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How to Jump Your Battery

A battery has a negative terminal as well as positive terminal. Each terminal will be labeled with a symbol. A plus sign (+) indicates positive, as well as a minus sign (-) indicates negative. On a top-post battery, the posts are located on the top of the battery, as well as the positive post is larger than the negative post. On most vehicles, the existing battery cables are red as well as black. Black is negative, red is positive. On a side-post battery, the posts are located on the side of the battery. Always observe the color of the cables as well as the negative as well as positive symbols.

1. Get a working vehicle. Bring it to the disabled vehicle.
2. Position the vehicles so that the car batteries are close enough to each other for your jumper cables to reach each one. Make sure the cars are not touching.
3. Turn off both engines. Open the hood of each of the cars.
4. Turn off the headlights, wipers, radios, as well as all accessories on both cars. Unplug anything charging in the cigarette lighter.
5. Untangle as well as unwind the jumper cables. The jaws of the cable clamps are designed to bite into the soft metal of the battery clamps that are attached to the battery terminal posts.
6. If goggles or gloves are available, put them on now. Have anyone not wearing safety equipment st as well as clear of both vehicles.
7. Visually check both batteries for cracks, leaks, as well as damage. If any of these exist, STOP. Call a tow truck, do not attempt to jump the car, do not even connect the cables.
8. Connect a red clamp first to the positive post on the dead battery. Then connect the other red clamp to the positive post on the good battery.
9. Connect a black clamp to the negative post of the good battery.
10. Connect the only remaining clamp (a black clamp for the dead battery) to a solid piece of grounded metal on the dead car. Do not connect this clamp to the negative post of the dead battery. (See tips for suggestions on what to clamp to)
11. Start the working vehicle.
12. Race the working vehicle's engine a little above idle at a steady speed for about five minutes.
13. Try to start the disabled vehicle. If it doesn't start, wait five minutes as well as try again. Repeat until the disabled vehicle starts.
14. Remove the jumper cables from the vehicles in the reverse order from when you attached them.
15. Keep the recently-disabled vehicle's engine running a little above idle for at least five minutes, then on or at least at idle for at least twenty.

• When looking for a good ground for that last clamp, look for shiny metal around or on the engine. Painted, oily, or rusted metal will not work. Nuts, bolts, or other protruding shiny metal is best. There may be some sparking when you connect to a good ground.
• It may be necessary to remove the disabled automobile's battery cables from the battery terminals as well as clean both cables as well as terminals. Use a stiff wire brush to remove all corrosion. Reconnect the cables to the battery terminals as well as jump the car.
• Do not use cheap jumping cables with thin wire. Use good heavy-duty jumping cables.
• Don't let the working vehicle leave for at least ten minutes. The dead battery must charge for a while, as well as sometimes will go dead again (especially if you do not keep the engine above idle).
• Remember that batteries are not always in the same place. Some vehicles have the battery under the hood, some behind the cab, as well as some are even in the trunk.
• Look at your jumper cables. Many will have instructions with pictures explaining the order to attach the clamps.

• Never cross the cables while attached to a car battery.
• Make sure you are connected to the right posts.
• Never connect two batteries directly to one another (all four clamps on battery posts).
• Keep your face as far away from the batteries as you can at all times.
• Tell people to back off. Batteries can explode if you don't do the job right.
• Always protect your eyes with goggles or other protection.
• If the alternator in the working car is either worn or very small there's a small chance it will break during this operation

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Added: Thu Feb 02 2006

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