- The donating vehicle shall be running, since this will probibit the battery on that vehicle being drained. (Unless there is something wrong.)

- The battery poles are often very hard to connect to. The battery is often located in a very unfriendly position for jump starting. I am often attaching one of the cables to the starting relay and the other to the frame.

- Since the donating vehicle is running, there is no need to be in a hurry. The donating vehicle will charge the empty battery without problem through the jump start cables. The dead battery will get enough charge in a minute or two to be able to start the engine this way. (unless it's a large battery).

- The jump starting cables can be rather thin. A 2.5 mm2 cable will work fine. It only takes a little longer to transfer enough energy to the dead battery.

- It is possible to jump start with a single wire in emergency cases. The solution is to let the frames come in contact where there is clean metal.

- A warning must be issued, some vehicles have positive ground, not the normal negative. (many older UK vehicles have positive grounding).

- Another warning too! The voltage may vary! Most cars and motorcycles have 12V systems, but some have 6V while other have 24V. The vehicles must have the same voltage!

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[I revised the article to reflect most of these excellent points - JD]