To jump start a car, follow these safe and effective steps:
- Prepare the vehicles
- Park the working car close to the car with the dead battery, ideally nose-to-nose or side-by-side, ensuring the vehicles do not touch.
- Turn off both cars, engage parking brakes, and open the hoods to access the batteries
- Safety checks
- Confirm the dead battery is not leaking, damaged, or frozen.
- Remove any metal jewelry and keep away from flames or sparks.
- Remove the key from the ignition of both cars
- Identify battery terminals
- Locate the positive (+) and negative (–) terminals on both batteries. Positive terminals usually have a red cover or marking, negative is often black
- Connect jumper cables in the correct order
- Attach one red (positive) clamp to the positive terminal of the dead battery.
- Attach the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the good battery.
- Attach one black (negative) clamp to the negative terminal of the good battery.
- Attach the other black clamp to an unpainted metal part of the dead car’s engine or chassis away from the battery (not the negative terminal)
- Start the cars
- Start the engine of the working car and let it run for 1–2 minutes to charge the dead battery.
- Attempt to start the car with the dead battery. If it doesn’t start, wait a couple of minutes and try again
- Disconnect cables in reverse order
- Remove the black clamp from the previously dead car, then the black clamp from the good battery.
- Remove the red clamp from the good battery, then from the previously dead battery
- Let the jumped car run
- Keep the jumped car running for at least 20 minutes or take it for a short drive to recharge the battery fully
Additional tips:
- Use jumper cables rated for your vehicle’s battery voltage (usually 12 volts).
- Never connect positive to negative terminals directly to avoid sparks or battery damage.
- If the battery is damaged or leaking, do not attempt a jump start; call a professional
Following these steps will help you safely jump start a car with a dead battery
