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Which battery terminal do you connect first?

I need to clean the terminals on my car’s battery because they’re a little corroded. I can’t remember the order to disconnect and connect the battery terminals. Which battery terminal do you connect first?

avatar
Payton Ternus · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
It’s great to hear you’re cleaning your battery—a lot of people don’t know they need to!
When it comes to
car insurance
 and car batteries, everything needs to be squared away to work correctly. For your safety and to ensure your car isn’t damaged, you’ll need to know how to properly disconnect and reconnect the cables to the battery terminals.
When you need to disconnect the battery terminals, start with the negative cable and then the positive cable. However, you’ll do the reverse when you reconnect the cables to the battery—connect positive, then negative. This order will keep you safe and prevent damage from occurring to the battery.
After you’ve taken care of your car’s battery, see if you can save on your car insurance with
Jerry
. All you have to do is download the app, enter your information, and let Jerry take it from there—you’ll get affordable quotes in less than a minute, the paperwork is taken care of, and Jerry can even help cancel your old policy!
MORE: Battery range for electric vehicles could surpass 600 miles, thanks to this automaker
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