2006 Saab 9-5 Owner's Manual - Page 189

Starting and driving NOTICE If you leave your radio on, it could be badly damaged. The repairs would not be covered by your warranty. 4 Open the hood and locate the battery. Find the positive (+) and negative (-) terminals on the battery. 189 WARNING Using a match or flame of any kind near a battery can cause battery gas to explode. You can suffer burns or be blinded. Use a flashlight if you need more light. Be sure the battery has enough water. The battery installed in your new Saab has filler caps. Be sure the right amount of water is there. Add distilled or boiled water if the level is too low. If you don't, explosive gas could be present. Be sure the electrolyte in the battery is not frozen. Discharged batteries will freeze. When connecting jumper cables to a frozen battery, gas from the chemical reaction inside the battery can build up under the ice and cause an explosion. Battery fluid contains acid that can burn you. Do not get it on you. If you accidentally get it in your eyes or on your skin, flush the area with water and get medical help immediately. WARNING An electric fan can start up even when the engine is not running and can injure you. Keep hands, clothing and tools away from any underhood electric fan. 5 Check that the jumper cables do not have loose or missing insulation. If they do, you could get a shock and also the vehicles could be damaged. Before you connect the cables, here are some basic things you should know. Positive (+) will go to positive (+) and negative (-) will go to a major metal engine part with a good ground. Do not connect (+) to (-) or you will get a short that could injure you or would damage the battery and maybe other parts as well. 6 Connect the red positive (+) cable to the positive (+) terminal of the vehicle with the discharged battery. 7 Do not let the other end touch metal. Connect it to the positive (+) terminal of the good battery. Use a remote positive (+) terminal if the vehicle has one. 8 Now connect the black negative (-) cable to the good battery's negative terminal.