To safely boost start a positive ground car from a negative ground car:
Make sure the vehicles aren't physically touching each other! Note that it is
the battery terminals that are being mentioned, not grounds.
1) As a precaution, put on a pair of safety glasses. Have a bucket of water
handy for washing off acid as batteries have been known to explode. This can
happen under any type of booster/charging situation or when just washing
batteries off.
2) With one cable, usually the black one, Connect the negative terminal of the
booster battery to the negative terminal of the dead battery.
Some people then connect the positive terminals of the batteries but this direct
connect method between batteries is NOT recommended by some battery makers, car
manufacturers, and booster cable makers.
3) Connect the second cable to the positive terminal of the booster battery and
then connect the other end to a bare metal spot on the dead car such as the
engine block/head. Keep away from the battery, as sparks have been known to
ignite battery vapors.
4) Start the booster car. This probably isn't necessary in the summer.
5) Start the dead car.
6) When disconnecting the cables, the saftest way is to remove the clamp at the
engine block/head FIRST.
Blake
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