How To Jump Start a Car in 4 Steps

February 17, 2020

Many people think they know how to jump start a car. But when you turn the key and are met with complete silence, all that knowledge can seem to suddenly disappear in the pressure of the moment. That's where we come in. At Capitol Subaru, we want to help you have important information about the service your vehicle needs. With that in mind, be sure to take these steps in this order if your car is in need of a jump.

Step 1: Get the Vehicles Ready

Proper preparation can make for a smooth, quick operation. Make sure that you have jumper cables available, and that the driver who's willing to jump your car is parked close enough so that the cables can reach each other. Once things are in place, make sure that the other driver's vehicle is turned off. Place both vehicles in Park (for automatic transmissions) or Neutral (for manual transmissions), and engage the parking brakes. After this, open the hoods and take a look at the batteries, making sure you can identify the positive and negative terminals.

Step 2: Attach the Cables in This Order

1. To remember where to begin, it's helpful to remember "red to dead." The positive cables are usually red in color, and you should start by attaching the positive clamp to the positive terminal on the dead battery.
2. After this, attach the other end of the positive clamp to the donor battery.
3. Next, attach the negative clamp (usually at the end of black wires) to the negative battery terminal of the donor vehicle.
4. Finally, attach the other negative clamp to a piece of grounded, unpainted metal in the engine compartment.

If you attach the negative cable clamp to the negative terminal of the dead battery, you'll be at risk of creating a spark and putting yourself in danger. The good news is that ungrounded, unpainted metal is easy to find. A clean bolt or an engine bracket will do the trick, and some vehicles even have specific points for attaching the clamp.

Step 3: Start the Vehicles

After everything is all set up, start the donor vehicle. Don't start the car with the dead battery right away. Instead, wait a few minutes to allow the donor car to recharge your car's battery. After a few minutes have passed, try turning your vehicle on. If it doesn't turn on completely, don't lose hope! As long as you see some kind of response, it's best to wait a few more minutes and then try again.

 

Step 4: Remove the Cables in Reverse Order

After you've started your vehicle, remove the cables in the opposite order that you put them on. Specifically:

1. Remove the negative clamp from the unpainted metal surface of the vehicle that received the jump.
2. Remove the other negative clamp from the donor vehicle.
3. Remove the positive clamp from the donor vehicle.
4. Finally, remove the positive clamp from the battery that was formerly dead.

If the battery was drained due to something like headlights or a dome light being left on, we recommend driving around for a little while--at least 15 minutes. That should give your battery enough time to recharge. If it's due to another problem, drive to an authorized service center so you can have it looked at by experts.