Car batteries fail occasionally, and knowing how to quickly address the issue will help you get back on the road quickly. There are a few easy steps to take in order to jump start a stalled car.
- Have a set of jumper cables handy in your vehicle. This is one piece of equipment many people do not own or keep in the car with them. They can be purchased in a simple carrying case and stored in the trunk of a car.
- Before doing anything else, make sure both cars’ ignitions are turned off. This is important in order to decrease the chance you could be hurt while connecting the cables.
- Connect one end of the red cable to the positive terminal of the dead battery. Then connect the other end of the red cable to the positive terminal of the good battery.
- Connect the black cable to the negative terminal of the good battery. Be careful at this point since it will be easy to cause an electric shock with the other end of the cable now that both terminals of the good battery are connected to the jumper cables.
- Connect the other end of the black cable to some part of the car engine block, not to the dead battery. Connecting the black cable to the dead car battery could cause an explosion of that battery and the release of caustic sulfuric acid. Make certain the part of the engine to which you connect the black cable is completely stable and is a part of the engine block. Do not connect near any fuel or fluid lines if possible.
- Turn on the car with the good battery and allow it to run for a few minutes. Electricity will enter the dead battery through the positive terminal.
- Try to start the car with the dead battery. In most cases, three to five minutes of charge time should be sufficient to give the dead battery enough energy to start the car.
- Remove the jumper cable ends in reverse order from the way they were attached. The car that had the dead battery should continue running the engine for at least thirty minutes to allow the battery to fully charge.
These steps are simple, but always be prepared for any additional problems that could arise. The car with the jumped battery should be taken to a mechanic to be tested to see whether a replacement will be necessary.