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.

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.

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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.
>
>


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William R Watt National Capital FreeNet Ottawa's free community network
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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.

>
> 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.

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

In article >, says...
>
>
>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.

It is recommended that you not connect the black to the battery terminal
of the dead battery. Instead, connect it to a solid grounding point on
the engine/chasis.
-------------
Alex

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
...
> 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
>

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).

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.