#How to use jumper cables how to#

(Many cars have bolts in this position.) Wiggle all of the clamps again to make sure they are making a good connection. In the illustration above, we've attached the negative jumper-cable clamp to a bare metal bolt sticking up from the suspension shock tower. Do not attach this last black clamp to the dead battery! That could cause a spark and could potentially ignite a fire under the hood (though this is an extremely rare occurrence). (See the illustration below.) Attach the remaining black clamp to it. Next, find a piece of bare metal under the hood of the car with the dead battery-an unpainted bolt head sticking out from the body will do. Remember not to let the clamps touch while you are making the connections, or your jump-start will turn into a no-start. Now, attach the red clamp at the other end of the jumper cable (the end you've laid on the ground) to the good battery's positive terminal, and attach the black clamp on that same end to the good battery's negative terminal. You can't jump-start a car if you can't get the juice to its battery. Wiggle the red clamp you've just attached to make sure that it's biting into the metal part of the terminal and has a good connection. After you've attached the red clamp to the positive terminal, set the black clamp down on a plastic part under the hood. Do not let the black clamp on that end of the jumper cable touch metal or the red clamp. Take the red clamp in your hand and attach it to the positive terminal of the dead battery. (If you have someone to help you with the jump-start, that person can hold the other end of the jumper cable, being sure not to allow the clamps to touch.) To start, you'll probably need to leave one end of the cable and its two clamps on the ground, with the red and black clamps separated, while holding the other end, which you're about to connect to the dead battery. Make sure none of the jumper cable's clamps are touching one another. Raise the hoods of both vehicles and locate the two batteries.

(Most vehicles have their battery in the engine compartment some have the battery in the trunk.) Turn off the engine in the vehicle with the good battery. Park the car with the good battery nose to nose with yours without the two vehicles touching, close enough that the jumper cables will reach. Follow these steps to jump-start your vehicle correctly and safely.

#How to use jumper cables how to#

If you're lucky enough to have a friend or relative who (a) lives nearby, (b) is home, (c) is willing to help you out, and (d) has a set of jumper cables, there's still one last problem: You also need to know how to jump-start your car properly, so that you don't damage either vehicle's battery-or, worse, get injured in the process. You know what's next: You need a jump-start. It's the sickening sound of a dead battery, exactly when you don't need it. You jump into your trusty ride, twist the key, and click-click-click-click. You're running late for an important meeting, party, date, event-you name it.