How to Jumpstart a 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Van 5.2L V8 Standard Passenger Van

Dodge Ram 1500 Van Model Years - 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003

1. Getting Started - Prepare for the repair

2. Open the Hood - How to pop the hood and prop it open

3. Access Battery - Learn where the battery is located

4. Jump Points - Locate the positive terminal and the ground

5. Jump Procedure - Correctly hook up the jumper cables and jump

6. After the Jump - Tips to follow after jumping the dead battery

7. Troubleshoot - If the jump didn't work, try these adjustments

8. More Info. - Additional thoughts on jumping a dead battery

Author

Hans Angermeier is an ASE certified Maintenance and Light Repair Technician and has produced over 100,000 videos showing drivers how to fix things on their cars. He has broad expertise on basic repair procedures covering the majority of cars on the road. Over the past 10 years, Hans has been focused on building CarCareKiosk, which is visited by millions of drivers each month.

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Video Description

This video shows you how to use jumper cables to jump start a dead battery in your 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 Van. If you get into your Ram 1500 Van, turn the key, and your car doesn't start (you may hear nothing or a clicking sound from the engine bay), you have a dead battery and need a jump-start. Check to see if you left your headlights or an interior light on and turn the switch off. Assuming that you have a pair of jumper cables, a pair of safety glasses and a friend to give you a jumpstart, the video above will show you where to connect the cables (and in what order!) for your Ram 1500 Van.

It is important to use the best jumper cables you can buy as they have thicker gauge (0, 2 or 4 gauge) wire and will impact how long to charge car battery with jumper cables (your Ram 1500 Van will charge faster with thicker cables). Cheap jumper cables have very thin wire such as 8 or 10 gauge), which increases how long it will take to charge the battery with jumper cables in your Ram 1500 Van. When you finish jumpstarting the dead battery car, which battery terminal to disconnect first is important. Be sure to disconnect the negative cable (black cable) from the ground on the dead car, then disconnect the negative cable from the ground on the donor battery, then disconnect the positive (red cable) from the donor battery and finally disconnect the positive cable from the dead car. Once you are finished reviving a dead car battery in your Ram 1500 Van, make sure you drive it for at least 5 minutes before turning it off so your battery isn't dead the next time.

So what's up with the safety glasses? There is a small possibility of a battery exploding during the charging process if you don't connect the cables properly (causing a spark) and there is a bunch of hydrogen gas around the battery (car batteries emit hydrogen gas when they discharge) - this is much more of an issue with cars that haven't been driven for a long time than if you drive your Ram 1500 Van regularly and simply forgot to turn your lights off.

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