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How to Jump Start a Car
Dead battery? You'll be running in 10 minutes.
Time 10 minsDifficulty EasyTools Jumper cables, working car
The short version
- Park the working car close, facing the dead car. Turn both off.
- Connect red cable to dead battery's positive (+), then to working battery's positive.
- Connect black cable to working battery's negative (-), then to unpainted metal on the dead car.
- Start the working car, wait 2 minutes, then start the dead car.
- Remove cables in reverse order. Drive for 20 minutes to recharge.
What you need
Your car should already have all of this: a jack, a lug wrench, and a spare tire (usually under the trunk floor or mounted underneath). Check your owner's manual if you can't find them.
Directions
- Position the cars. Park the working car close enough for cables to reach. Turn off both cars and all electronics.
- Connect red to dead positive. Clamp the red cable to the positive (+) terminal on the dead battery.
- Connect red to working positive. Clamp the other red end to the positive (+) terminal on the working battery.
- Connect black to working negative. Clamp the black cable to the negative (-) terminal on the working battery.
- Ground the last clamp. Clamp the remaining black end to unpainted metal on the dead car (engine block works). Not the battery.
- Start and wait. Start the working car, wait 2 minutes, then try starting the dead car.
- Remove cables. Reverse the order: black from grounded metal, black from working battery, red from working battery, red from dead battery. Drive 20 minutes to recharge.