Having a dead battery is not the end of the world because car batteries can die at any time. It is something that is bound to happen especially when the battery is either old or has gone bad. But the question is, what do you do when your car battery dies?
What to Do When Car Battery Dies?
Here are things to do when your car battery dies:
1. Jump Start the Car
Jumpstarting your car is the easiest way to make a dead battery come back to life. All you have to do is get a jumper cable, and get a charged spare battery:
- Connect the red clip of the jumper cable to the positive
- Connect the black clip to the negative
- Start the car
Once the car is started, remove the cable from the batteries and you are good to go.
However, it is important to be very careful while jumpstarting a car to avoid damaging other parts of the car like the fuses. I’ve blown so many of my fuses through Jumpstart, so please be careful while doing this.
You don’t need to be afraid of jumpstarting your car. This is because not every jumpstart you do affects your fuses. You just have to do it carefully at once and in the right way.
However, if after the jumpstart you noticed that some of the features in your car that were working before had stopped working, please check the fuses controlling those features and have them replaced.
2. Charge The Battery
If you don’t have a jump starter to do this job, you can charge the battery back up. All you have to do is take the battery to the place where it will be charged.
However, this option should be applied if you don’t have a jump starter or anyone around to help jumpstart the car for you.
3. Contact a Friend or Neighbor
If you’re about to leave the house with your car and you notice that your car battery has died, you can call your friend or neighbor to come help you jumpstart the car.
With your friend or your neighbor around, you can make use of his/her own battery to start your car.
4. Replace the Battery
If you’re in haste and have no time to waste, you can replace the battery with another one whether new or old. As long as your car can start.
However, if after replacing the battery with a new one it continues to die on you, you are expected to alert your mechanic or rewire immediately. There could be something draining your battery while it’s not in use.
5. You Can Call Your Mechanic
When your car battery dies, you can call your mechanic to either come check on why the battery died or at least tell you what to do.
The mechanic will be the one to tell you to either jumpstart the car or tow the car to his auto shop for diagnosis and possible repair.
6. Contact Auto Shop Close to You
If the battery died on your way somewhere, find an auto shop close to you, and call them to help check why your car battery suddenly died and possible solutions.
If you don’t know how to get to any auto shop around you, just make use of your phone. Ensure your location is turned on, now google “auto shop near me“. With your location on, it should bring out auto shops that are closest to your location.
7. Call any Towing Company
You can also call a towing company when the car battery dies in the middle of nowhere. They will come and tow the car back to your house or your desired auto shop.
8. Contact State’s Roadside Assistance
Most states have Roadside Assistance, you can give them a call to come help you. If you don’t know the number of your state roadside assistance, you can google it. If you can’t find it, just call 911.
9. Call 911 for Assistance
You can 911 if your car battery dies in the middle of nowhere. They can help you contact a towing company close to you for help.
10. Call a Car Rewire
If you have a car rewire or know one, you can give him a call. Calling a car rewire may be the best procedure to take as battery issues are mostly fixed by rewires.
He will be the one to diagnose the reason for the drained battery and give you possible solutions.
When a Car Battery Dies Can it Recharge Itself?
No, a dead battery cannot recharge itself except through an external power source such as the alternator. If a car battery dies, you’ll need to recharge it using either an alternator or other means. Dead car batteries cannot recharge themselves.
Conclusion
Do not panic when your car battery dies. You can make use of any solutions explained above to solve the problem. You shouldn’t be looking for what to do when a car battery dies when you have so many possible options to choose from. Pick the one that best works for you and save yourself the stress.
