Here is the correct procedure when jump starting a dead car battery using another car. Improperly connecting the jumper cables can cause serious harm to your car and yourself. Steps: Get all materials out and ready. Clean off your terminals if they’re dirty. Make sure to turn off any high drain devices such as radio, interior lights, heater, etc. as you want to give your vehicle the best chance of starting. Once both cars have been parked close together, place each car in park or neutral and shut off the ignition in both vehicles. Make sure the parking brake is engaged. Attach one of the red cables to the positive terminal on the dead battery. The terminal may say “POS” or “+” to help you identify it. Attach the other red cable to the positive terminal in the working car. While at the working car’s battery, attach one of the black cables to the negative terminal. It may be labeled “NEG” or “-”. Attach the final black clip to an unpainted metal surface under your hood that is far from the battery. This will ground the circuit and prevent sparking. Start the working vehicle and let it run for a few minutes. The more “dead” your battery is, the longer you may need to run the working vehicle. Attempt to start your vehicle. If it doesn’t start, continue running the working vehicle for a few more minutes. On the next attempt, you can slightly increase the rpm's of the working car as this will increase the charging capacity. If your vehicle DOES start, don’t turn it off! Remove the cables in the reverse order that you put them on (Black – dead battery, Black – good battery, Red – good battery, Red – dead battery). Hit the road for at least 15-30 minutes to make sure your battery gets charged up.
