually found on the underside of your car’s battery. Suppose you’re unsure which terminals are which; you can generally find a label on the side of your battery that shows the correct placement. Once you’ve seen them, you’ll need to jump your car with another working vehicle. If you’re lucky enough to have a friend with a working car nearby, they can jumpstart your car using their own. If you don’t have friends nearby, you’ll need to walk to the nearest service station and ask for assistance.
Use your Android phone as a jumping station.
If you’re out in the middle of nowhere and don’t have any friends or nearby service stations, you can use your Android phone as a jumping station to get your car running again. This is thanks to the quick charge function that many Android devices have. To do this, you’ll need to attach the other car’s positive terminal to your phone’s positive terminal and then attach the other car’s negative terminal to your phone’s negative terminal. You can then start the engine in the other vehicle and let it run for around 10 minutes, after which you can create your car. If you have a USB-C cable, you can attach the other car’s positive terminal directly to it and then connect it to your phone’s negative terminal.
Check the cables and fuses.
Once your car runs again, your issue was likely due to a faulty connection or a blown a fuse. If you’re lucky, your vehicle will usually start up, but you should check the cables and fuses to ensure nothing else is wrong. We recommend checking the following:
– Make sure that the cables are securely connected. If a cable is loose, there’s a good chance that your car will stall again.
– If the positive and negative terminals are loose, you’ll need to tighten them.
– Check the fuses to make sure they’re all intact. If a fuse is blown, you’ll need to replace it as soon as possible.
Change the battery
If your car doesn’t start after you’ve checked the cables and fuses, the issue is likely with the battery itself. If your car is older than five years, it’s a good idea to replace the battery before it completely dies on you. If you’ve tried jumpstarting your car, but nothing happens, it’s likely that your battery is completely dead and needs to be replaced. You can either jumpstart your car with another car or with an Android phone. If you jumpstart your car with another car, it’s a good idea to let it run for around 10 minutes. This will ensure the battery has enough charge to last the rest of the day.
It can be a total nightmare if your car ever dies on you. But if you keep your battery charged and replaced it when necessary, you won’t have to deal with a dead battery and being stranded. These five tips will help you get your car running again even when the battery is destroyed. So the next time you’re stuck with a non-working car, these tips will help you.