How to Jump Your Battery

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Get a working vehicle.

   Bring it to the disabled vehicle.
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   Step 2: Verify that both the dead battery and the rescue battery have the "same" voltage.

   Car batteries are usually twelve Volts.
   
   Trucks/tractors may operate on a twenty-four volt system, sometimes two twelve volt batteries combined to make a twenty-four volt system.
   
   Do not attach 12V to 24V. , Make sure the cars are not touching. , Open the hood of each of the cars. , Unplug anything charging in the cigarette lighter.
   
   They waste power and might even be damaged by surges of power. , The jaws of the cable clamps are designed to bite into the soft metal of the battery clamps that are attached to the battery terminal posts. , If any of these exist, stop.
   
   Call a tow truck, do not attempt to jump the car, do not even connect the cables. , Then connect the other end with the red clamp to the positive (+) post on the good battery.
   
   Remember, the order in which you attach the clams does matter, so follow these steps exactly. ,, Do not connect this clamp to the negative post of the dead battery—do this only as a last resort. (See tips for suggestions on what metal parts to clamp to.) , It will charge its own battery and the dead one. , Never race the engine.
   
   If a "fast" idle is not enough to charge the dead battery then it's not going to charge. , If it doesn't start, wait another five minutes for a little more charging, and try again.
   
   Repeat until the disabled vehicle starts. , Remove the clamp from the ground of the recently disabled vehicle, black and red from the good battery and finally the red from the formerly dead battery. ,
3. 3

   Step 3: Position the vehicles so that the car batteries are close enough to each other for your jumper cables to reach each one.

4. 4

   Step 4: Turn off both engines.

5. 5

   Step 5: Turn off the headlights

6. 6

   Step 6: wipers

7. 7

   Step 7: radios

8. 8

   Step 8: and all accessories on both cars.

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   Step 9: Untangle and unwind the jumper cables.

10. 10

    Step 10: Visually check both batteries for cracks

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    Step 11: and damage.

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    Step 12: Connect a red clamp "first" to the positive (+) post on the dead battery.

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    Step 13: Connect a black clamp to the negative (-) post of the good battery.

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    Step 14: Connect the only remaining clamp (a black clamp for the car with the dead battery) to a solid piece of unpainted

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    Step 15: grounded metal on the dead car.

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    Step 16: Start the working vehicle.

17. 17

    Step 17: Let it idle for approximately five minutes before trying to start the other car.

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    Step 18: Try to start the disabled vehicle.

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    Step 19: Remove the jumper cables from the vehicles in the reverse order from when you attached them.

20. 20

    Step 20: Keep the recently disabled vehicle engine running a little above idle for at least twenty minutes to charge the battery.

Detailed Guide

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