What to Do When the Car Won't Start Due to a Dead Battery?
3 Answers
Find another car to help, connect the two cars with a tow rope. The normally functioning car uses its own power to pull the rear car, helping it successfully start and get on the road. Connect the positive terminal of one car's battery to the positive terminal of the other, and the negative terminal to the negative terminal, ensuring the order is not reversed.
When I first learned to drive, my car broke down in the garage with a completely dead battery that couldn't start. I immediately pulled out the jumper cables from the trunk and asked a neighbor for help: we positioned the two cars nose-to-nose close but not touching, popped open the hoods, located the positive terminal markings on the batteries, connected the red clamps to both positive terminals, attached one black clamp to the other car's negative terminal or a solid metal part (never to the dead battery's negative terminal), had the helper start their engine for a few minutes, then I tried igniting mine—it started right up. Afterwards, I drove to a shop for inspection and found the battery severely aged, so I promptly replaced it. Remember to always turn off lights, minimize AC usage, and keep a portable jump starter in the car for emergencies—especially in winter when batteries drain easily. Regular maintenance helps prevent such issues proactively.
Last month after camping, my car wouldn't start—the battery was dead. I immediately pulled out my phone to look for a roadside assistance app, but the simpler solution was to use jumper cables myself: Find another driver to stand by with their car, park both vehicles steadily, connect red clamp to positive terminal on both, then black clamp to negative terminal or unpainted metal surface (never reverse the connections—wrong polarity can cause dangerous sparks). Have the assisting car idle for a while before attempting to start mine. After success, I drove for half an hour to recharge the battery. Without tools or help, just call a tow truck to the repair shop for battery diagnostics—don't overlook headlight issues either, they're major power drainers.
