If you need to jump start your car, there are a few things that you should know. First, you’ll need a friend or family member to help out. You’ll also need a pair of jumper cables.
In order to successfully jump start a car, you’ll need to have another vehicle with a working battery nearby. Then, you’ll need to connect the jumper cables in a proper way so that both vehicles will work properly.
Step 1: Locate both batteries on both cars and inspect the positive (red) and negative (black) terminals. These are the metal posts on which you attach the jumper cables.
You’ll need to attach a positive (red) clamp to the dead battery’s positive terminal (+), and a negative (black) clamp to the good battery’s negative terminal (-).
Next, you’ll need to attach the jumper cables to each other. Make sure that the black clip is attached to an unpainted metal surface on one of the cars that isn’t near the battery and the red clip is attached to a metal strut on the other car that isn’t near the battery.
Once both cars have been jumped, you’ll need to disconnect the cables in reverse order from how they were connected. Begin by removing the black clamp from the grounded metal surface on the car with the weak battery, then remove the red clamp from the good battery.
Once both vehicles are idling, you should leave them running for at least thirty minutes to allow the alternator to charge the batteries fully. If you do not, the battery could die on you and you’ll need to call a tow truck.
