Jump-Starting Your Dead Car Battery ---- Correctly
With the onset of cold weather in most areas of the country, the possibility of encountering a dead car battery increases. Providing that a set of jumper cables is available, this is usually easily remedied, at least temporarily until you can have the battery replaced.
When your battery fails, a jump start will often provide a quick fix. It is important that jump-starting be done properly to avoid serious personal injury and/or damage to the vehicle. The National Safety Council recommends the following procedure:
Position another vehicle with a healthy battery and your car so they do not touch each other. Be sure both batteries are of the same voltage.
Check the owners’ manuals for both vehicles for any special directions from the manufacturer.
Turn off the ignitions of both vehicles and set the parking brakes. Place automatic transmissions in “Park” and standard transmissions in neutral.
Always wear safety glasses and gloves when using cables.
Unless given different directions in the owners’ manual, use the booster cables in this order:
Connect one end of the positive (+) booster cable to the positive (+) post of the dead battery.
Connect the other end of the same cable to the same marked post (+) of the booster battery.
Connect the second, negative (-) booster cable to the other post of the booster battery.
Make the final negative (-) booster cable connection on the engine block of the stalled vehicle away from the battery.
Start the booster vehicle and let it run for a few minutes. Then, start the disabled vehicle.
Remove the cables in the reverse order of connection, being very careful not to let the booster cable clamps touch each other or come in contact with car parts. Also, avoid the fans of the engines. Electric fans may run without the engine being on.
compliments of S. Breeden aka KYSteve
