Red to Red, Black to Black! A simple saying but it easy to remember and will have you sorted in no<\/p>\n
time at all when it comes to jump-starting<\/a> a vehicle with a low or flat battery. What this little phrase<\/p>\n is trying to get across is the message on exactly how to go about connecting a set of jumper cables<\/a> to<\/p>\n your battery<\/a>, and if you\u2019ve drained your battery but have a helpful passer-by or family member that<\/p>\n is willing to help you out with some spare voltage then a set of handy starter cables<\/a> will get you sorted quick<\/p>\n smart.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve got up early on a cold wintery morning at your camp site, and the first thing you want to do<\/p>\n because you\u2019re not used to camping, is flick into town and grab a hot coffee and a bacon and egg<\/p>\n roll… (yes, I did say the person in this example really isn\u2019t used to camping, each to their own.)<\/p>\n Anyway, you\u2019ve tried to fire up your old Ute and you\u2019re met with nothing but a bit of whirring and a<\/p>\n few clicks. Of course, you\u2019ll try a few times before realising you must have flattened your 12v battery<\/a><\/p>\n overnight, and finally stop trying to crank what simply isn\u2019t going to crank. You quickly navigate your<\/p>\n way around the dash board controls making sure you have everything electrical turned off, radio<\/p>\n isn\u2019t on, and your headlights are definitely turned off too, but you realise the door was ajar<\/p>\n overnight and that was what caused this conundrum. So, you shut the door, so the light is off, and<\/p>\n try cranking again\u2026 too late buddy the damage is already done. Then, a light bulb moment, you<\/p>\n have, and old school set of jumper leads<\/a> sitting in the wheel well in the tub of your \u201985 lux and this<\/p>\n is just what you need to get moving again. Call over uncle john with his fancy 80 series cruiser and<\/p>\n get ready to form a connection between the two. Vehicle in place and the battery jumper leads<\/a> at the ready you<\/p>\n go ahead and hook up the black lead to the black terminals, and then the red lead to the red<\/p>\n terminals and as Johnny gives a rev you don\u2019t even make it to the driver\u2019s seat before you\u2019re met<\/p>\n with a pop, fizz and sizzle and a plume of smoke coming from the hood. Ahh must have connected<\/p>\n them up wrong, let\u2019s hope it hasn\u2019t done any major damage, and luckily nothing is on fire. Engines<\/p>\n off, and cables disconnected it\u2019s time to start again, when Johnny shouts \u2018Red to red, Black to black\u2019.<\/p>\n You know straight away what you\u2019d done wrong and now it\u2019s time to get it right.<\/p>\n Now you\u2019re talking. The red jumper cable<\/a> goes to the red terminal (positive) of the dead battery, and the<\/p>\n other end hooks on to the positive side of the good battery in Johnny\u2019s rig. Then you grab the Black jumper<\/a><\/p>\n cable<\/a> and put it on an earthed or grounded piece of metal on the flat vehicle, and then connect the<\/p>\n other end to the negative post on battery in the jumper car. This will create the correct circuit to<\/p>\n allow a transfer of electricity, without damaging anything in your system or theirs, and should not<\/p>\n produce sparks, flames or smoke when correctly connected. Time to crank and luckily it grabs first<\/p>\n go, so now it is time to reverse the process and disconnect the long jumper leads<\/a> that are connecting each car, although if your battery is super flat and takes a bit to turn over still, then it may pay to let it sit connected for a little while longer, and certainly don\u2019t go turning it off straight away.<\/p>\n When I say reverse the process, I mean literally! When you\u2019ve gone red to red, and black to black by<\/p>\n connecting the thick jumper cables<\/a> to the car with a flat battery first, you want the opposite colour to come off<\/p>\n first. Which means removing the black cable from the grounded metal on your vehicle, then remove<\/p>\n the other end from the good battery. Same with red, start with the battery that has just been<\/p>\n <\/p>\n boosted, then remove the clamp on the donor vehicle last. Red to red, black to black going on, and<\/p>\n then the reverse coming off. Simple really! It does pay to know and remember these handy tips as<\/p>\n batteries can be lethal in some circumstances when things are done incorrectly. Which is why the<\/p>\n first little battle with the cables being connected in the wrong order could have been costly for you<\/p>\n and anyone in the surrounding areas should it have caused an explosion. vehicle Jumper leads<\/a> are a great<\/p>\n and versatile option, but definitely carry some basic information and key learnings which should be<\/p>\n passed down to newer generations in case they get stuck with the ol\u2019 batt flattery.<\/p>\n What makes 4WD jumper cables<\/a> handy is they can usually transfer quite a lot of current from one vehicle<\/p>\n to the other, which can help in situations where the battery is severely drained and needs a decent<\/p>\n kick. Although a flat battery can be easily jump started with your battery leads<\/a>, you should never<\/p>\n jump start a physically damaged battery, as once again this could cause fires, explosions, and<\/p>\n injuries.<\/p>\n For something that can wind up into a small circle and be shoved in the storage compartment within<\/p>\n your vehicle and literally never needs charging and will rarely need any fixing or maintenance, a simple<\/p>\n jumper lead kit<\/a> sure can get you out of trouble when you need them. If you have another vehicle<\/p>\n willing to help you out, you can almost guarantee that your dead battery will be no match for those<\/p>\n