It’s bound to happen to you or someone you know. The aggravating sound of your car attempting to start, but falling just short (or the aggravating sound of your friend calling you to drive 50 miles to help them jump start their car). Even though it’s a pretty common occurrence, jump starting a car is not the easiest of tasks if you don’t know what you’re doing. So to help you learn what to do, we put together this blog with instructions for jump starting a car.

To get started, line up both cars so that the batteries are as close as possible. Make sure both cars are off (one should already be off due to the whole dead battery predicament) and not touching each other. Headlights, blinkers, radios, and A/C should all be off. Unplug anything such as cell phones, GPS, or radar detectors. Jump starting a car sends 300+ volts through your car and could damage anything that is plugged in.

If the battery is cracked and liquid is leaking, do not proceed! If it’s defected or broken in any way, it’s time to buy a new battery. If you try to jump start a cracked/leaking battery, it could explode. If the battery is in good condition, try to clean off any corrosion that might be found around the dead battery’s terminals.

Now we’ll move onto connecting the cables. The positive cable is usually red/orange and the negative cable is usually black, but check to be sure. Your battery’s positive and negative terminals should be clearly marked:

1. Attach the end of the positive (+) cable to the positive (+) post of the dead battery.
2. Connect the other end of the positive (+) cable to the positive (+) post of the good battery.
3. Connect one end of the negative (-) cable to the negative (-) post of the good battery.
4. Attach the other end of the negative (-) cable to a good shiny, non-painted metal part of the engine on the dead car (most metal bolts/nuts will do as long as they are not attached to the battery). When you attach this cable (referred to as ‘Grounding’) you’ll get a normal spark as the circuit is completed.
5. Now that your cables are attached, it’s time to start the engines. Turn on the car with the good battery and leave it running. Turn the key in the dead car and it should start right up! In newer models with key immobilizers, you have to turn the key to the “run” position for 30 seconds before trying to start the car.

It’s important to follow these steps exactly. Doing them in a different order could potentially cause unwanted sparking.

You can disconnect the jumper cables right away. Disconnecting the cables should be done in the reverse order of how you attached them. Don’t let the black & red cables touch each other at the end when they are still connected to one battery. You also want to avoid laying cables over fans or belt areas.

Make sure you memorize these steps and use caution so that the next time you (or that pesky friend) tries to jump start a dead car, you’ll know what to do. If you’re a visual learner, you can check out the video below that follows the same steps to jump a car. Any vehicle service contract holders should contact their Roadside Assistance Providers, as they will be able to send a technician to provided the needed jump start. This is just one of the many benefits of being a vehicle service contract owner.

Sources:
carbuyingtips.com – How To Jump Start a Car
about.com – How To Jump Start a Car Using Jumper Cables

Before we start, a quick word: It’s probably in your best interest to follow your automobile manufacturer’s gasoline recommendation. Also, fuel purchased from better-known brands has a tendency to be of higher quality, with detergents that improve vehicle performance and reduce possible contaminants from damaging system components.

When you head to the gas station to fill up, you usually see three different options for gas. You have the regular unleaded, medium grade, and premium. So what’s the difference between these grades and should you be using premium?

To make it really simple check your owner’s manual. If it states that you should use regular, then definitely use regular. Premium gas provides no benefits to a car that was designed to run on regular gas. So save yourself some money and just go with regular. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether it’s your daily commute or an early start on a family trip, chances are you have probably driven while fatigued. A recent study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reports that 41% of drivers surveyed have fallen asleep or nodded off behind the wheel. The study surveyed 2,000 U.S. residents who were 16 years-old and above. It is probably safe to say that the results would be similar even if the survey was extended to the entire U.S. population. With that being said, here are some facts & myths about drowsy driving that can help you in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

You’re driving down a lonely road (or a busy highway), when your car starts puttering to a slow roll. There’s no “check engine” light and there isn’t smoke coming from under the hood of your car. What could it be? Oh, right. You forgot to fill up on gas. Just because it’s easy for something like this to slip your mind doesn’t mean the situation is any easier.

There are certain steps you should take in the unfortunate event that your car runs out of gas in the middle of your drive. Read the rest of this entry »

Information for this article was taken from an article in How Stuff Works. To read the full HSW article, click here.

Brakes are an automobile component that we’re guilty of taking for granted. When traffic is slowing, we assume pressing the brake pedal will cause the thousands of pounds of moving steel we’re commanding to come to a halt. From that perspective, it’s incredible cars are able to stop when we want them to as consistently as they do.

We won’t go into the vast importance of having healthy, working brakes. Instead, we’ll point out a few warning signs that it might be time to bring your car in for a brake check-up.

1. Worn Brake Pads

Most vehicles stop with the aid of disc brakes, which function much like the brakes on bicycles. Over time, the consistent friction needed to cause the car to stop wears down the brake pads. So how do you know if it’s time to get them replaced? How Stuff Works says this one is a simple eye test: Read the rest of this entry »

Driving in the winter is one of the most dreaded tasks a motorist endures. To help ease the pain of this yearly occurrence, we’ve put together a list of things you should do to prepare your car for the winter.

Preparing for the Winter

Before the winter sets in, it’s a good idea to take your car in to your mechanics. Have them check your brakes, thermostat, antifreeze level, heater, and defroster.

Inspect your tires’ tread and do a visual check to make sure that all your car’s lights are working. You should also have a kit somewhere accessible in your car with contents such as: Read the rest of this entry »

So you don’t own a Hybrid and are not in the market for one of those fancy new Electric Vehicles. How do you do your part to help the environment in the vehicle you already own? Don’t sweat, we got you covered.

Here are some of our tips to help lower the pollution during your commute.

1. One of the more obvious tips is to car pool. We completely understand that this can be difficult to manage with everyone’s busy schedule, but do it as often as possible. The fewer cars there are on the road, the fewer emissions there are to pollute the air. If you’re on the freeway, try out your cruise control. This helps maintain your speed and will keep you from accelerating and decelerating.
2. Take it easy! It’s not a race to see who can get to 50 mph first. You also don’t need to accelerate within inches of the car in front of you only to slam the brakes. Sudden accelerating and braking burns more fuel. The more fuel you burn, the more emissions released, the more you pollute.
3. Stay cool, just not with the air conditioning. Using your air-conditioning can increase fuel consumption by about 10%. In must-have situations (yes, those 90+ degree scorchers most definitely qualify), turn off the air conditioning when the inside temperature of your car drops to a comfortable level.
4. If you get stuck behind an accident or a major traffic jam, just turn off your engine. Idling and revving your engine to creep forward burns fuel.
5. Try to limit the weight in or on your vehicle. Remove unnecessary racks, boxes, or items to decrease wind resistance and lighten your vehicle. This can help improve your fuel economy, thus decreasing the amount of emissions your car produces.
6. If you happen to be in the market for a new car, avoid the behemoths. Another term for these are “gas guzzlers”. If you’re able to purchase a more fuel efficient car instead, do so. It will ease the pressure on both the planet and your wallet.

You don’t need a car that runs on old cooking oil, or can be plugged in to the wall to help out the environment. Take steps with what you have. Doing this will help the environment more than you know!

For more information on American Guardian, scoot on over to our website.

Your car does a lot of hard work and just like you, it gets hot. Unlike you, your car can’t jump into the pool or hide in an air-conditioned building. It needs its own system to cool down.

A lot of the energy converted from gasoline is heat. The cooling system is in place to keep the engine from overheating.

The cooling system works due to a liquid cooling fluid. This fluid passes through the engine, absorbing the heat, and eventually is transferred to air blowing out of the heat exchanger/radiator.

Believe it or not, it is also the cooling system’s job to let the engine warm up. An engine performing at a low temperature is not optimal and components tend to wear out faster. So the cooling system needs to find that equillibrium where the engine is warm enough to perform well without overheating.

Advice?

There are numerous components that can create a cooling system failure (including improper maintenance and calcium/corrosion build up in the cooling system, low coolant level, radiator cap failure, stuck thermostat, hose restriction-they can collapse, internal engine-gasket failure, fan or fan sensor failure, problems with the water pump or serpentine drive belt…it goes on and on). So if the gauge shows the engine operating beyond normal or the warning lamps light up, then the owner should immediately bring the vehicle to a qualified mechanic for evaluation.

Note: Information for this blog post was obtained from How Stuff Works’ Understanding Auto Parts.

This blog post is intended to provide broad advice, and is NOT intended to replace your manufacturer’s recommendations, which should always be sought first.

Steering

Steering is pretty simple concept, right? Turn the wheel right, car goes right; turn the wheel left, car goes left. While that’s the basic gist of it, we’d bet you didn’t know that your tires are not pointed in the same direction. Your front tires are actually pointed in different angles. Most steering systems are “Rack & Pin” or “Recirculating Ball.” Many systems are also equipped with power steering to help the drive when they turn the steering wheel. This requires steering fluid and hydraulic pressure.

Advice? Read the rest of this entry »

Note: Information for this blog post was obtained from How Stuff Works’ Understanding Auto Parts.

This blog post is intended to provide broad advice, and is NOT intended to replace your manufacturer’s recommendations, which should always be sought first.

What Lies Beneath

Looking under the hood of your car can be overwhelming, especially if you’re in the middle of nowhere. To help you understand the complexities of what lies under the hood, we’ve put together a list of 3 components of a car that are essential to understanding your vehicle. We’ll also explain how you can help keep them working properly. And don’t worry, this will be in layman’s terms. Read the rest of this entry »