How do I start my Flex with a dead battery?

How do I start my Flex with a dead battery?

If your car’s battery is dead, there are two ways to start your car:
1. You can push it
2. You can attach jumper cables to another car’s battery

If you do not know if your Flex‘s battery is dead or not, you can read this guide How to test your Flex‘s battery, step by step

Push your Flex to start it

Two or more people are needed to start your Flex with a dead battery. This method only works in manual transmission cars.

One person will push the car while you will sit in the driver’s seat.

  1. Turn the ignition key to start your car.
  2. Put your car in second gear and fully press the clutch pedal.
  3. The car must be pushed as fast as possible.
  4. When its speed increases, let go of the clutch pedal quickly. The car will stop abruptly and then it will look like it is about to start.
  5. While the car moves abruptly, you have to press the clutch pedal again and help the engine by pressing the accelerator. This will help the engine start.
  6. When it starts, you should keep it on for a few minutes because like this, the battery will be charged again.

If after a few minutes you turn the car off but it does not start again, that means that your battery is dead, and you should replace it with a new one.

How to start a Flex with jumper cables

To start your car like this, you have to use specific jumper cables for batteries, with crocodile battery clips like the ones you can see in the following picture. Then, you need to follow these steps:

  1. The other car should be close to the car with a dead battery but they cannot touch and both should be turned off. If your car has an automatic transmission, check that the gear shifter is in P (Park).
  2. Attach one end of the red jumper cable clamp to the positive terminal (+) on the dead battery, and then attach the other cable clamp to the positive (+) terminal on the working battery. Both cars will be connected through this cable which goes from one positive terminal to another positive terminal of each battery. Take into account that while you connect them, the positive end of the cable and the negative one must never touch each other.
  3. Attach the black jumper cable clamp to the negative (-) terminal of the working car’s battery and attach the other end to any solid, metallic piece of the car with the dead battery, away from the battery (it may be the engine or the chassis). Like this, both cars will be completely connected.
  4. Start the car with the working battery like you normally would and leave the engine running for a few minutes without accelerating.
  5. Start the car with the dead battery like you normally would and leave the car engine at idle speed.
  6. If the car with the dead battery has a bad idling or seems to stop, you may accelerate it slightly (1500-2000 RPM).
  7. When you hear that the engine of the car with the dead battery has a normal idle speed, you should first disconnect the black cable (-), and then the red cable (+).
  8. Keep the car at idle speed for a few minutes and then move it forward with a normal speed to check that it will not turn off. This process will charge the battery again (as long as both the battery and the alternator are in good conditions).

If after a few tries the dead battery does not charge, you should check the charging system to see if the alternator or the battery are damaged.

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Ford Flex problems: start with a dead battery



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