JUMP STARTING
WARNING!
To prevent personal injury or damage to clothing, do
not allow battery fluid to contact eyes, skin, or
fabrics. Do not lean over a battery when connecting
jumper cables or allow cable clamps to touch each
other. Keep open flames or sparks away from battery
vent holes. Always wear eye protection when work-
ing with batteries. Do not use a booster battery or
any other booster source that has a greater than
12–volt system, i.e. do not use a 24–volt power
source.
Your vehicle is equipped with a 12–volt battery. If it
becomes necessary to use a booster battery, with jumper
cables, to start the vehicle’s engine because it’s battery is
discharged, the following procedure should be followed:Set the parking brake, place an automatic transmission in
P (Park) (or N (Neutral) for a manual transmission). Turn
off lights, heater, and other electrical loads. Observe
charge indicator in the battery. If indicator is light or
yellow, replace the battery.
CAUTION!
Use the “Jump Starting” procedure only when the
charge indicator is dark in the center. Do not attempt
jump starting when the battery charge indicator is
bright or yellow. If the charge indicator is dark and
has a green dot in the center, failure to start is not
due to a discharged battery and the cranking system
should be checked.
242 WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES
1. Attach one end of the jumper cable to the positive
terminal of the discharged battery and the other end of
the same cable to the positive terminal of the booster
battery.
WARNING!
Do not permit vehicles to touch each other as this
could establish a ground connection and personal
injury could result.
2. Connect one end of the other jumper cable to the
negative terminal of the booster battery. Connect the
other end of the jumper cable to a good ground on the
vehicle with the discharged battery. Make sure a good
connection is made, free of dirt and grease.
WARNING!
•Do not connect the cable to the negative terminal
of the discharged battery. The resulting electrical
spark could cause the battery to explode.
•During cold weather when temperatures are be-
low freezing point, electrolyte in a discharged
battery may freeze. Do not attempt jump starting
because the battery could rupture or explode. The
battery temperature must be brought up above
freezing point before attempting to jump start.
3. Take care that the clamps from one cable do not touch
clamps from the other cable. Do not lean over the battery
when making the connection. The negative connection
must provide good electrical conductivity and current
carrying capacity.
WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES 243
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