How to jump start your car without blowing up your battery

You want to begin by positioning the cars close enough for the booster cables to reach but without the cars touching. This will prevent any unanticipated transfer of current before the operators are ready to start the car.

Turn off the radio, heater, and lights of both cars. Connect one end of the positive cable (red) to the positive post of the dead battery then connect the other end of the positive cable to the positive post of the live battery. The posts on the battery will be clearly marked with a plus sign for the positive side and a minus sign for the negative side. Now connect one end of the negative cable (black) to the negative post of the live battery and the other end of the negative cable to either the negative post of the dead battery or the engine block or frame of the car.

Once the cables are connected, start the car with the live battery. You will wait a couple of minutes at this point to let the current flow from the good battery into the bad. Now start the car with the dead battery. After the car starts, you want to remove the cables in the opposite order that you connected them. Be sure when you remove the cables that the ends of the cables do not touch     

If you get battery acid on you or the car, wash it off with water right away. Also, do not light any matches or smoke cigarettes near a battery. The fumes could cause an explosion.