Should you ever be in the situation where you have a flat tyre, Sixt has provided a breakdown below of how to change a car tyre.
Before you start
Make sure that your jump leads are not damaged as this can mean that they overheat and catch fire.
Keep all metal objects out the way when you are trying to jump start a car as any contact with the battery can cause a spark and explode the battery.
Don’t jump start a car if the battery is damaged or leaking.
Batteries give off flammable gases so don’t smoke or use any naked flames near to it as this could cause an explosion.
Make sure you keep your hands and any loose clothing well away as these could get caught up in moving parts of the engine and cause injuries.
Before you connect the jump leads make sure that the vehicles in use have the same voltage and they are not touching as this can cause explosions. Both vehicles should also be parked with their handbrakes on and the ignition off.
Step by step
1. The red jump lead needs to be connected from the positive terminal of the donor vehicle’s good battery to the positive terminal of the flat battery.
2. Use the black lead to connect the negative terminal of the good battery to a suitable earthing position on the engine or chassis of the other vehicle. The earthing point should be away from the battery and fuel system.
3. Once both leads are connected you need to wait three minutes for the voltages to equalise before starting the engines.
4. Start the engine of the donor car and make sure it is running for one minute. Start the other car whilst the donor car is still running and leave both engines running at a fast idle for ten minutes.
5. Don’t remove the jump leads whilst the engines are still running as this can cause damage to the electronics of the cars.
6. If the jump leads get hot switch off both engines to avoid them over heating and causing a fire. Don’t turn the engines back on until the leads have cooled down properly.
7. Turn off the ignition on both cars and then disconnect the leads carefully in the reverse order to the way that they were connected. Be careful not to touch the clips together or against the bodywork of the cars.
8. Start the car with the dead battery using its own battery power. If the car fails to start then it could have a more serious problem and you may need to take it to a professional.
Everyone at Sixt hopes that you have found our guide to using jump leads helpful!
