Brian Cooley is CNET's Editor at large and has been with the brand since 1995. He currently focuses on electrification of vehicles but also follows the big trends in smart home, digital healthcare, 5G ...

If you've been driving long enough, this scenario might sound familiar: You get into your car, turn on the ignition, and then... nothing. Your battery is dead, and you're probably going to be late.

A couple of decades ago, having a dead battery usually meant pulling out jumper cables and hoping your friendly neighbor (if you didn't own a secondary car) would be kind enough to give you a jolt to ...

If you visit or call an automotive parts store or a professional car mechanic to inquire about getting the terminal ends of your car's battery cables replaced, they're going to ask a lot of questions ...