To jumpstart a car with cables, follow these steps carefully:
- Park the cars close so the jumper cables can reach both batteries, but do not let the vehicles touch.
- Turn off both cars and ensure both are in Park or Neutral with parking brakes engaged.
- Locate the battery terminals on each car. The positive terminal is marked with a + sign and often has a red cover; the negative terminal is marked with a - sign.
- Connect the jumper cables in this order:
- Attach one red (positive) clamp to the dead car's positive terminal.
- Attach the other red clamp to the good battery's positive terminal.
- Attach one black (negative) clamp to the good battery's negative terminal.
- Attach the other black clamp to a clean, unpainted metal surface on the dead car away from the battery (like an engine block bolt). Do NOT connect it to the dead battery's negative terminal to avoid sparks.
- Start the engine of the car with the good battery and let it run for a few minutes.
- Try starting the dead car. If it doesn't start, wait a few more minutes and try again.
- Once started, remove the cables in reverse order : black clamp from the metal surface, black clamp from good battery, red clamp from good battery, red clamp from dead battery.
- Let the jumped car run for at least 20 minutes or take it for a drive to recharge its battery.
These steps help safely transfer power without sparking or damaging the batteries or electrical systems.
