⚡ Interactive guide

Jump-start a car battery — interactive guide

Follow clamp order and safety checks with progress saved as you work.

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Confirm you need a jump

Dim headlights, slow crank, or click-click with no start often means a flat battery — not always the starter. If lights are bright, suspect another fault.

💡 Do not jump a frozen, cracked, or leaking battery.

Position vehicles

Park donor car nose-to-nose or side-by-side close enough for leads to reach. Both handbrakes on, ignitions off, hazards on if needed.

💡 Engines must not touch.

Connect red clamps first

Red to dead battery positive (+), then red to donor positive (+). Never let clamps touch each other.

Connect black clamps

Black to donor negative (-). Final black clamp goes to an unpainted metal point on the dead car's engine block — not the battery negative.

💡 Earthing away from the battery reduces spark risk near hydrogen.

Start donor, then dead car

Run donor engine two minutes. Attempt start on dead car for up to ten seconds. Wait thirty seconds between tries.

Remove leads in reverse order

Dead car running: remove black from earth, black from donor, red from donor, red from dead. Drive twenty minutes to recharge.

💡 If it dies again quickly, get the battery or alternator tested.

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