Jumper Cable Instructions: How to Jumpstart a Car

If you drive your own car, you should have a set of jumper cables and know the use of them. These cables will be your savior if you are stranded somewhere with your car because of a dead battery.

Jumper cables will help you start your vehicle if your battery dies out at an inapposite time. So, you should always have a pair of jumper cables in your trunk to tackle emergency situations. Check out the jumper cable instructions to know how you can use the cables to jumpstart your car.

Jumper Cable Instructions: Before Doing the Jumpstart

Jumper cables will work only in case of a battery problem. So, before trying to revive your car, you have to make sure that a dead battery is the problem.

Turn on the ignition key of your car to see if it produces any sound. If it is totally silent, the problem is likely to be with the battery. However, if you hear the sound of the engine, something else is the reason of the problem.

The jumper cable instructions can vary depending on the make and model of cars. So, check the user manual to get the exact information about your car.

Jumper Cables: How to Use

Jumper cables usually come with an instruction card so that the users can use them accurately. In fact, you need to know and follow all the steps of jumper cables use precisely because doing it the wrong way can be dangerous.

Step 1. You have to find a functioning car that will serve as the boosting car. Park the cars face to face, but make sure that they are not touching each other. Turn off the engines of both the cars.

Step 2. Check out if the batteries of both the cars have similar voltage. Otherwise, there will be a risk of damaging other components of the cars.

Step 3. Now, it’s time to connect the jumper cables. The cables have two red clamps. Attach one clamp to the positive (+) end of the dead battery and the other to the positive (+) end of the functional battery.

Then, you have to connect the two black clamps. Connect one clamp to the negative (-) end of the functional battery and the other to a big metal part of your car’s engine block.

Step 4. Start the engine of the boosting car and keep it a few minutes at idle speed. Keep the engine on while trying to start the dead car. If the car responds, and the engine starts running, disconnect the jumper cables immediately. Do it in the reverse order of the way you connected it. Keep the car running at idle speed or drive around for at least half an hour so that the dead battery gets enough time to be recharged.

If your car’s battery doesn’t respond even after following the jumper cables instructions, the problem must be something else. Call a roadside auto service provider or a tow truck in such a case.