How to Deal with a Dead Battery in an Automatic Transmission Car?
2 Answers
When the battery of an automatic transmission car is dead, it cannot be started by pushing or pulling. You need to find someone to jump-start the car or call the repair service or insurance company for roadside assistance. Here are some maintenance tips for car batteries: 1. Avoid parking the car in an open parking lot for extended periods. If long-term parking is necessary, remove the battery and take it with you to prevent freezing and damage. 2. In winter, car engines are harder to start. Each attempt to start the engine should not exceed 5 seconds, and the interval between attempts should be at least 15 seconds. If the engine still doesn't start after several attempts, check other aspects such as the circuit, ignition coil, or fuel system. Avoid continuous attempts to start the engine, as this can cause the battery to over-discharge and burn out.
I've been driving in the city for years, and that time after work, I found my car wouldn't start, and the lights didn't even turn on, so I figured the battery was dead. First, don't panic—shift the car into P, engage the handbrake, and turn on the hazard lights to warn traffic behind you. Then, try a simple activation—like pressing the start button repeatedly a few times; sometimes a temporary poor connection might resolve itself. If that doesn’t work, check if there’s any backup equipment in the car, like a portable jump starter (also called an emergency power supply), plug it in for 10 minutes, and try starting again. If you don’t have one, call a friend or roadside assistance for a jump-start: park the two cars close, turn off both engines, connect the red jumper cable to the positive terminals (marked with a +) of both batteries, and the black cable to the negative terminal of your car and a metal chassis on my car. Start the rescue car and let it run for 5 minutes, then try starting mine. Once it works, let the engine run for 15 minutes to recharge. If the battery is aging and nearing two years, replace it. Normally, check the voltmeter reading monthly—above 12V is fine—and avoid long-term parking in winter to prevent battery drain. Handling a dead battery in an automatic is straightforward; the key is to stay calm and avoid pushing the car recklessly, which could damage the transmission.
