How do I tell the positive battery cable from the negative one?

Put on safety glasses and gloves
Ensure the car is turned off
Locate the battery
Determine which is the positive and which is the negative terminal
Remove boxes or tape covering the end of the cable
Disconnect the negative cable
Disconnect the positive cable
Remove the battery
Remove the negative cable, then the positive
Compare the new and old cables
Prepare the new cables for installation
Attach the positive cable to the starter
Attach the negative cable to the body or block
Place the battery back in the car
Connect the positive battery cable to the battery
Connect the negative cable
Start the car

1. I assume this is a car battery so the first thing you do is to disconnect the vehicle cables from the battery terminals. The negative first and then the positive. The positive terminal is marked with a plus sign ...+ ... When refitting the cables to the
battery after it is charged you fit the positive cable to the positive battery terminal(+) first and fit the negative(-) last.

2. Now that the battery is unconnected from the vehicle you can fit the charging cables to the battery terminals. The charger you have should have 2 cables leading from it , a positive with a red plastic insulation on the clip and a negative cable probably with black insulation on the clip.The instructions with the charger will tell you in which order the cables are to be attached to the battery and the order you remove them. Each of the 2 cables has to be clipped onto the correct battery terminal. The positive cable(+) from the charger goes to the positive battery terminal (+)and the negative cable(-) from the charger goes to the negative battery terminal(-).

3. Once the cables from the charger are properly connected to the battery, you can plug in the charger and turn on the power.

4. Batteries generate explosive gasses when being charged and it only takes one small spark to ignite them. Don't reconnect the battery after charging for a half hour or so and make sure the area where you are charging is well ventilated.

Good question, because connecting it the wrong way can damage the starter, the battery, or both! The red cable connector clamps to the positive terminal, and the black cable clamps to the negative terminal. On a new battery, it is often easy to tell which is positive by their markings (+) = positive and (-) is negative. In reality, the markings may be difficult to see. The red or positive post is larger in diameter. The black or negative post is a ground so you can follow it from the post to somewhere solid on the metal frame of the car.

Note the cross on the top of the battery post.

According to In.answers.yahoo.com :

"...the battery case will have a + near the positive or a - near the negative terminal. If these don't exist then the positive post will have a larger diameter post than the ground post, this is if the battery is a top post.



If it's a side terminal battery which GM cars used for a while it should be marked on the top of the battery or on the front with its respective sign. Otherwise you can look at the cable that's connected to it which are usually color coded. Red is positive and black is negative."

Disconnect the negative and positive battery cables from the terminals on the battery. Take that battery out. Now then buy another battery for you make and model. Put the positive and negative battery cables on the battery terminals of the new battery. MAKING SURE, you have them on the RIGHT CABLES ON THE RIGHT TERMINALS. POSITIVE --- (RED) as the NEGATIVE CABLE is ----(BLACK). If you get them mixed up and try to start the car or something. You will blow a ton of fuses. and no telling what else! Its not hard as long as you can read the (-) << NEGATIVE (BLACK) WIRE and (+) << POSITIVE --(RED) WIRE on the battery.

Easiest way is to follow the battery cables. if the Negitave (-) goes to the engine block , frame or body, that is a negitive gorund system. If the Positive (+) does, it is a Positive ground system.

Negative is in the front. Positive is in the back.

put the positive ( red ) cable to the positive (+) terminal on the battery and the negative (black) to the negative (-) on the battery and do the same with the other end of the jumper cables to the donner car/battery making sure you connect positve to positive first then negative to negative

Connect the positive red cable to the positive battery post. Now connect the black negative cable to a bare piece of metal on the engine or on the chassis. Do not let it get into the drive belt.

Before I even start here. I've got to tell you, you provide the best info / details / descriptions of any one I've tried to help on this site. I wish they all would get a clue from you. Thanks.

Back to the problem.You are closer to the solution than you think.

The fact that you can jump start it rules out everything except the Battery and the negative cable. Everything works when you bypass these.

Rule out the negative cable by re-jumping, only this time attach the negative jumper to the negative terminal of the battery.
If it starts, With the jump, It's the battery. No Doubt.

By all means, bring it back to where you purchased it (Autozone?). Have them check it. Tell them whats happening, they'll exchange it.

I've gotten two more people in the last week who had replaced the battery (Oh No, it can't be the battery), only to find the new one was bad. It happens.

When it turns out to be the battery (or cable), I expect a 'FixYa'. Fair?

Good luck, you'll be on the road tomorrow.
Mike