How do I jump start a car?
How do I use Jumper Cables?
- Take out your jumper cables.
It’s a good idea to buy a good set of jumper cables and keep them in the trunk. The bigger the cable size the easier and better they will work. - Place the running car as close as possible and turn off ignition.
Engage both parking brakes as well. - Attach one of the red cables to the positive terminal of your battery. It is a good idea to clip the dead battery side cable to the insulated cable to prevent and accidental short. (see Pic)
It has “POS” or “+” on it, or it’s bigger than the negative terminal. - Attach the black lead to the negative side of the battery. On many cars today there is not access to the battery so look for a sticker that says jump start here.
- Attach the Red cable to the Positive terminal of the dead battery
- Attach the last black clip to an unpainted metal surface preferably on the engine block
- Start the working vehicle and let the engine run for a 3-5 minutes.
- Try to start your vehicle.
- If it fails to start try again in 7-10 minutes. If it still fails it may be to far gone. If it starts remove the cables in the reverse procedure and proceed to the nearest auto shop to have the charging and starting system checked.