How to Jump-Start Your Car

It is late at night, you've just left the store and are crossing the parking lot with a biting wind at your neck and the first flakes of the gathering storm falling. In mere moments you'll be in your car, traveling down the road with the heat set on high and the audio system blaring your favorite tunes. But, as you turn the ignition key you hear a clicking noise which strikes a feeling of dread within - your battery is dead and the only way to get it going long enough for you to make it safely home is for you to jump-start your car.

Fortunately, the store's assistant manager was parked nearby and heard the clicking noise emanating from underneath the hood. He springs into action, offering to use his car to jump-start your car, with cables in hand. At this point you're shouting hallelujah and thankful that you won't have to wait 30 minutes for roadside assistance to arrive.

Jump-starting a car is a simple process, but things can go wrong if you rush through the procedure. The following instructions offer you step-by-step guidance on how to get the job done right and done safely:

1. Line them up - Your car is dead and cannot be moved, therefore the other vehicle needs to be directly in front of or at least astride your vehicle. Your car's radio, navigation system and heat are not working, but turn everything off, including your lights, as you prepare to connect the cables. A surge of electricity will run through your car when the jump kicks in, perhaps overloading and damaging delicate electrical circuits.

2. Pop and secure - Open up the hood to both vehicles and find your batteries. Find the positive and negative battery settings and clean off any corrosion present. The positive post and cable is usually red and the negative post and cable is usually black. Connect the positive cable to the dead battery first and then to good battery. Connect the negative cable to a shiny non-painted metal surface on the dead car advises CarBuyingTips.com to avoid the possibility of an explosion. Connect the other end to the negative post on the good battery.

3. Get started - The owner of the good car should start his engine, shutting off the headlights and everything else inside. After a minute or two, the owner of the dead car - that's you - can start that car. Unless there is something seriously wrong with the battery or something else has failed, such as the alternator, the car should start immediately. Remove the cables by working in reverse order, shut both hoods and drive off.

Most auto parts stores will replace your battery for you according to A-A-A. You buy a battery from them and they'll swap out batteries, keeping the dead one. Of course, you may need to jump-start your car again if you shut it off before getting to the shop or you may need to remove the old battery yourself and hitch a ride to the store to swap out the battery and make the change yourself.