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It is important to make the last connection onto the chasis or engine block to get the potential spark away from the battery. There is also slightly less voltage drop if the donor vehicle has the negative connected to the battery and the slave vehicle has the negative connected to the chasis. This assumes negative earth vehicles.
Aaron
Read post #4 by 67hardtop to see why you may have been lucky.Quote:
Originally Posted by EastFreo
No-one is suggesting that a battery will explode every time you connect to the terminal. However given how serious a battery explosion can be, it is worth reducing the chances of it happening by making the last connection well away from the battery.
Learnt that one the hard way, playing with some old bomb after school. Undoing a battery terminal, had my left arm resting on the RSP or something. I touched the spanner against my watch bracelet and just about ring barked my arm. If I hadn't managed to jerk my arm away I would have been seriously burned. I had to break the watch band, as all the links were welded together.Quote:
Originally Posted by JDNSW
This was my first lesson in car batteries, and also my first in never wearing watches or jewellery when working on or near machines.
My 1963 MGB did. Morris 100s, LandCrabs, most British cars of the era.Quote:
Originally Posted by cuppabillytea
There was a serious school of thought that +ve earth, the yanks say ground, helped prevent rust. Anode v cathode thing apparently. Dunno myself, but I haven't seen a lot of rusty 1100s.
I think the change to -ve came with alternators, but I'm happy to be corrected.
No, batteries explode when they are making gas. Thing is, you never know when that is. But, when charging or recently been charging, when under load or recently etc., when faulty, at high temperatures, the list goes on.Quote:
Originally Posted by vnx205
At 2 Base Workshops Vehicle Shop we had a seperate battery room. This was enclosed with Cyclone mesh for ventilation. All battery charging, no exception, happened in there. We used to laugh at the bloke whose job it was to work in there because of the PPE required. That is, until an explosion took out around eight batteries. He is lucky to be alive. If he didn't have the mask on he would undoubtedly be blind. He was saved from serious acid burns by the quick thinking of one of the Sergeants and the close proximity of a shower, put there for that specific purpose. Sulphuric acid was thrown about 30 metres and the battery room partially demolished.
Lead acid batteries have come a long way since then, but the electro/chemical reaction is the same.
Oh, and sulphuric acid is also highly corrosive.... Of course.
But don't worry. They are no more dangerous than the gas bottle you carry around to cook with....... That's why removalists refuse to carry them; same as gas bottles.
See my post back on the 6th for why positive earth was used. As to why this changed, it was more generally semiconductors coming into general use than alternators, although alternators are one of aspects of these coming in. Specifically, it was simpler to make radios and other solid state devices with the negative side of the power supply grounded.Quote:
Originally Posted by johntins
John
With regard to Anderson plugs, I have dual batteries and each has an Anderson plug mounted behind the drivers door on the tray (defender ute). I have two jumper leads, one with Anderson plugs on each end and the other just on one end and alligator connectors on the other. Therefore I can jump start myself or anything else without going near the battery box. Works very well.
Cheers
Simon
Sent from my iPhone using AULRO mobile app
Yes this..Quote:
Originally Posted by JDNSW
not necessarily this. I had this argument at ALTC with and instructor who wanted to hear me say that the negative terminal was the earth terminal.Quote:
Originally Posted by drivesafe
one quick walk down to the FFT trailer open up the battery box put the 12 inch shifter on the clamp nut of the -24v terminal on the batteries and then left it hanging and asked them to just twist it in the direction of undo until it touched the frame.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blknight.aus
Don't leave us hanging - did he do it?
John
So could have been my Austin 1800 Mk1 or my Rover 2000 SC or both. Thanks.Quote:
Originally Posted by johntins