Jump a Dead Car Battery / Jump Start a Car.

So, here is how to jump a dead car battery.
Look at this poor and sad car. It can't start because its battery is dead, nearly dead. So, what shall we do? Lets look at the first step.

(Thank to papertoys.com for the paper cars in this instructable and crazyscientist_11 on Flickr for his photo of the engine bay, I used with his agreement.)

Step 1: What You Need:

Here is what you need to jump start a car:

a car with a low battery to jump start
a booster car (to jump start from)
booster cables

optional:

instead of a booster car you can get a booster pack like the one on the picture beneath, which contents also a light you can use in the dark (very useful).

a pal to help (not needed but also useful and in the most cases attached to the provided booster car)

Step 2: Detrmine If Battery Is Dead

First of all, you have to check that it is really your battery that causes the problem to start.
The easiest and fastest way is to check the clock in your car, turn the light or the wipers on. If they will work - there is another problem, but not the battery. If you turn the key an it cranks steadily - maybe it is not the battery, if it cranks slow and not round (tsh . . . tshsh instead of tsh tsh tsh tsh) or you hear no sound at all - jump start.

In our case you see the car is so sad it must have a dead battery, it can mourn about.

Step 3: Prepare the Jump Start.

Get someone with a running car or just a running car without someone, if you can organize that. Park the car (without derailing the traffic) so that your cables are long enough to reach the batteries in both cars.
Open the hoods of both cars and look for the batteries in both. In newer cars the battery is probably hidden under a casing. Remove it. Check to see plus and minus signs on the battery, if you can't, clean the battery with a dry towel or better a rag because the battery will be very dirty and greasy.

Check that there IS a motor under the hood of the car, which doesn't start BEFORE you bother someone to jump start your car.

Step 4: Connect the Cars (red Cable)

First of all turn off the booster car.

Then attach the red cables one end to the positive terminal (watch out for the signs, the positive terminal is mostly bigger than the negative one and is often marked red) of the car you want to jump start.
After that attach the other end of the red cable to the positive terminal of the booster cars battery.

Step 5: Attach the Other Cable (normally Black, Here Yellow for Better Sight)

After you finished the attachment of the red cable, attach the normally black cable to the booster cars minus terminal and the other end to the ground. Just put it on a solid metal part in the engine bay of the car you want to start.
(If the next steps don't succeed than just connect the second end of the black cable to the minus terminal of the dead battery - but be carefully). While connecting there may be some sparks. Watch out but it is a normal process.

Step 6: Start the Engines.

Now as you have connected the cars, start the engine of the booster car.
After that try to start the car with the dead battery. If it will not start, give push down the gas pedal of the booster car just a bit, carefully and slowly, while trying to start your car or check the connections.

Your car should start now, just as the sad car in the picture underneath.
It still looks sad defiance the fact its motor makes vroooming sounds, maybe it just a nasty depressed little car.


Disconnect the cables in this order:
negative dead car
negative booster car
positive dead car
positive booster car.

Drive for some time or let the engine run for a while (at least 20 minutes without driving) to assure the alternator can charge the battery.

And now have a good trip.