Where those cables (from the battery) connect is important because it will inform you as to what terminal is what.įor instance, if your alternator is visible, you should be able to trace the cable down-at some point, a smaller cable will split off from it-and see if it connects to the alternator. When you’re looking at your battery, you can trace the cables down from the posts and see where they go. Lastly, you can always follow the cables. Even in a battery that is all but dead, you’ll get some current, generally enough to tell the positive from the negative. The one with the higher current is the positive terminal and the lower number is negative.
You can also get ahold of a voltmeter and test each post. The larger post is going to be the positive one. You can visually ascertain if one post is bigger than the other. In this case, you’re left with two options. Sometimes, there’s simply no indication whatsoever of which one is positive and which one is negative. A bog red cable leading up to and connecting with a post on the battery is going to be the positive side. If it’s a red cover, you working with the positive post on the battery. Some vehicles come with their entire setup and battery connection including a cover. One dead giveaway for a positive or negative terminal is a red or black cover. However, that’s not always the case, and it’s also common-although utterly befuddling-to display the signs in the same color as the battery.įor some reason, particular battery manufacturers think it’s cute to emboss the (-) or (+) in the same exact color as the battery, which makes it incredibly difficult to see, especially in low light, at night, or early in the morning before the sun rises.
Look for a red cable running to one post and a black cable to the other.Look for (-) and (+) symbols next to the posts.With all of that being said, here are the indicators you need to look for in order to determine which terminal is which so you don’t fry your entire electrical system just trying to get to work in the morning: For others, a little investigation is necessary to find out for sure. Others will have red or black covers over each terminal, with red indicating positive and black indicating negative. Some batteries will have a (-) and (+) symbol adjacent to their respective terminals.
RED BLACK PLUS MINUS BATTERY HOW TO
How To Identify Positive And Negative Terminals Best case scenario, you’ll fry your radio like micro waved butter and that’ll be that for listening to tunes. Of course, it’s important to know exactly which side is which because you never want to hook up a pair of jumper cables to the wrong terminals when there is juice in the line. You might not be able to find the battery at all, since some vehicles place the battery underneath the passenger seat and the terminals are only reachable because they are extended-via cables-to an access point under the hood. The terminals can be on the long side of the battery or on the short side. In fact, if you’re used to seeing the terminals on top, that’s not always going to be the case either. Unfortunately, there isn’t a universal design strategy when it comes to car batteries.Ĭar battery terminals are not always on the same side. It’s aggravating to not know which side of your battery is which, especially if you need to jump the car and you’re late to work-or will be very soon.
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