corpuszero

People have told me when jumpstarting a battery, you have to clamp the negative cable to a metal grounding spot on the dead car. Why is this? I've seen people just connect + to + and - to -.

Thanks.

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mgcshroomz

ummm.. i've always seen, and done it by hooking the battery straight to the other battery..

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Artifex

The theory is that most automotive batteries are vented, which means gasses can escape the battery. I suppose the thinking was that you don't want sparks to jump out and ignite any battery gasses.

It's very stupid actually, since this won't happen in practice; it's basically an urban legend. The real reason is that there is no place for the gasses to accumulate - there are lots of cracks in the bodywork for this stuff to go. Not only that, but if you have an aftermarket battery, chances are it's a gel-type and is sealed.

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Ken

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Solid

Yeah the idea is that the batteries will explode with it completing the circuit. Ken is right I have never seen or heard of this happening.

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