Dead Battery

If you turn the key in your ignition and nothing happens, then you may have a problem with your battery. If you can hear a clicking sound when you try to start up the engine, it could just be that your battery terminals are loose; simply tighten them up with a spanner, making sure that you do not make contact between the two terminals.

If the terminals are secure, your battery could be run down, or even completely dead. Turn off anything that might be draining the power, such as the stereo, fan or lights, wait for 20 minutes and then try again.

If your battery is completely dead and you are lucky enough to be at home, you can simply take it out of the car and recharge it ( find out how here ... ). Alternatively, you could use a set of jump leads to get a jump start from the battery of another car.

1. Park the two cars next to each other, but make sure that they are not touching.
2. Check that the batteries in both cars are the same voltage - there should be a label on the top of the battery with this information.
3. Clean the battery terminals if necessary.
4. Attach one end of the red cable to the positive (+) terminal of the good battery, then the other end to the positive terminal of the dead battery.
5. Fix one end of the black cable to the negative (-) terminal of the good battery, and then the other end to the engine block, chassis member, frame or any unpainted metal surface of the car that needs to be started (avoid using the negative battery terminal).
6. Start the engine of the good car, and leave it running.
7. A few moments later, try to start the car with the dead battery. If it doesn't start first time, wait a few moments and try again. If it doesn't start on the third attempt, you may have to buy a new battery.
8. Once the car is running smoothly - do not switch off; remove the cables one at a time, in the reverse order that you connected them.
9. Take the car out for at least a 20-minute drive to make sure the battery becomes fully charged. Turn off the stereo, fan and other non-essentials to ensure that the battery charges effectively.

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• Checking and Charging the Battery

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