How to Jump-Start a Car Safely

More towing calls in Nassau County trace back to a dead battery than almost anything else we handle, and it's usually fixable in five minutes flat with a set of jumper cables and a willing neighbor's car.

1. Position the vehicles

   Nose-to-nose or side-by-side works, as long as the cables can reach without the two cars touching.

2. Connect the cables in order

   Red to the dead battery's positive post, then red to the good battery's positive post. Black to the good battery's negative post. The last black clamp goes on bare metal somewhere on the dead car's engine block, not the battery itself.

3. Let the working vehicle run first

   A couple of minutes idling before you try starting the dead one gives it a head start.

4. Try starting the dead vehicle

   Two or three attempts is plenty. Beyond that you're probably looking at a battery that needs replacing, not more cranking.

5. Pull the cables off in reverse

   Negative off the car that was dead, negative off the good car, then both positives.

6. Don't shut it off right away

   Fifteen or twenty minutes of driving gives the alternator time to actually recharge what you just jumped.