How to Jump Start Your Vehicle

Jun 17, 2023

Here at Classic, we fully believe in supporting our community and our customers beyond the sale of a car. That’s why we’re giving special focus to blogging about important content for maintaining your vehicle, driver safety, and other fun tips and tricks! For today’s post, we’re going to share a lesson on how to safely jump start your car. We understand that this important task may seem overwhelming at first glance, or perhaps you have a little anxiety regarding touching the cables to terminals. Rest easy, traveler! Your friends here at Classic are here to help demystify the experience and instruct you on how to safely and easily get your battery recharged.

Step 1: Make sure both cars are parked close to one another with the hoods facing each other, but be sure that the vehicles are not touching.

Step 2: Turn off both vehicles, pop the hoods, and locate the batteries.

Step 3: Find your jumper cables and unwind/untangle them.

Step 4: Attach the red (+) clamp to the positive (+) terminal of the dead battery. Then, attach the red (+) clamp to the positive terminal of the working battery.

Step 5: Attach the black (-) clamp to the negative terminal of the working battery. Then, attach the remaining black (-) clamp to an unpainted, metal surface of the dead car.

Step 6: Start the working car. Follow up by starting the car with the dead battery.

Step 7: Once the dead battery car is started, remove the cables in the reverse order that you attached them.

Step 8: Let the previously-dead car’s engine run for at least 15 minutes.

If you follow these steps and your car won’t start, you’ll want to double check the connections and try again. If after a few attempts the battery will not start, give your roadside assistance a call or head over to the nearest auto parts store/local auto body shop for a replacement battery.

Prefer to learn by video? We get it! Here’s a helpful video from ChrisFix on YouTube!

Flying solo on your road trip or traveling to offgrid or remote places? We’ve got you covered! Stay prepared to jump start your car without the help of another driver with these helpful portable battery charging devices.

The NEXPOW 2000A Peak Car Jump Starter with USB Quick Charge device is a great backpack/bag friendly portable charger. Great for those who wish to travel light or don’t want their safety gear to take up a large footprint. Comes in two color options: Grey, available for $59.49 at the time of publication; Black, available for $79.99 at the time of publication. Both are regularly about $99.99.

The Cen-Tech 630 Peak Amp Portable Jump Starter and power Pack with 250 PSI Air Compressor is a compact, dual purpose machine. Currently on sale at the time of publication for $74.99 (regularly $89.99.) It’s a great option for the road warrior to keep on hand. It can recharge a vehicle battery as well as inflating your tires, making it a quick and painless process to get back on the road in no time flat.