You’ve had a rough day, and all you want to do is go home and pour a glass of wine. You slide into the driver’s seat of your Mazda and press the start button. Nothing happens. You press the button again. Nothing happens. You’ve got a dead battery. Mazcare is going to list the steps to jump-start the Mazda’s battery below. You can also consult your owner’s manual for instructions specific to your model.
Park the Jumper Car
Find someone to help. You will need a car with a good battery to get your Mazda’s battery jump-started. Once you have located a good Samaritan, ask him or her to pull his or her car directly in front of your Mazda so the engines are facing each other. Leave a space of about 18 inches so you can work between the cars. Set the parking brakes in both the jumper car and the Mazda so they hold still.
Find the Batteries
If you haven’t done so already, open and secure the hood on the Mazda and do the same with the jumper car. Locate the batteries and check to make sure the terminals are not corroded. If the batteries are covered, remove the covers and set them aside. If the terminals are corroded, you must clean the corrosion before attempting to jump-start the Mazda’s battery.
Connect the Cables
Generally, you are going to connect the cables in the following order:
- Positive battery terminal on jumper car to positive battery terminal on Mazda
- Negative battery terminal on jumper car to negative battery terminal on Mazda
In some cases, however, your Mazda will be equipped with a space on the metal of the frame where you should connect the negative battery cable clamp. Check your owner’s manual to see if it is recommended to clamp the negative clamp onto the terminal or frame.
Fire Up the Cars
Once the battery cables are connected, it’s time to fire up the automobiles. You’re going to start the jumper car first. This will generate electricity from the jumper car’s battery to your Mazda’s battery. Once the jumper car is running, start your Mazda.
Disconnect the Cables
If the Mazda starts, you can disconnect the cables, but you want to leave the Mazda’s engine running. Do not turn it off or the battery will die again. Disconnect the cables in the opposite way that you connected them.
Finally, drive to Mazcare in Marietta, GA, so we can test the battery to make sure it does not need to be replaced.