The best magazine
How to Jump-Start a Car
- 1). Read your owner's manual, as it will describe any peculiarities involved in jump-starting your vehicle.
- 2
Pull a car with a charged battery next to the car with the dead battery, situating the two batteries as close together as you can without allowing the two cars to touch. - 3). Turn off both engines, pull out the keys, put both cars in park, engage the emergency brakes and open the hoods.
- 4
Attach a red-handled/positive jumper cable clamp to the positive terminal (the one with the plus sign) of the charged battery. - 5
Connect the other red-handled clamp to the positive terminal of the dead battery. - 6
Attach the neighboring black/negative cable to the car with the dead battery. Clamp it somewhere where the current can ground out, such as a bolt or bracket on the engine. You can also attach it to any metal, unpainted part of the vehicle's frame. - 7). Ground the other black/negative cable on the charging car, as described in the previous step. Be careful, as a small spark may be produced.
- 8). Attempt to start the car that has the dead battery.
- 9). Re-adjust the red/positive clamp on the dead car if there is no response; try re-clamping it to the terminal or turning it for a better connection. Keep trying to start the dead car.
- 10
Once the dead car is running, remove the clamps one at a time in reverse order. - 11
Allow the jump-started car to run for half an hour in order to charge the battery. It will charge whether driving or idling.
Source: ...