10 quick and easy steps: How to correctly - and safely - jump start a car with a dead battery

1: Whether it's because you left the lights on or your battery is old, most car owners will be faced with a dead battery sooner or later. To jump start it using jump leads and a second vehicle, make sure any electrical systems or devices in the vehicle with the dead battery are switched off such as the headlights, radio etc.

2: Then, park the second vehicle close to the car with the dead battery – get them close together so the jump leads will comfortably reach from one battery to the other - but make sure the two cars are not touching each other. If they are touching each other, then jumping the battery could cause a dangerous electrical arc between the vehicles…

3: Make sure that the engines on both vehicles are switched off, remove the ignition keys and open their bonnets - or boot if the battery is located back there.

4: Then, carefully attach one end of the red jump lead to the positive terminal on the flat battery. The positive terminal will usually have a red plastic cover with a plus (+) symbol on it. Pull the cover back to access the terminal. Then attach the other end of the red jump lead to the positive terminal of the good battery on the second vehicle.

5: Next, attach one end of the black jump lead to the negative terminal of the good battery. Then attach the other end of the black jump lead to a good earth point on the casualty vehicle – a solid metal part of the engine is usually best.

6: Now, start the engine of the second vehicle.

7: Wait a few minutes and then try to start the casualty vehicle. If it doesn’t start after a few attempts, you may have a bigger issue than just a flat battery…

8: If it does start, leave both vehicles running for five minutes.

9: To remove the jump leads, switch off the engines on both vehicles. Disconnect the black jump lead that is connected to the casualty vehicle. Disconnect the other end of the black jump lead from the second vehicle. Disconnect the red jump lead that is connected to the second vehicle. Disconnect the other end of the red jump lead from the battery on the casualty vehicle.

10: After the leads have been removed, restart the engine on the casualty vehicle. The battery will need to recharge fully for it to be fully serviceable, which is best achieved using a quality battery charger for several hours. In the meantime, if possible, drive the vehicle normally (not in heavy traffic) for around 30 minutes to try to put some charge back into the battery.