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How to Jump-Start Your Car. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting into your car,
turning the key, and—nothing. The good news is that a quick jump-start is just a jumper
cable away. You will need Working car and jumper cables. Never attempt to jump-start
a battery that is frozen, cracked, or damaged in any way. It could explode when connected
to another battery. Step 1. Position the working car as close to the “dead” car as possible.
Ideally, that means hood to hood with a few inches in between. Step 2. Turn off both engines.
Never light a match or smoke near a car battery. The battery contains hydrogen, a highly explosive
gas. Step 3. Open the hoods of both cars. Step 4. Identify the positive and negatives
terminals on both car batteries. They will be labeled with a plus sign for positive and
minus sign for negative. Step 5. Connect one of the red clamps on the jumper cables to
the positive terminal on the dead battery. Step 6. Connect the other red clamp to the
positive terminal on the working car’s battery. Step 7. Connect the black clamp on the jumper
cables to the negative terminal on the working car’s battery. Step 8. Clip the remaining
black clamp to a clean metal part of the dead car’s engine to ground the circuit. Step
9. Attempt to start the dead car. If it doesn't start, disconnect the jumper cables in the
reverse order: first the black clamps (starting with the once-dead car), then the red clamps
(starting with the working car). Start the engine of the working car and allow it to
run for about five minutes to boost its battery. Step 10. Turn off the working car and again
attempt to jump the dead car by connecting the cables -- in order -- and starting the
ignition. Step 11. Once the car starts, disconnect all the clamps in the reverse order. Step
12. If you’re confident that your dead battery was just drained by accident, keep your car
running to charge it back up -- otherwise, go directly to a repair shop without shutting
off the engine, or you risk having the battery die on you again. Did you know Contrary to
popular belief, heat -- not cold -- is the most common cause of car battery breakdowns.