Abstract: An assembly of battery cables for use in coupling a live battery to a dead battery for engine-starting purposes. The assembly includes a circuit comprised of a solenoid which, when energized, closes a current path between two cables to thereby couple the batteries together. The solenoid is energized when a manual switch is closed and when the residual voltage of the dead battery provides a bias voltage for a circuit element in series relationship with the coil of the solenoid. In one form of the invention, the component receiving the bias voltage includes a silicon-controlled rectifier. In another embodiment of the invention, the component is comprised of a transistor, such as a Darlington transistor. The assembly includes a normally closed switch which is opened to interrupt the current flow through the coil of the solenoid when the cables are to be removed from the batteries after the engine associated with the dead battery has been started.