Jump starting technique

[FunkyGibbon]

The wisdom of the bible and the halfwits jump leads I have just bought recommend the following connecting order...

donor positive to flat positive
donor negative to flat negative

with caution to avoid sparks when connecting to the flat negative so as not to fry the ECU etc. Now as the chim battery is not in the most accessbile of places I reckon it would be easier to...

flat pos to donor pos
flat neg to donor neg

end result is the same, but it will be easier to do as the "avoid sparks" bit will be in the nice open area of the Freeloader rather than the cramped chim.

would this work, or would connecting to the good battery negative last fry me as well as ECU!

TIA

[GreenV8S]

Your proposed technique is fine and is more or less equivalent to the original one, it doesn't make much odds which end of the lead you connect first. The key point is that by leaving the neg lead disconnected while you connect the positive, you avoid the danger of a big bang if you accidentally touch the positive lead to the chassis/body at either end. (Maybe not such a big issue on the TVR!)

[parrot of doom]

Better to attach the negative lead to a grounding point on the flat car, that way no sparks until you turn the ignition over.

[GreenV8S]

parrot of doom said:

Better to attach the negative lead to a grounding point on the flat car, that way no sparks until you turn the ignition over.

Nope, sorry you've lost me there.

[parrot of doom]

I was always taught to wire it thus:

1) +ve donor cable to +ve recipient battery
2) -ve donor cable to recipient chassis

The idea being that until the recipient vehicle has turned the ignition on, no current will flow. Connecting battery terminal to battery terminal can actually damage the recipient battery, and drain the donor battery very quickly.

Or something.

[Nuggs]

parrot of doom said:

I was always taught to wire it thus: 1) +ve donor cable to +ve recipient battery 2) -ve donor cable to recipient chassis The idea being that until the recipient vehicle has turned the ignition on, no current will flow. Connecting battery terminal to battery terminal can actually damage the recipient battery, and drain the donor battery very quickly. Or something.

I'm still lost

Your technique sounds fine to me FG - Like GreenV8S says, the important thing is to avoid le bang grande by leaving the -ive lead disconnected while attaching the +ive...

[GreenV8S]

I don't think the ignition makes any difference, you're connecting the two batteries directly together whether you do it via the -ve terminal post of via another earth point.

One thing to look out for, for some reason if you have anyone helping you, when you're disconnecting everything they end up with a +ve croc clip in one hand and a -ve one in the other, they will inevitably clip one onto the other before they hand them back to you. Twice, I've just spotted what they were about to do and managed to disconnect one of the other ends just in time to avoid 'le bang grande' as you so nicely put it. If you have a helper make sure you tell them exactly what to do blow by blow and make quite sure they won't do anything else.

[parrot of doom]

Oh well, I'm sure I read it in a Volvo manual. Perhaps I got the order wrong. Anyone got a Volvo?

[deeen]

Yes My name is Dean and I have a Volvo. I have come to this group because I recognise I cannot overcome this problem alone. Turning to my left, my name is Dean, and your name is... ?

[Nuggs]

deeen said:

Yes My name is Dean and I have a Volvo. I have come to this group because I recognise I cannot overcome this problem alone. Turning to my left, my name is Dean, and your name is... ?

[FunkyGibbon]

Thanks for the responses - I'll be giving it a go later.

Now, one last question before I blow myself up.

If you look at the battery in this way...



Is the positive terminal always on the right as depicted on this image?

I've had a look at my battery and can find no obvious marks so I just want to double check - as the loom cables currently connected to the battery have red on the left post and black on the right (which seems the wrong way round to a numpty like me).

[M@H]

FunkyGibbon said:

Is the positive terminal always on the right as depicted on this image?

Not in my experience... there will be some marks somewhere.

[FunkyGibbon]

M@H said:

FunkyGibbon said: Is the positive terminal always on the right as depicted on this image? Not in my experience... there will be some marks somewhere.

cheers! with the aid of a torch, mirror and some unpleasant contortions we identified the correct terminals.

And she started!

Thanks the the help.

FG