It is always important to know how to jump-start your vehicle. You never know when your battery might go dead and you'll find yourself dependent on the kindness of a stranger to get yourself back on the road. If you find yourself in that situation, it is best if you have the proper tools and the know-how to jump your car. This is especially important for a 2003 Saturn Ion, which uses jumping terminals instead of batteries for jump starting.
Locate a 12V power source with a negative ground; this includes most modern cars.
Park the other vehicle so that its front end is approximately 1 foot away from your vehicle's front end. Set the parking brake on both vehicles.
Turn off all of the accessories in both vehicles and unplug anything plugged into the power sockets. Turn the keys in both vehicles to the "Off" position.
Remove the red terminal cover on the remote terminal of your vehicle and connect one end of the red jumper cable to the terminal. The remote terminal should be in the upper-right quadrant of your engine compartment, just above the vehicle's fuse block and to the right of the brake fluid cylinder.
Connect the other end of the red jumper cable to the other vehicle's positive battery terminal or remote terminal.
Connect one end of the black jumper cable to the other vehicle's negative battery terminal or remote terminal. The end that you use should be the one closest to the red end that is already on the other vehicle.
Connect the other end of the black jumper cable directly to your vehicle's metal frame at least 18 inches away from the battery. The connection point should be somewhere inside the engine compartment to a heavy, unpainted metal part that is not near a moving component.
Start the other vehicle and allow it to run for a minute.
Press the "Unlock" button on your vehicle's remote control to disable the vehicle's alarm. Start your vehicle by turning the key.
Remove the black cable from your vehicle, then from the other vehicle. Then remove the red cable from the other vehicle, then from your vehicle.
