Facing some kind of trouble with your car is frustrating, especially when you have some urgent work. Moreover, if it breaks down on the road, the situation becomes a safety concern. The first thing that you should do is to pull your vehicle safely down the road, and then call for expert help. There are times when you are not able to decide the next step when your vehicle breaks down suddenly.
Though you cannot predict the breakdown, there are a few tips that will help you prevent the possibility to a great extent. With regular checkups and scheduled services of the vehicle, you will not have to face breakdowns quite often. Today, we are discussing a few tips and details of the things that you can do to manage mid-riad breakdown sportingly. For more information on how to get 24/7 roadside assistance, check here.
Keep the below-mentioned tips in mind to be safe on the road, and avoid frequent breakdowns of your car.
Get Ready To Pull The Vehicle Over
Source: racv.com.au
If your car happens to break down on the road, you should handle the situation smartly so that you don’t get stressed, and the situation gets tackled easily. However, depending on the road, at times pulling the car over is not easy. The car may break down on any road. That said, it can be a mountain road with very little shoulder space and several blind turns. Alternatively, it can be a narrow road with a lot of traffic.
Such situations make pulling over difficult, and you need to use your wisdom to get out of such a road. Depending on your situation your course of action will vary. Furthermore, you should always remain calm, even if you are stuck right in the middle, getting panicked will only worsen the situation. You need to escape the traffic and safely get out of there, hence you should be mindful.
Switching Hazard Lights On
Another important step that you should undertake when your car breaks down on the road is to switch the hazard lights on. These lights will let the rest of the traffic know that you are in distress and that your car has broken down. Meanwhile, you can keep trying to get the shoulder out of the road. If possible, you can also use the momentum of the vehicle to drift to a safe location.
On the contrary, if you are unable to get out of the road, and there is no other option apart from blocking a lane, hazard lights come to the rescue. This will also help you get the vehicle far in the right lane. Also, slow down your speed, as much as possible so that you can easily avoid accidents on the road. When other drivers are aware of the failure of your vehicle, they will keep driving around your car.
Assess What Is Wrong
Source: mach1services.com
To conclude what you should do next, try and assess the situation. If you see a problem that may have arrived earlier as well, you can troubleshoot it for a temporary fix. Also, you should assess the condition of the environment before you take up any decision. Communication is the key, if you communicate your problem to your friends or some passers-by there are chances that they will help you. After parking the vehicle, you can switch the ignition off and now call for assistance, if the problem cannot be troubleshot.
Check The Connection Of Battery Terminal
Check the aspects under the hood to make sure that the terminals of the battery are connected. If you notice that the terminals are disconnected, either one or both, you will need the tools to secure them. If you don’t have the tools with you, you will have to call for professionals, and if you have, connecting them becomes easy. You should start the inspection from the negative terminal first. The red-colored terminal is the negative terminal.
The head should be attached to the battery, if you notice the same is not the case, fit it into the battery to get your car moving. If not, check the same with the positive terminal. This terminal is usually coated with black plastic.
Check The Fuse Box
Source: crutchfield.com
If you don’t notice anything wrong with the battery terminals, the next thing that you should check is the fuse box. The fuses are also located under the hood, within a box, and are placed beside the battery. The driver’s side of the vehicle has some additional fuses in a cabin which need to be checked too. Open the boxes and see if everything is in place. The fuses should not be blown. The situation of switches blowing is quite obvious, and the connector will be broken in such a situation.
Such checks should be performed carefully, and you need to make sure that the car is off during the procedure, also the keys should be removed from the ignition. The fuse should be put back and should be cleaned for utmost efficiency. The fuses of plastic are very close to each other and pulling them away will not be possible using fingers. Using clips is recommended for easy grasping.
Check For Spark Plugs
There can be cases when the engine is getting started, but an odd sound is coming out of it. Such a situation means that there is some problem with one or more spark plugs. If your car breaks down on the side of the road, there is not much you cannot do with the car. You will need a spark plug wrench, and a ratchet to get the spark plug fixed. Check for all spark plugs and know if everything is working properly to look for potential issues.
Final Thoughts
When driving a vehicle you will face several situations when your car will break down on the road. With the help of a few tips mentioned above, you can handle the situation and get your car back on the road, moving. Acting fast is important so that you don’t get stuck too often.