How to Jump Start a Car with Jumper Cables

You get in your car, put the key in the ignition, give it a fast twist and you got nothing. You try it again and you end up with exactly the same thing…nothin’.

If you’re lucky enough to have a jump starter with you, you’re good to go. Just atatch the cables and you should get enough juice to start your vehicle. But if you don’t have a jump starter with you, well…you’re going to need to ask someone for help.

Maybe it’s time for a new battery? Maybe it’s time for a new alternator? Maybe it’s time to learn how to use those jumper cables in your trunk? You did buy the best jumper cables you could get, right?

Using jumper cables is one of the easiest things you can learn and I promise it only takes a minute. All you need are jumper cables and another car – one that’s already running or will start.

Here’s how you do it:

1.} Try to get the cars to face each other, but side by side should work if the cables are long enough. Make sure both vehicles are in park, turned off and not touching. It’s also a good idea to set the emergency brake.

2.} Open the hoods on both vehicles.

3.} Remove the caps from both car batteries.

4.} Remember Red=Positive {+} and Black=Negative {-}.

5.} Attach one of the red clips on the jumper cable to the POSITIVE terminal/post of your battery {this terminal/post will be marked + or POS – or it will be larger than the negative terminal/post} and attach the other end to the POSITIVE terminal/post on the battery of the other vehicle.

6.} Attach one of the black clips to the NEGATIVE terminal/post of the other car battery and the other end to either the NEGATIVE terminal/post of your car battery or if you can’t get to the NEGATIVE terminal/post, to the metal frame or a metal surface near your car battery. {This must be metal and not aluminum}.

7.} Get into your vehicle, put the key in the ignition and give it a twist to start. If it doesn’t start, check your connections and try again. If you’re still having problems, let the other car run for a few minutes with the cables still connected and try again. When your car starts, let it run for at least 10 minutes, allowing the battery in your vehicle to recharge.

Don’t turn off the vehicle immediately after a successful jump because the battery will not have had enough time to charge and you’ll have to do it all over again.

8.} Disconnect the clips in the reverse order.

To Avoid Shock Do Not:

• Touch the metal clips
• Touch the metal clips together
• Lean on the car with one hand as you try to attach a clip to the battery with the other hand