1. Gather your materials:
* A set of jumper cables.
* Another car that's running and has a working battery.
2. Park the two cars close together, but not touching.
3. If both cars have automatic transmission, ensure that they're in park and the parking brake is on. If either car has a manual transmission, put it in neutral and engage the parking brake.
4. Open the hoods of both cars.
5. Find your car's positive and negative terminals. The positive terminal is typically marked with a "+" symbol or red color, while the negative terminal is marked with a "-" symbol or black color.
* The battery terminals will normally be covered by a plastic cap marked "+" or "-" which needs to be removed.
6. Connect one end of the positive (red) jumper cable to the positive terminal of your dead battery.
7. Connect the other end of the positive (red) jumper cable to the positive terminal of the working battery.
8. Ensure that the cables aren’t touching or dangling near any of the moving parts in the engine bay.
9. Connect one end of the negative (black) jumper cable to the negative terminal of the working battery.
10. Connect the other end of the negative (black) jumper cable to an unpainted metal surface in the engine compartment of your dead car.
* DO NOT connect the negative cable directly to the negative battery terminal. This can cause a spark which could lead to the battery exploding!
11. Start the running car and let it idle for a few minutes.
12. Attempt to start your car. If it starts, let it run for a few minutes with the jumper cables still connected. Otherwise, repeat the process.
13. Remove the jumper cables in the reverse order you put them on.
14. Take the car for a 30-minute drive at highway speeds to fully charge the battery.
