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#1
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Jumping a Car Battery
Just want to confirm the procedure to jump a battery - connect the 2
positives (red), then the negatives (black). Then disconnect starting with the black? For some reason, I had it in my mind that you connect the black first to prevent an "open ground", but I guess I am wrong. Appreciate any help. |
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#2
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In article >, Buck Turgidson wrote:
>Just want to confirm the procedure to jump a battery - connect the 2 >positives (red), then the negatives (black). Then disconnect starting with >the black? Yes. The idea is to prevent accidental short circuits. Remember that both the body and engine are connected to the (-) pole of the battery. Not only can you make a short circuit by shorting the battery terminals, but also by attaching a lead to a (+) terminal and the other end to any metal part. By first connecting the (+) lead you are then left with (-) lead that you can, e.g., accidentally drop on metal, and not create a short circuit. -- /"\ Jan Kalin (male, preferred languages: Slovene, English) \ / http://charm.zag.si/eng/, email: "name dot surname AT zag dot si" X ASCII ribbon campaign against HTML in mail and postings. / \ I'm a .signature virus. Copy me to help me spread. |
#3
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The method as I memorized it is "postive-to-postive, negative-to-ground". Then start the engine of the car with the good battery before starting the car with the bad battery. "Buck Turgidson" ) writes: > Just want to confirm the procedure to jump a battery - connect the 2 > positives (red), then the negatives (black). Then disconnect starting with > the black? > > For some reason, I had it in my mind that you connect the black first to > prevent an "open ground", but I guess I am wrong. > > Appreciate any help. > > -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network homepage: www.ncf.ca/~ag384/top.htm warning: non-FreeNet email must have "notspam" in subject or it's returned |
#4
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William R. Watt wrote: > The method as I memorized it is "postive-to-postive, negative-to-ground". > Then start the engine of the car with the good battery before starting the > car with the bad battery. Specifically, the order I recall is dead battery positive to good battery positive. Then good battery negative to ground AWAY from the battery; ground is any metal part at least 8 inches from the dead battery. The idea is that a spark when the circuit is completed could potentially ignite any flammable gasses coming from the battery. |
#5
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>
> Specifically, the order I recall is dead battery positive to good > battery positive. Then good battery negative to ground AWAY from > the battery; ground is any metal part at least 8 inches from the > dead battery. The idea is that a spark when the circuit is > completed could potentially ignite any flammable gasses coming > from the battery. Thanks. I used to do this a lot in my younger days, but as I get older, the more cautious I become. I am also becoming afraid of my power tools - a sign of old age. |
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On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 16:26:31 GMT, y_p_w > wrote:
>Specifically, the order I recall is dead battery positive to good >battery positive. Then good battery negative to ground AWAY from >the battery; ground is any metal part at least 8 inches from the >dead battery. The idea is that a spark when the circuit is >completed could potentially ignite any flammable gasses coming >from the battery. I've seen this (battery blowing up) happen twice. Both times it was Winter and the battery had frozen because of a charging problem. A third time I saw a battery blow it's cell covers off (they weren't really installed, just laying on the battery) because of an inadvertant spark while the battery was being heavily charged. In the case of the first frozen battery, no spark occured near the battery, all connections had been made and the owner was attempting to start the car. The battery just blew apart. It was morning after the guy had driven up to the ski resort where I was working and it had gotten really cold that night. His battery just managed to get him into the dooryard. He parked it overnight, intending to deal with the dead battery the next morning... instead it dealt with him. The second frozen battery was being charged after the car had been towed to the shop because the battery was dead. The mechanic working on it was leaning into the engine compartment when the battery exploded like a grenade. He was only nicked on his forehead. He was very very lucky guy because pieces of the battery scattered across the entire 8 bay shop. I've had bad luck trying to make a good ground connection on the dead car away from the battery and getting a good enough connection to make things happen. There always seems to be too much resistance to get the engine spinning fast enough to run. Switching the negative clamp directly to the battery's negative post usually does the trick, but due to my experences with exploding batteries, I'm always either REALLY shielding my face when I do this, or removing the battery cell caps (if it has them) to prevent an explosion in a closed container. On the other hand this virtually guarantees that there will be explosive gas floating around unless you drape a cloth across the battery. Working around charging batteries still makes me nervous, 22 years after I stopped being an auto mechanic. Corky Scott |
#7
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#8
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Oh great. Something to worry about. Maybe I'll just dig out my Roadside
assistance card and sit around and wait for them. "Corky Scott" > wrote in message news > On Fri, 28 Jan 2005 16:26:31 GMT, y_p_w > wrote: > > >Specifically, the order I recall is dead battery positive to good > >battery positive. Then good battery negative to ground AWAY from > >the battery; ground is any metal part at least 8 inches from the > >dead battery. The idea is that a spark when the circuit is > >completed could potentially ignite any flammable gasses coming > >from the battery. > > I've seen this (battery blowing up) happen twice. Both times it was > Winter and the battery had frozen because of a charging problem. A > third time I saw a battery blow it's cell covers off (they weren't > really installed, just laying on the battery) because of an > inadvertant spark while the battery was being heavily charged. > > In the case of the first frozen battery, no spark occured near the > battery, all connections had been made and the owner was attempting to > start the car. The battery just blew apart. It was morning after the > guy had driven up to the ski resort where I was working and it had > gotten really cold that night. His battery just managed to get him > into the dooryard. He parked it overnight, intending to deal with the > dead battery the next morning... instead it dealt with him. > > The second frozen battery was being charged after the car had been > towed to the shop because the battery was dead. The mechanic working > on it was leaning into the engine compartment when the battery > exploded like a grenade. He was only nicked on his forehead. He was > very very lucky guy because pieces of the battery scattered across the > entire 8 bay shop. > > I've had bad luck trying to make a good ground connection on the dead > car away from the battery and getting a good enough connection to make > things happen. There always seems to be too much resistance to get > the engine spinning fast enough to run. > > Switching the negative clamp directly to the battery's negative post > usually does the trick, but due to my experences with exploding > batteries, I'm always either REALLY shielding my face when I do this, > or removing the battery cell caps (if it has them) to prevent an > explosion in a closed container. On the other hand this virtually > guarantees that there will be explosive gas floating around unless you > drape a cloth across the battery. Working around charging batteries > still makes me nervous, 22 years after I stopped being an auto > mechanic. > > Corky Scott > |
#9
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Buck Turgidson wrote:
> Thanks. I used to do this a lot in my younger days, but as I get older, the > more cautious I become. I am also becoming afraid of my power tools - a > sign of old age. And depletion of vital bodily fluids. (sorry, couldn't resist after seeing your E-name). |
#10
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Corky Scott wrote:
> I've had bad luck trying to make a good ground connection on the dead > car away from the battery and getting a good enough connection to make > things happen. There always seems to be too much resistance to get > the engine spinning fast enough to run. There are two keys to making it work: 1) GOOD jumper cables (not Pep Boys junk) 2) Connecting to the engine block (or cylinder head, or an accessory that is rigidly bolted to the block such as an A/C compressor). NOT trying to clamp to body sheet-metal. It also helps to hook the cables up, start the "donor" car, and just wait 5 minutes for the donor car's alternator to put at least a minimal charge into the dead battery. The added benefit is that you can stand back while that's going on in case the dead battery is frozen and you hadn't realized it. |
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