Jump on It

When you’re crazy busy and in a rush it can be easy to forget to turn things off whether it’s the TV, the coffee pot, or even the lights of your car.

I did just that this past week. After getting caught in torrential down pour I was so busy trying to devise a plan of escape so as not to be late for an early morning meeting that I thoughtlessly left the lights to my car on, and you guessed it, I killed my battery.

I made it to my meeting on time but then wasted an hour of my workday looking for jumper cables until finally scoring a set from Jenna in finance. I realized that after finding a pair of jumper cables I was clueless on where to put them without frying myself to death.



Embarrassed at my lack of knowledge on automobiles, I hesitantly asked a co-worker if he could teach me how to jump my car as well as lend me his car for power.




How to jump start your car:

1. Every woman should have her own set of jumper cables; I purchased mine at target at a great price. The jumper cables should be heavy gauge, copper, and at least ten feet long. They’ll have pinchers that look like hair clips at each end. Two of them are red (positive) Two of them are black (negative).

2. Before you start, protect your eyes and skin from battery acid that can seep. Use your sunglasses and gloves, if you don’t have gloves you a cloth or a sock before you touch the battery.

3. Have the helping car park as close as possible to your own car. Hood to hood is ideal.

4. Put your car in park and set your emergency brake.

5. Pop the hoods of both cars and locate both batteries. Now it’s time for to kiss. Place one red clamp on the positive post on your own dead battery. (Look for the “+”sign) Place the other red clamp on the positive post of the “good” battery.

6. Hook the remaining black clamps to the “-“post of the good battery.

7. Hook the remaining black clamp to the engine or to something metal (non-painted) surface of your car. Keep it as far away from the battery as possible, and make sure the cables aren’t in the way of the engine.

8. Have the person who’s helping you start their engine and give it a little rev. A minute or so later start your car, and give it a little rev as well. Once it’s running, remove the cable clamps. (No worries you won’t electrocute yourself). Remember to take the clamps off in reverse order that you put them on. Or if you forget, remember black-black-, red-red, starting with your engine (black), and ending with your battery (red).

9. Cruise in your car for at least twenty minutes. If possible take it on the highway.



Learning how to not look like the Bride of Frankenstein.






After this little incident, I learned my lesson and bought a pair of jumper cables and a car kit for my own car for fairly inexpensive. Thankfully I was at work and in a safe location. Another alternative that I think every woman should have is an AAA membership, entirely worth the cost.





My new car kit I purchased.