jumper cable

plural jumper cables

1. often pluralizedA pair of insulated electrical wires with alligator clips at each end (typically used to jump-start a car with a dead (flat) battery).

   He kept a jumper cable in an emergency box in the car, as he had once been caught with a dead battery.

   Synonyms: booster cable, starter cable, jump lead

2. rail transportAn electrical cable providing a connection between rail or road vehicles.

   When in multiple the control between the locomotives is through jumper cables, and air and vacuum hoses.

   1958 April 28, “British Railways First Main-Line Diesel-Hydraulic Locomotive”, in Railway Magazine, pages 267, 277

   1 more example

   Complete absence of multiple-unit jumper cables (this class is not fitted for working in multiple) lends a neatness to this area not usually possible on British diesels.

   1962 March, Brian Haresnape, “Design in 1961—a Retrospect”, in Modern Railways, page 195

3. PhilippinesA jump wire.