Basics
Jump a battery
A dead battery is a Tuesday problem until the cables go on wrong. The trunk should already have a plan.
A DadLane sheet. Fill the blanks, screenshot it, or print it.
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Be the dad who shows up
A DadLane sheet. The prompts are ours. Fill the blanks in your own words. Free to print. Not medical, legal, or financial advice.
The steps
Cables, the order, and when to stop.
Screenshot the card, or print it. The links below stay on the site.
- 01Both cars off, parking brakes on, vehicles not touching. Hazards on if you are near traffic.
- 02Read both owner manuals first. Some cars say not to jump them.
- 03Red clamp to the dead battery's positive. Red clamp to the good battery's positive.
- 04Black clamp to the good battery's negative. Black clamp to bare metal on the dead car, away from the battery.
- 05If the manual says do not jump this car, stop. Some hybrids and newer cars hide the posts or forbid cables. Use only the posts the manual names, or call for a tow.The wrong post, or a car the manual says not to jump, can wreck the electronics. The manual is the stop sign.
- 06Start the good car. Wait a few minutes. Then try the dead car.
- 07Take the cables off in reverse order.
- 08If it will not start, or the battery is cracked, swollen, or frozen, stop. Call for a tow.
- 09Once it starts, let it run, then have the battery tested the same week. A jump that dies at the next light is not fixed.
- 10Trunk kit: cables or a jump pack, a flashlight, triangles, and a phone that is charged.
Also on this job
The same job, in the directory.
Official pages and the DadLane steps, with a next step on each card.
1 in this view
AAA
How to jump a battery
AAA's public order for the clamps. Your car manual still wins if it disagrees. Wrong order can wreck the car.
For Dads with a dead battery and a second car or a jump pack.
- Basics how-tos
- Safety
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Best videos
Video for jump a battery.
If a player is here, it is a real public video. If the line says Find on YouTube, that is a search, not a video DadLane picked. Then do the steps on the sheet.
Jump a battery, in order
DadLane did not verify an official how-to id. Search a careful walkthrough, then follow your car manual. Wrong clamp order can wreck the car.
YouTube search
Find on YouTube: how to jump start a car safely step by step (opens in a new tab)
Sources
Go to the source.
These open in a new tab. They are the organizations named here, not ads. The video, when there is one, sits above this list.