Red to Red, Black to Black! A simple saying but it easy to remember and will have you sorted in no

time at all when it comes to jump-starting a vehicle with a low or flat battery. What this little phrase

is trying to get across is the message on exactly how to go about connecting a set of jumper cables to

your battery, and if you’ve drained your battery but have a helpful passer-by or family member that

is willing to help you out with some spare voltage then a set of handy starter cables will get you sorted quick

smart.

You’ve got up early on a cold wintery morning at your camp site, and the first thing you want to do

because you’re not used to camping, is flick into town and grab a hot coffee and a bacon and egg

roll… (yes, I did say the person in this example really isn’t used to camping, each to their own.)

Anyway, you’ve tried to fire up your old Ute and you’re met with nothing but a bit of whirring and a

few clicks. Of course, you’ll try a few times before realising you must have flattened your 12v battery

overnight, and finally stop trying to crank what simply isn’t going to crank. You quickly navigate your

way around the dash board controls making sure you have everything electrical turned off, radio

isn’t on, and your headlights are definitely turned off too, but you realise the door was ajar

overnight and that was what caused this conundrum. So, you shut the door, so the light is off, and

try cranking again… too late buddy the damage is already done. Then, a light bulb moment, you

have, and old school set of jumper leads sitting in the wheel well in the tub of your ’85 lux and this

is just what you need to get moving again. Call over uncle john with his fancy 80 series cruiser and

get ready to form a connection between the two. Vehicle in place and the battery jumper leads at the ready you

go ahead and hook up the black lead to the black terminals, and then the red lead to the red

terminals and as Johnny gives a rev you don’t even make it to the driver’s seat before you’re met

with a pop, fizz and sizzle and a plume of smoke coming from the hood. Ahh must have connected

them up wrong, let’s hope it hasn’t done any major damage, and luckily nothing is on fire. Engines

off, and cables disconnected it’s time to start again, when Johnny shouts ‘Red to red, Black to black’.

You know straight away what you’d done wrong and now it’s time to get it right.

Now you’re talking. The red jumper cable goes to the red terminal (positive) of the dead battery, and the

other end hooks on to the positive side of the good battery in Johnny’s rig. Then you grab the Black jumper

cable and put it on an earthed or grounded piece of metal on the flat vehicle, and then connect the

other end to the negative post on battery in the jumper car. This will create the correct circuit to

allow a transfer of electricity, without damaging anything in your system or theirs, and should not

produce sparks, flames or smoke when correctly connected. Time to crank and luckily it grabs first

go, so now it is time to reverse the process and disconnect the long jumper leads 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’t go turning it off straight away.

When I say reverse the process, I mean literally! When you’ve gone red to red, and black to black by

connecting the thick jumper cables to the car with a flat battery first, you want the opposite colour to come off

first. Which means removing the black cable from the grounded metal on your vehicle, then remove

the other end from the good battery. Same with red, start with the battery that has just been

 

boosted, then remove the clamp on the donor vehicle last. Red to red, black to black going on, and

then the reverse coming off. Simple really! It does pay to know and remember these handy tips as

batteries can be lethal in some circumstances when things are done incorrectly. Which is why the

first little battle with the cables being connected in the wrong order could have been costly for you

and anyone in the surrounding areas should it have caused an explosion. vehicle Jumper leads are a great

and versatile option, but definitely carry some basic information and key learnings which should be

passed down to newer generations in case they get stuck with the ol’ batt flattery.

What makes 4WD jumper cables handy is they can usually transfer quite a lot of current from one vehicle

to the other, which can help in situations where the battery is severely drained and needs a decent

kick. Although a flat battery can be easily jump started with your battery leads, you should never

jump start a physically damaged battery, as once again this could cause fires, explosions, and

injuries.

For something that can wind up into a small circle and be shoved in the storage compartment within

your vehicle and literally never needs charging and will rarely need any fixing or maintenance, a simple

 jumper lead kit sure can get you out of trouble when you need them. If you have another vehicle

willing to help you out, you can almost guarantee that your dead battery will be no match for those

electric alligator clips. There is no harm in staying old school, and if you choose to have a decent set

of jumper power leads as your safety net, then you won’t really go wrong anytime soon. Chuck them in the

rig and they’ll be safe forever, ready to use whenever you need them.