Thread: Battery Smoke
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Unread 24-05-2007, 10:12
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Re: Battery Smoke

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rapt0r9 View Post
I worked at a gas station for about two years. During that time I have replaced many car batteries. The one thing that I remember my boss telling me is to always connect the positive line first. He said is was because the line would spark is the ground was connected first and sometimes fumes accumulate around the battery which will ignite. I have never tested this theory but it hasn't failed me yet.
As Al points out, if there's going to be a spark, whichever lead is connected last will do it. It sounds like your boss was telling you part of the proper procedure for connecting jumper cables. (The important point when jump-starting a car is that the final connection should be made to a spot on the frame of the vehicle rather than to the battery terminal itself, and it should also be the first connection removed after the car is started. That way the expected spark won't be near any gases produced by the battery.)