Short answer
Park the cars close without touching, both off. Connect red to the dead battery's positive, red to the good battery's positive, black to the good battery's negative, then black to bare metal on the dead car's engine block, not the dead negative terminal. Start the good car, wait a minute, then start the dead one. Remove in reverse order.
The facts, in one place
- The last black clip goes to bare metal, not the dead negative terminal.
- Never let the clamps touch each other while anything is connected.
- A cracked, leaking, or frozen battery does not get jumped.
- If it will not start after two tries, it is a tow or a new battery.
When not to jump it at all
If the battery case is cracked, leaking, bulging, or visibly frozen, walk away and call a service. A frozen battery can rupture. If you smell rotten eggs, that is the battery venting, and it is not a smell to work through. Check the owner's manual for anything specific to your vehicle.
If the car cranks strongly but will not catch, the battery is probably not the problem. Repeated attempts will just drain the good car.
Doing it at minus twenty
Cold makes everything slower and clumsier. Wear gloves you can still work in, keep the cable ends off the ground where they freeze stiff, and do not stand between the cars. If either of you is losing feeling in your hands, stop and call roadside assistance. A jump is not worth frostbite.
Asking for one on Help Me
Pick a public, plowed, lit lot. Say where you are in terms someone can find without a map: the store entrance, the lot, the row. A neighbor nearby can say yes, and the first one to say yes gets it. Nobody is obligated, and nobody gets paid. A jump pack in the trunk removes the need to ask at all. Helpers can apply to be reviewed by our team. Help Me does not run background checks.
Help Me is not an emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or your local emergency number.
Step by step
- 1
Position and shut off
Park close enough for cables to reach without the vehicles touching. Both engines off, both in park, parking brakes on.
- 2
Red to dead positive
Clamp one red clip to the positive terminal of the dead battery. Positive is marked with a plus and usually a red cover.
- 3
Red to good positive
Clamp the other red clip to the positive terminal of the working battery.
- 4
Black to good negative
Clamp one black clip to the negative terminal of the working battery.
- 5
Black to bare metal
Clamp the last black clip to unpainted metal on the dead car's engine block or frame, away from the battery. This is the step people skip, and it keeps a spark away from battery gases.
- 6
Start and wait
Start the working car and let it run a minute or two. Then try the dead car. If it does not turn over after a couple of tries, stop. Something else is wrong.
- 7
Disconnect in reverse
Remove the clips in the exact reverse order, then let the revived car run or drive for a while before shutting it off.
Questions people actually ask
Yes. The final black clip on bare metal keeps the spark away from gas venting off the battery. It is the whole reason for the sequence.
Long enough for the alternator to put something back. A highway loop beats idling in a lot. If it dies again the next morning, the battery is finished.
No. Call a service. A frozen battery can rupture.
Keep going
- The small stuffA jump start, from someone nearbyAsk a neighbor with jumper cables in Fargo, West Fargo, or Moorhead. Busy public lots, both people outside the car. Not a mechanic, a tow, or 911.
- seasonThirty below changes the mathAt thirty below, cars fail together and exposure is measured in minutes. What neighbors can help with, and when a warming center or 911 is the answer.
- The small stuffWinter car help, which is just Fargo from November onFrozen doors, a car packed in by snow, a windshield that will not clear, a dead battery. Winter car help from neighbors in Fargo, West Fargo, and Moorhead.
- Fargo-MoorheadParking lots where cars die, and where to meet instead of a drivewayWinter lots that kill batteries: West Acres, NDSU, downtown ramps, 13th and 45th, West Fargo, MSUM. Meet in public, and keep your driveway out of the chat.
- AnswerWhere should I meet someone?In a public place, in daylight when you can: a store entrance, a library lobby, a campus union, or a busy lot. Never a doorstep or a stranger's car.
- GlossaryJump packA jump pack is a portable battery booster that starts a dead car without another vehicle. Why Fargo-Moorhead drivers keep one in the trunk, and how to use it.
Help Me is a community app for adults in Fargo–Moorhead. It is not a K–12 student program, not a youth chat, and not campus police.