how do i use jump cables?

[KISS_ME]

i tried jumping my car month ago but my buddies car didn't have a ground terminal on his battery(rental car), so we used chassis ground. didn't work....... my mom came by and we used her battery to jump and it was up and going again. anyone know the reason to this?? chassis ground should be connected to the same battery ground, i cant see why it isn't. and what the hell kinda battery doesn't have have a ground terminal?

[Thaco]

It should ahve worked, the chassis groudn you used obviously wasn't grounded... it if was painted it would not work... you have to find a peice of bare metal that attaches firmly to the engin block or frame in some way. (i often use the bracket that holds on the alternator or another "accessory" device)

[HRD2PLZ]

The last time I boosted my car (17) my buddy and I fried the computer. Not sure what we did, but obviously it wasn't right :rofl:

[glennc]

Red to red, black to black. If you cant find 2 blacks, a bare ground such as a clutch cable bracket.

Never touch 2 seperate ends together if anything is connected, not even by accident.

[86max]

Can't you only use a chassis ground on the car with the dead battery?

I learned the hard way that you should always pay attention to putting the jumpers on the right terminals, let's just say I put on quite the light show in the walmart parking lot when I was 16 :rofl:

[Nissanaddict]

Theoretically you should yeah, as in a dead battery, it may not be dead, but there could be a short, and sparkage is bad with the hydrogen above the battery. And using the ground near the alternator? Yeah, I'd try to steer clear of the alt....nice bolts on the engine, stuff like that. Good to find any factory ground wire. I'm sure THAT will be hooked up to a good ground. :thumbsup:

[Supa Dexta]

you just have to wiggle the clamps back and foth a fair bit sometimes to get them to chew into clean metal.. I started an old car here the other day with the lawn tractor... ha

and yes you can use chassis ground on the dead vehicle as well, that ground cable is usually only a foot long or so, its no problem if you cant get at its terminal..

oh and dont always go by colour, you never know if anyone threw on a rubber boot they had laying around, make sure you look at the battery markings

I once blew up a car battery when I was younger, the things go off like a pipebomb, not something I ever want to see again..

[DeeK]

FIRST, Hook the cables up to the battery of the good car, SECOND hook up the positive and a chassis ground on the dead car.

You should NEVER hook up battery to battery unless its absolutely neccescary. There is a chance that escpaing hydrogen gas from a dead battery could ignite. (a very small chance, but not worth the risk of eye shrapnel from an exploding battery).

I've seen it happen before.. not pretty, and for the 2 seconds it takes to find a decent ground its worth the safety.