How to Attach Jumper Cables to a Car
Jumper cables allow you to "jump" your car when it has a dead battery with the aid of a functioning, fully charged vehicle. Jumper cables should be kept in every vehicle at all times, just in case of incidents of battery death. Your battery may go dead if you leave the dash lights or headlights on, leave the radio playing or any other electronic equipment on while the engine is not running. Restart your dead car by learning to hook up jumper cables properly.
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Instructions
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Attaching Jumper Cables Properly
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1
Pop the hood of both vehicles and secure them with their respective safety bars. Locate the battery in each the working and the non-working vehicles and distinguish between the positive and negative terminals of the batteries. Positive is usually colored red, but may only be indicated with a "+" symbol.
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2
Connect the red clamp of one end of the jumper cables to the positive terminal of the good battery.
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3
Connect the red clamp at the other end of the jumper cables to the positive terminal of the dead battery.
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4
Connect the black clamp of the jumper cables to the negative terminal of the charged battery.
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5
Connect the black clamp of the other end of the jumper cables to a metal surface on the dead vehicle. This will ground the charge, to keep from damaging either battery.
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6
Start the engine of the car with the charged battery and wait for about five minutes. Try to start the dead vehicle. If it does not start right away, give it some more time to charge. When the car starts, turn off the other vehicle and remove the jumper cables.
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Tips & Warnings
Touching the clamps of the jumper cables together can result in electric shock. Do not allow the end clamps of the cables to come into contact with one another while they are connected to a battery terminal.
