Don't try this at home

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Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Sweet JESUS! "Intelligent life on the web", yeah, just not at that URL.
Exactly! "Owing to its hazards, one should be careful while using this method to test the car battery." YOU THINK?!!!!! We will not even mention the potential danger of ruining various computers. If you don't have or can't afford even a 10.00 voltmeter you shouldn't be working on a car!
 
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Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
If you don't have or can't afford even a 10.00 voltmeter you shouldn't be working on a car!
$10 bux! Heck they are $2.99 @ harbor Freight and sometimes you can find a coupon for a free voltMeter. shrug Ya shorting a battery that is full of Hydrogen gas is stupid. Plus the sparks won't tell you how many CCA it has. Whoever wrote this article has no clue. I knew this when they said that a 12V Battery can shock you.So unless your broken down in the African Jungle I don't recomend doing anything in that link.
 
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Ok, so I take the one end and attach it to the red post and now swipe the other end on..... BLAMMO!!!!!!!
 
Shorting the Battery Take a conductive object and hold one end to one terminal, while you brush or swipe the other terminal with the other end. Make sure that it's a short lived, quick contact. As prolonged contact can give a high volt shock, which may even result in death. If you notice a spark while you brush or swipe the terminal, then it means that the battery is still charged. Owing to its hazards, one should be careful while using this method to test the car battery. If you're having trouble seeing the spark, fill a large can with gasoline and sit it next to the terminal. This will amplify the spark and create a better visual verification of the battery charge. John
 
If it were raining, you could die... if you took a charge in through wet skin and likewise were standing barefoot in water... seriously.
 
Either "Boom" from the spark and hydrogen, or your screwdriver will melt (weld) to the terminals. 500 + amps is nothing to mess with! They walk among us..... Dave
 
Wouldn't you have to drop a jumper into the puddle as well ? would help to add salt to the puddle with the jumper in it. I wouldn't consider that "method" much worse than reconnecting a new battery and forgetting that the headlights were on as you connected the terminals.
 
Used to work in a school project competition that has a guy wrenching a battery and short between the + and -. The whole wrench turned into a giant heater that almost exploded and melt on his hand. I'd not use shorting to test a 1.5V AA battery, let alone a 12V car battery.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
Wouldn't you have to drop a jumper into the puddle as well ? would help to add salt to the puddle with the jumper in it. I wouldn't consider that "method" much worse than reconnecting a new battery and forgetting that the headlights were on as you connected the terminals.
No, there is enough to kill you if your skin comes in contact with the charge. What we're talking about is current (not voltage) that flows into your body from some point and leaves your body at some other point. 200 milliamps through your heart can kill you. 200 milliamps is one-fifth of an amp. Car batteries have a lot more than that. The water decreases the resistivity of skin. Inside your body there is very little resistance. (Resistance is what would save you.) In this case, wet hands and feet would be the recipe for disaster. Also, any open wound would conduct electricity very well.
 
But touching a battery and standing in a puddle is not going to send a charge through you unless the puddle is hooked up to the other side.
 
Originally Posted By: TallPaul
Scroll down to the 4th paragraph titled, Shorting the Battery": Link I can see some guy trying this with a wrench!
Heck, I was there! I remember back in 1977 when I was a junior in high school..... I was in the teacher's office [censored]'ing with Mr. Weber about hit-n-miss pump engines and helping my friend rebuild the engine in his Ford AA truck, etc. Through the office window, I watched this hippie guy walk over to the tool board and grab a 1/2 breaker bar. BTW, we had Snap-On tools in shop. I watched this guy walk across the shop, disconnect a battery charger from a battery when he promptly used the breaker bar to short the terminals. BOOM! hide The explosion blew this guy back about 10 feet. Luckily, the dumb a$$ didn't get hurt. Mr. Weber then threw him out of the shop.
 
I know this guy smirk that didn't disconnect the negative battery cable first when he tried to remove his battery from the car. The positive post was next to the fender, and when he loosened the positive post the wrench hit the metal fender. There was a large BANG with sparks. After a few minutes when he could see again, there was a big hole in the fender and a chunk was blasted out of the side of the wrench.
 
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