I need instructions on how to jump start a car (mainly because i always forget which vehicle needs to have both cables connected to both batt. posts and which needs to have one on batt. post and the other on a metal piece)

When Connecting jump leads ALWAYS Positive first, (Red), Negative last, (Black).
When Removing jump leads ALWAYS Negative first, (Black) and Positive last, (Red).
ALWAYS make sure you DON'T touch the negative to the positive at any time! (Loads of sparks and you risk damaging the battery).
Safest way I have found is this.
With the engine on BOTH vehicles turned OFF. Connect up to the flat battery first, then connect to the good battery. ONLY start the vehicle with the good battery. Wait 2 or 3 minutes to let some charge cross to the dead battery then start the vehicle with the dead battery.
The dead battery will need to be fully charged as soon as possible.

Your starter is probably intermittent remove starter and get a bench test done for free at autozone

dew to starter motor negative cable that connects by a bolt through the gear box

or a dead short but this would blow fuse

terminal corrosion neads cleaning and when terminal is replaced cover terminal with grease or petrolium jelly

Sure! It is always possible for one vehicle to jump-start another vehicle. However, EXTREME CAUTION should be used and jump starting techniques should be followed carefully. Otherwise severe vehicle damage can occur. Here is the way to do it:

1. Connect the jumper cables to the good vehicle. (the one that is doing the jumping)
Make absolutely certain that he RED cable is connected to the POSITIVE battery post (the larger post on all top-terminal batteries, also marked with a "+") The BLACK cable then connects to the NEGATIVE battery post (smaller post marked with a "-").

2. Connect the other RED cable end to the POSITIVE post on the "dead" vehicle
3. Connect the other BLACK cable end to a metal part of the engine AWAY from the battery. (This is for safety to prevent sparking or arcing from causing the battery to explode.)
4. Run the engine on the good vehicle for 3 or 4 minutes to allow the dead battery to partially charge. (skiping this step can cause your charging system to overload and can cause damage to your vehicle including burning the alternator up.)
5. Attempt to start the dead vehicle. If is starts right up, then there is no problem. If it does not start immediately, I recommend getting some professional help with the situation because there is a problem that could possibly damage your vehicle if you continue to try to jump the dead vehicle.

one easy way is to have someone hold key in crank ing position,then another person needs to hit or tap the starer housing itself.if engine begins to crank intermittently or ur cliking noise turns into small jolts of the starter trying to crank then u can bet its the strtr motor. u do need a charged batt for this test. also chek ur battery grounds they can dramatically affect starter operation if we have a voltage drop anywhere in starter circuit .chek batt cables r tight on batt posts, loose batt cables on battery will also give u clicking noise w no starter operation

If you can jump start it from another vehicle , the starter is not the problem. Most likely a low battery , or dirty connections at the battery posts / cables.

You can either jump the battery, or remove the battery from the car and bring it to your local repair shop to have it charged and tested, (a lot of auto supply stores will do this for free so call around), or you can jump start your battery and hope it holds a charge.

To jump a battery you will need a set of jumper cables and a second car, or a battery booster pack, (nice investment, they really are handy in a jam).

To jump a car with jumper cables:
******* Always where eye protection*********
1) Open the hood on the dead car and locate the battery.
2) Park the second car as close to the front of the dead car as possible, (just try to leave enough room to walk around the vehicles if you can).
3) Open the hood on the second car and locate the battery.
4) Attach the red, (positive) cable clamp to the Positive, (+) terminal of the battery on both cars.
5) Connect the black, (negative) cable clamp to the negative, (-) terminal of the battery of both vehicles.
6) With the second car running leave the vehicle to sit for about 5 minutes then attempt to start the dead vehicle.
7) If vehicle fails to start, wiggle the cable clamps to create a better connection.
8) If vehicle starts, remove the cable clamps negative first then the positive.
9) You may consider bringing the vehicle to your local auto supply to have the battery load tested once the car has run for a while, (most auto supply stores will do this for free so call around)


Using a booster pack is basically the same, except, you replace the second car with the booster pack. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for charging the booster pack before use.

Good luck. Please rate, thanks.

The battery cables need cleaning. Remove each batteyr cable and completely clean the cable clamps and the battery terminals.
Also, check the negative cabe where it connects to the engine ground. It is either loose, corroded or otherwise not making a good ground connection.

yur not supposed to and no yu dont need to reset them to the best of my knowledge my truck a 97 dodge ram 2500 v8 sat for like 8 months dead battery and had no problems but yes disconecting negative will remove power from the computer message me back with any questions

from your comment,theres 3 things that can cause this,loose batt.post connection,weak batt.or something in elect. circuit that stays on after car is off and drains batt.,like underhood light,dome or truck light,what u can do is when u park car unhook batt. cable,make sure batt. is well charged,hook it up next day if car starts,its something that drains batt.in car! if it doesnt start,batt. needs replacing.i ruled out starter,dealer should have checked it to see if it was pulling too much amps,and that its easy to jump.