It’s happened to you once or twice. You slide into your car, put the key into the ignition and turn it, only to discover that your battery is dead and you’re not going anywhere. Your first thought-ask someone for a jump. Lucky for you, you have a set of jumper cables and you know how to use them. Not everyone is as fortunate as you.

Jumping a car battery is a common occurrence, but surprisingly a lot of drivers don’t know how to hook up jumper cables or do it wrong, resulting in a flurry of sparks which can lead to an explosion of hydrogen gas from the battery, or worse, damage to the electronic components. Before attempting to charge a battery, drivers should make sure they know what they are doing.

Hooking up jumper cables is a fairly easy task. To do it safely, drivers should follow these instructions:

1. Position the vehicles so that they don’t touch each other. This will prevent a ground connection between the two.

2. Turn off the lights, heater fan and other electrical accessories to both vehicles.

3. Connect one end of the red jumper cable to the positive terminal on the battery of the booster vehicle and the other end to the positive terminal on the dead battery.

4. Connect one end of the black jumper cable to the negative terminal on the battery of the booster vehicle and the other end to a vehicle ground, such as the engine-lifting eye.

5. Start the engine of the booster vehicle and let it idle.

6. Start the engine of the vehicle being jumped.

7. Once the engine of the vehicle being jumped starts, disconnect the negative jumper cable of the jumped vehicle from its ground connection. Then disconnect the black cable from the negative terminal of the battery of the booster vehicle.

8. Disconnect the red cables from the positive terminals of the batteries of both vehicles.

Should the jumped vehicle not start, the driver may need a new battery or have some other problem. In this case, it is best to call a towing service and make an appointment with a mechanic.

Because they never know when they might need to jump-start a battery, all drivers should purchase a set of jumper cables and know how to use them. Experts advise drivers to buy the best quality of cables they can afford and make sure the clamps are well insulated and the wire is at least eight gauge. Lighter gauge wires may not have the ability to deliver the current needed and could in fact melt in the driver’s hands.

Jump-starting a battery does not always work. Sometimes you just need a new battery. That’s why it’s important for you to have your battery checked periodically. That way, you can avoid being stranded with a dead battery.