By Erik Watkins

What To Do When Car Battery Dies? – The Exclusive Guide

Last updated: May 16, 2023
What To Do When Car Battery Dies

You’re on your way to an important event, and suddenly, your vehicle stops. You hurriedly check the vehicle just to find out the power source is dead. Let us help you find a way out of this unwanted situation with this post! Keep reading to know how you’re supposed to act!

Causes Of Vehicle Batteries Died

There are some culprits behind your car’s dead battery, which we have listed below:

  • Leave the electrical components on like headlights, flashers, interior lights, an overhead light, and the radio when the vehicle isn’t operating.
  • Turn on the air conditioner when the car is not running.
  • Letting the vehicle in the garage for an extended period of time without starting it for once.
  • Poor battery maintenance.
  • The diode bridge or the voltage regulator of the alternator breaks down (the alternator gives the batteries power when the vehicle is running).
  • Air temperature drops low, causing the batteries to freeze.
  • There are parasitic drains in the electrical system.

See more: Can A Car Battery Be Too Dead To Jump Start?

Signs Of Batteries About To Die

Signs Of Batteries About To Die

Having A Hard Time Operating The Engine

Your vehicle needs a great amount of power to start running. Thus, if the batteries die, the engine can’t gather enough energy and take a long time to start. This sign will repeat one or two times before the vehicle runs out of power, so pay attention to it. 

If there are some clicking sounds when turning the ignition keys, the energy left is not sufficient to crank the engine. This might also indicate a bad starter motor or a faulty starter solenoid. In this case, you need specialized tools to fix the dead vehicle as soon as possible.

No Power To Electrics

The power source not only provides power to start the engine, but the electronics also run on it. Thus, if the electric heaters, seats, and lights don’t work, you must check out the source immediately.

Dashboard Warning

When the battery symbol lights up, or the Check Engine light illuminates, there are possible problems like alternator failure, loose starter terminals, or damaged cabling. 

The alternator belt might have gone wrong if the symbol keeps illuminating while driving. Unfortunately, this is the thing that charges your batteries when the vehicles are operating.

See more: 8 Signs Your Car Battery Is Dying

What To Do When Car Battery Dies?

Aside from finding roadside assistance or repair shops, the most common answer to this question is to jump-start it. You’ll need a pair of jumper cables and another car with working batteries. Follow the steps below to do it. 

  • Step 1: Bring out the jumper cables.
  • Step 2: Put your vehicle in Park or Neutral state and turn off the ignition (the parking brake is on).
  • Step 3: Attach one of the red cable connectors to the “POS’’ or “+” side of the power source.
  • Step 4: Attach the other positive cable clamp to the positive terminal of the other car. 
  • Step 5: Clamp one of the black clips to the “-” side of the batteries.
  • Step 6: Connect the other black clip to the clean, unpainted, non-moving metal part (for example the metal struts).
  • Step 7: Operate the engine.
What To Do When Your Car Battery Dies

Automotive Mechanic at PowerAll

With 7 years experience in management positions leading automotive mechanics at PowerAll, Erik Watkins wishes to share useful knowledge and information about automotive mechanical equipment.

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post