Every fall and winter, thousands of Canadians escape to warmer climates. What they may not know is that the battery in their parked car at home in Canada can slowly drain, leaving them with a dead vehicle when they return.

While battery boosting was fairly simple in decades past, boosting a car battery today can be dangerous if done incorrectly, so take safety precautions into account before boosting your car battery.

How to safely boost your car battery.

When connecting the vehicles, both cars should be in park with the engine turned off. Take the key out of the ignition.

• Hook the positive (+) red booster cable end to the dead battery’s positive lead. Connect the other red booster clamp to the positive lead of the good battery.

• Hook the negative (-) booster cable end to the negative battery terminal on the good battery. On the vehicle with the dead battery, hook the negative cable end to a clean, non-painted metal part of the engine block, somewhere away from the actual battery. This will help to prevent sparks that could cause the battery to explode if gases are present.

• Make sure to wear eye protection when boosting. Once connected, THEN start the dead vehicle with the “boosting” vehicle still off and keys out of ignition.

If unsuccessful or if you don’t feel comfortable boosting your car battery on your own, you can count on CAA. One of the perks of having a CAA Membership is getting your car boosted, safely and professionally. You can call CAA Battery Service at 1-800-CAA-HELP today.

To find out more about batteries and boosting, call our Auto Advice team at 1-866-464-6448 or email them at autoadvice@caasco.ca