Jump Starting Your Car

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

While Greenwood’s Seattle auto body shop is well suited to solve all of your bigger car problems, a jump start is a task that you should be able to take care of by yourself. If your car isn’t starting and you blame the battery, get yourself some safety goggles, a good pair of jumper cables and a friend with a functional car. Then follow these simple steps to get your engine running again.

WITH BOTH CARS TURNED OFF, open the hoods and locate the batteries of each car. Each battery will be clearly marked with a positive (+) side and a negative (-) side. It is important to keep track of these, because attaching the wrong cables to the wrong sides can do serious damage to your engine. Attach the red cable to the positive ends of each battery. Attach the black cable to the negative end of the good battery, and then to a section of unpainted metal on the dead car. DO NOT ATTACH THE BLACK CABLE TO THE DEAD BATTERY, AND DO NOT LET THE RED CABLE TOUCH THE BLACK CABLE OR ANY OTHER PART OF THE CAR WHILE IT IS CONNECTED TO YOUR BATTERY.

Now that the cars are connected, turn the key on the car with the good battery. Leave it running for a minute or two to allow a charge to build up in the dead battery. Now you can try to start the car with the dead battery. If the car turns over, go ahead and disconnect the cables and be on your way. If you continue to experience problems, it may be time to contact your auto body shop.

Jump Start Guide

Keeping your Teen Driver Safe

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

In the first half of 2011, the reported number of deaths of sixteen and seventeen-year-old drivers rose from 190 to 211. This represents an eleven percent increase, and the end of an eight year streak of declining deaths of young drivers. Your Greenwood Auto Body Shop in Seattle sincerely hates to see our customers come to any harm that cannot be fixed with a garage full of tools, so we offer these tips for keeping your teenager safe on the road.

Though it’s difficult to pinpoint a cause for this increase in deaths, some point the finger at the improving economy. A healthier economy means more teen drivers on the road; it means more money for gas, late nights out, and all of the hottest, most distracting new gadgets that your favored electronics store can cram into your teenager’s hand. It’s important to instill into your kids the dangers of phoning, texting, and web surfing while driving, particularly now that maps and gps systems have become available to tempt the disoriented new driver.

It’s also a good idea to limit the number of other teens your teen driver has in the car at a time, or limit any nighttime driving. Not only does this provide additional challenges to a driver, but it can also mean that your teen isn’t getting enough sleep to wake up fresh for school in the morning. Groggy morning driving is another menace on the road, and another habit that should be broken to keep your teenage driver out of the statistic books.

Safe Driving for Teens Source Article

Drive Safe This Winter!

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

It’s no mystery that winter is a prime time for auto damage. Extreme cold and harsh, wet weather is hard enough on your car without the added dangers you face on the road. To keep you safe when Jack Frost starts knocking on your windshield, your Seattle auto body shop offers these tips:

Prepare your car. You don’t want to get caught off guard if there’s any chance that you could get snowed upon. In addition to snow chains, it’s a good idea to have a supply of sand or kitty litter to throw under your tires in case you get stuck. You’ll also want to find a brush for removing snow from your car; it can be easy to damage your paint job when scraping away snow, so look for a brush that is specially designed for this job!

Practice. If you have the luxury, you might consider finding an open parking lot or other wide, empty space where you can practice braking on icy surfaces. Proceed cautiously here, and allow enough space to assure that you’re not going to damage anything. A few trial runs across a slippery surface may help to keep you from panicking whenever you might get into a real slide.

Drive safely. Under normal conditions, you would be maintaining a following distance of three seconds. When the road is slippery, you should increase this number to eight or ten seconds. Also, you should never be using cruise control on a slippery surface.

Be ready for a skid! If your car goes into a slide, take your foot off the gas. Don’t slam on the brakes, steer your car towards where you want to go, and let it slow down enough for you to regain control. If you get stuck, try to pull out with your front tires as straight as possible; this will reduce the resistance they will encounter and improve your chances of freeing yourself.

Follow these tips this winter and you should keep any damage to your vehicle to a minimum. When all else fails, though, you can always give a call to Greenwood Collision. Through rain, sleet, or driving snow, we’ll get your car back on the road as soon as possible.

Safe Winter Driving Article Source

Checking Your Car’s Fuses

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

Some people are surprised to learn that their cars have fuse boxes. It’s here that some of the simplest solutions to problems with your lights, radio, or possibly even ignition system may be found. As much as we appreciate your visits to our Seattle auto body shop, Greenwood Collision recommends that you familiarize yourself with your vehicle’s fuses; though it may seem like a daunting prospect, it’s an easy part of troubleshooting your car’s problems that can save you a lot of time and money.

Many of today’s cars have two fuse boxes: one underneath the dashboard and one under the hood. They should be marked clearly and feature a diagram that will tell you which fuse corresponds to which system. If your headlights are not working, for example, seek out the fuse marked “headlights” and pull it out. Some cars will supply you with a tool for removing the fuses, but it should be easily done with your hands as well. You’ll see a melted “bridge” going between the fuse’s blades if it has been blown, at which point you should replace the fuse. Your new fuse must be of the same amperage as the old one; you’ll be able to find a fuse’s amperage based on its color coding. Simply push the new fuse into place as if you were pushing a plug into an electrical outlet.

By familiarizing yourself with your car’s fuse boxes and keeping some extra fuses on hand, you may be able to save yourself a few unnecessary trips to your auto shop. Failing that, however, you can at least help your auto mechanic narrow down the cause of your problems. So get to know your fuses! It’ll pay off in the long run.

Fuse Replace Article Source

Keys Won’t Turn in Your Ignition?

Posted on by Greenwood Collision Auto Body Shop Seattle

From time to time, you may get into your car and find that your key is just not turning in the ignition. This can be for many reasons, but only a few of them should require the help of your Seattle auto body shop. Therefore, before you call in for a quote, try running through the following tips.

First of all, it pays to know your car. Some cars will require that you depress the brake, clutch, or both while you turn the key. Some automatic transmissions will require that you put the car in “park” first, and some manual transmissions might require that you shift the car into neutral. If none of these work, the culprit might be the steering lock. This is a mechanism that locks the wheel in place when you remove the key from the ignition, preventing car thieves from steering the car after they hotwire it. You may only need to turn the wheel slightly to the left or to the right while you turn the key to circumvent this problem.

If your key still isn’t turning, then there’s probably something wrong. If you have any spare keys, try using them first to make sure that it’s not the key’s fault. Jiggle it slightly as you turn, and maybe something will click into place. If this fails, the problem is most likely hidden somewhere in the steering column. It’s at this point that you will need to get a skilled mechanic on the job.

Ignition Issue Article Source