How to Jump Start Your VW in 5 Easy Steps

Your car was working fine yesterday, but you just got behind the wheel and found the car won’t start. It just goes click-click-click. This usually indicates a dead battery, meaning you’ll need to visit the VW dealership for a new battery as soon as possible. For now, you can get your ride started by learning how to jump start a car.

1. Position the Cars

Unless you have a portable jump starter pack, you’ll need another car when you’re jump-starting a vehicle. The car should either be nose to nose or next to each other, depending on the space available. The most important thing is that the jumper cables reach from your battery to the other car’s battery.

2. Find Your Batteries Terminals

Batteries have positive (+) and negative (-) terminals. Locate these on your battery. Sometimes the positive terminal will have a plastic cap covering it. The terminals are identifiable by the plus and minus signs, though you can also use the wires to identify them. The positive terminal has a red wire, and the negative terminal has a black one. These terminals are usually either on top of or on the side of your battery.

3. Place the Clamps on the Battery Terminals

Before connecting up your jumper cables, make sure the clamps on the end of the cables aren’t touching each other. First, pick up one of the red clamps and attach it to the positive terminal on your dead battery. Now attach the other red clamp to the positive terminal on the working battery.

Next, place one of the black clamps on the negative terminal of the working battery. Finally, attach the other black clamp to a clean, unpainted metal component under your hood, but not on your dead battery.

4. Start the Engines

First, the driver of the car with the working battery must start their car’s engine. Next, start the car with the dead battery. If it doesn’t start right away, then leave the working vehicle to idle for 10 to 15 minutes, then try to jump start your car again. Sometimes your car won’t start, as your battery is too far gone and needs to be replaced.

5. Disconnect All the Cables

Once your car is working, leave it to idle. Disconnect the negative clamp on your jump started vehicle, then disconnect the negative clamp from the vehicle that provided the jump. Disconnect the positive clamp from the vehicle that provided the jump, then disconnect the positive clamp from your jumped car. Now your car is fully jump started, and you should drive it for at least 20 minutes so the alternator can fully charge your battery.

Once you’ve got your car started, come to Valley Auto World in Fayetteville, NC. We’ll replace your faulty battery with a brand-new one.

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