How to deal with a dead battery

Finding out that your car won't start due to a dead battery is a surefire way to ruin someone's day. In many cases, the cause of battery loss will be obvious, such as if you leave your headlights or radio on overnight, while in other cases, the situation will not be so obvious. Either way, your main concern is to get your battery charged again so you can get on with your day. Your next task is to determine if this problem occurs again, so you may need proper battery maintenance or a complete battery replacement.

When you turn the ignition key and nothing happens, that's a sure sign that a dead battery is to blame. However, if your car tries to start but fails to start, it can be a sign of a variety of problems, although often a bad battery is the cause. However, until you find evidence to the contrary, treat this situation the same as the first because it has the simplest solution. Often, even if something like a faulty alternator is the cause of the problem, the following dead battery methods will get you back on the road to fix the immediate problem.

Method 1 of 4: Clean the battery terminals

If there are white, blue, or green powdery deposits around your terminals, this can interfere with a good connection between your battery and the battery cables. Cleaning them can restore that connection enough to start the car again, but since the buildup is a product of acid, you should have the battery checked as soon as possible to find out the cause of the problem.

Necessary materials

• Baking soda
• Gloves (plastic or latex)
• Rag
• Socket wrench
• Toothbrush or other hard plastic brush.
• water

Step 1: Disconnect the cables. Disconnect the negative cable from the battery terminal (marked in black or with a minus sign) using an Allen wrench, and then the positive cable from its terminal (marked in red or with a plus sign), making sure that the ends of the two cables do not run into contact.

• Tip: It is recommended to wear plastic gloves whenever you touch rust on a car battery because the acidic substance will irritate your skin.

Step 2: Sprinkle Baking Soda. Sprinkle the terminals generously with baking soda to neutralize the acid.

Step 3: Wipe off the plaque. Moisten a cloth with water and wipe off powdery residue and excess baking soda from the terminals. If the deposits are too thick to be removed with a cloth, try brushing them off first with an old toothbrush or other plastic bristle brush.

• Attention! Do not use a wire brush or anything with metal bristles to try and remove deposits from the battery terminals, as this may result in electric shock.

Step 4: Replace battery cables. Connect the battery cables to the appropriate terminals, starting with the positive and ending with the negative. Try to start the car again. If that doesn't work, move on to another method.

Method 2 of 4: Start your car

If you have access to another running vehicle, restarting a dead battery is probably the best option to get back on the road quickly. Once this is done, you may not have any more problems, but - if you need to recharge regularly - your battery may need to be replaced or serviced.

Necessary materials

• Donor car with working battery
• Connecting cables

Step 1: Place both machines next to each other. Park the donor vehicle close enough to your vehicle so that the jumper cables run between the two batteries, then open the hoods of both vehicles.

Step 2: Connect the dead machine. Connect one of the positive ends of the connecting cable (marked in red and/or a plus sign) to the positive terminal of the discharged battery, then connect the nearest negative end of the cable (marked in black and/or a minus sign). ) to the negative terminal of the discharged battery.

Step 3: Connect the donor car. Connect the other positive end of the jumper cable to the donor vehicle's battery, and then connect the remaining negative end of the cable to the negative terminal of the donor vehicle.

Step 4: Start the donor car. Start the engine of the donor vehicle and let it run for a minute or more.

Step 5: Start the dead machine. Try to start your car. If it does not start, you can double check the cable connection to the terminals and try again. If the second attempt does not work, check the battery and replace if necessary.

Method 3 of 4: Use a charger

When you find that your battery is dead and you don't have access to another running vehicle and you have a charger handy, you can breathe new life into your battery with a charger. This takes a little longer than a quick start, but is effective if you have time to wait.

Step 1: Plug in your charger. Connect the positive end of the charger to the positive battery terminal and then the negative end to the negative terminal.

Step 2: Plug in your charger. Plug the charger into a wall outlet or other power source and turn it on.

Step 3: Disconnect the charger.. When the charger indicates that your battery is fully charged (often after a 24-hour wait), turn off the charger, unplug the cables from the terminals in reverse order.

Step 4: Try to start the car. If it doesn't start, your battery needs further testing or replacement.

• Attention! While most modern chargers have an auto-off feature that stops charging when the battery is fully charged, older or cheaper chargers may not have this feature. If the charger or its instructions do not clearly state that it includes a shutdown function, you will need to periodically check the charging progress and turn it off manually.

Method 4 of 4: Determine if a replacement is required

Necessary materials

• multimeter
• Voltmeter

Step 1: Check the battery with a multimeter.. If you have a multimeter, you can test your battery for leaks by following your product's instructions.

• A reading of 50mA or less is acceptable, but a higher reading indicates the battery needs to be replaced. However, this will not solve your immediate dead battery problem and will require you to use one of the previous three methods to start your car.

Step 2: Check the battery with a voltmeter.. A voltmeter can also test your battery charging system, but it requires your vehicle to be running to use it.

• They connect to the battery terminals in the same way as a charger and a reading of 14.0 to 14.5 volts is normal, with a lower reading indicating you need a new alternator.

If you're not sure you can fix your dead battery problem on your own, feel free to contact our experienced technicians. After recharging by jumping or recharging the charger, you should have a professional have the battery inspected for more serious problems. He or she will assess the condition of your battery and take appropriate action, whether it be servicing your existing battery or replacing the battery with a new one.