general jump starting question

T

Todd H.

Had to jumpstart someone's vehicle tonight. Now, I've long been told
to hook up in order of + healthy, + disabled, - healthy, then
-disabled...and that you never wanna go to the ground terminal on the
battery of the disabled vehicle bcause of potential hydrogen gas given
off in the charging of a lead acid battery, and that could be rather
hazardous when that inevitable spark comes from making tha tlast
connection--that it's best to find another grounding point away from
the battery.

Well, tonight, none of the other darned grounding points (2 hooks i
found on the engine, and a bracket of the alternator) on teh disabled
vehicle seemed to ground worth a shit.

The disabled vehicle was pretty old (something like a Toyota Corolla
maybe?) and beat up and the metal on these things was not the cleanest
stuff you'd ever seen, but event with wiggling the contacts around and
clamping harder i didn't seem to make much traction.... Finally the
dude who owned the disabled car hooked up the - directly to the -
terminal and things started working of course, and no one blew up.

So, what do y'all think was the deal? Are engine hooks not tied to
engine ground these days? Or was i lacking a wire brush to clean them
up? And what aobut the alternator bracket? Or is there something
else that was going on?

Best Regards,
 
Todd H. wrote: (clip) So, what do y'all think was the deal? (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think it is terribly important in what order you hook up the
cables, as long as you make the final connection at some point away
from the batteries. Not being able to get a good ground on the other
car, my next move would have been to hook the ground cable to his
battery, and then the final connection to a good ground on your car
away from the battery. His car must have been really corroded. 99
times out of a hundred nothing bad will happen even if you do it wrong,
but I have also seen the results of a battery explosion. YOU DO NOT
WANT A SULFURIC ACID SHOWER.

On a related point, this is something that is good to remember. When
installing or removing a battery, always unhook the ground first, and
connect it last. Reason: if your tool touches groundwhile you're
doing it, you will not get an arc.
 
He's right.
You hook the positives up first mainly to prevent arcing the ends of the
cables while trying to manage them.
And the final ground connection to what ever vehicle has the most convenient
ground that is a reasonable distance from the battery.
I carry a portable battery, it seems to hold a charge forever. I bring it in
every few months to plug in in. Originally bought it while trying
troubleshooting another ride, had a problem that was draining the battery
and got tired of asking for jumps. Has come in handy on several occasion
since getting rid of that car. And you can pick them up for under 40 bucks.
Good thing to have if you are like me, always trying to be prepared.
 
lmnop wrote: (clip) I carry a portable battery,(clip)And you can pick
them up for under 40 bucks. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I paid just a little under $60 for mine at Costco--it has a built-in
air compressor as well. Like you, I have found it to be very handy,
especially since the compressor runs off the built-in battery. If you
buy one of those cheap Harbor Freight impact lug wrenches ($20), you
are ready for anything.
 
Had to jumpstart someone's vehicle tonight. Now, I've long been told
to hook up in order of + healthy, + disabled, - healthy, then
-disabled...and that you never wanna go to the ground terminal on the
battery of the disabled vehicle bcause of potential hydrogen gas given
off in the charging of a lead acid battery, and that could be rather
hazardous when that inevitable spark comes from making tha tlast
connection--that it's best to find another grounding point away from
the battery.

Well, tonight, none of the other darned grounding points (2 hooks i
found on the engine, and a bracket of the alternator) on teh disabled
vehicle seemed to ground worth a shit.

The disabled vehicle was pretty old (something like a Toyota Corolla
maybe?) and beat up and the metal on these things was not the cleanest
stuff you'd ever seen, but event with wiggling the contacts around and
clamping harder i didn't seem to make much traction.... Finally the
dude who owned the disabled car hooked up the - directly to the -
terminal and things started working of course, and no one blew up.

So, what do y'all think was the deal? Are engine hooks not tied to
engine ground these days? Or was i lacking a wire brush to clean them
up? And what aobut the alternator bracket? Or is there something
else that was going on?

Best Regards,

Todd, your negative connection probably just wasn't getting a good bite though paint, rust, etc.

I always use the posts for both connections for reason of a better bite. If there's the slightest
breeze, then combustible gasses aren't a problem. Otherwise just fan your hand as you remove the
clamp. -Danny
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
13,889
Messages
67,365
Members
7,364
Latest member
Cimarron49

Latest Threads

Back
Top