Before you begin the process of jump- starting your vehicle, make sure your chil- dren are strapped safely into their seats and there are no other distrac- tions around you. Do not talk on your cell phone or smoke a cigarette while you jump start your car.

Be selective about who you ask to help you jump your car (you will need another vehicle and driver to help).

Jumping the Battery
1. Turn off everything in the vehicle.

2. Park another vehicle close enough to yours for the jumper cables to reach both cars, but make sure the cars are not touch- ing.

3. Open the hoods of both vehicles and identify the RED (positive) and BLACK (negative) terminals on both batteries.

4. Connect one of the RED clips on the jumper cables to the RED positive termi- nal on the dead battery.

5. Connect the other RED clip to the RED positive terminal of the good battery. 

6. Connect the BLACK clip to the BLACK negative terminal on the good battery.

7. IMPORTANT - Do not connect the last BLACK clip to the BLACK negative termi- nal on the dead battery. Instead, find a solid piece of metal underneath the hood of the dead vehicle to act as a ground. You may see a small spark when this connec- tion is made. Do not be alarmed - this is completion of the circuit.

8. Start the vehicle with the good battery. Wait a minute or two to give the dead bat- tery a chance to charge. A good way to check that this is working is to turn on the interior lights of the dead vehicle.

9. Turn the key in the ignition of the car with the dead battery. It should start. Re- move all cables in the reverse order from how you connected them.

10. Let the car you jump-started run for a while before you turn off the engine. Drive for 15 minutes or more before turn- ing off the ignition again (or the battery could die again).