Ford 1996 Contour Manual page 162

To avoid damaging your vehicle or your battery, and to avoid
injury to yourself, follow these directions for preparing your
vehicle to jump-start and connecting the jumper cables in the
order they are given. If in doubt, call for road service.
Preparing Your Vehicle
Your vehicle has a 12-volt starting system, so you need to
1.
use a 12-volt jumper system. You will damage your starting
motor, ignition system, and other electrical parts if you
connect them to a 24-volt power supply (either two 12-volt
batteries in series or a 24-volt generator set).
Do not disconnect the battery of the disabled vehicle. You
2.
could damage the vehicle's electrical system.
Park the booster vehicle close to the hood of the disabled
3.
vehicle. Make sure the vehicles do not touch each other. Set
the parking brake on both vehicles and stay clear of the
engine cooling fan and other moving parts.
Check all battery terminals and remove any excessive
4.
corrosion before you attach the jumper cables.
Turn on the heater fan in both vehicles. Press the DEFROST
5.
button. Turn off all other switches and gauges.
Connecting the jumper cables
Connect one end of the first jumper cable to the positive (+)
1.
terminal of the discharged battery. (You can connect either
jumper cable to the positive (+) terminal, as long as you use
the same cable for both positive terminals.) Most jumper
cables have a red cable and a black cable. The red cable is
generally used for the positive terminals and the black for
the negative ones.
Connect the other end of the first cable to the positive (+)
2.
terminal of the booster battery.
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