How to jump your dead car battery properly

Watch this "Grease On Your Hands" video tutorial from the Washington Post to see how to jump your dead car battery properly.

When servicing any automobile, you should always wear appropriate eye-protection as well as ensure your working environment is properly ventilated. When working underneath a vehicle, always secure it with a floor jack and jack stands or drive-on lift ramps. You're going to get greasy as well so keep a healthy supply of rags on hand to sop up the mess!

Necessary Materials: Jumper Cables

Instructions and Tips: Line up both vehicles so the jumper cables can reach both cars safely and easily.

On the DEAD car, connect the positive jumper cable end to the positive battery connection. For the negative jumper cable end, find a piece/spot of unpainted metal (grounded, which practically means any part of the car) that will easily hold the clamp and affix it accordingly.

On the LIVE car, connect the corresponding positive and negative jumper cable ends to the appropriate/respective battery connections.

PAY ATTENTION HERE - If done properly, you should have the jumper cables connected completely to the battery on the LIVE car and split between the ground and the battery on the DEAD car. This will ensure that you will not create a looped circuit between both batteries and discharge the live car. Also, MAKE SURE YOUR POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE JUMPER CABLE ENDS DON'T TOUCH! This will definitely cause a short. Many people have specific methods of ensuring this, such as connecting the positive ends on both cars before the negatives. However, you should always pay close attention to avoid short-outs since no method is 100 percent fool-proof.

Once everything is set into place, go ahead and start the LIVE car first. Then just crack up the DEAD car and remove the cables carefully, paying close attention not to cause a short.