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3 things come to mind:
1) The last connection you make is the one that sparks. So, if that is the LAST connection you make, it is closer to the battery, and thus violates safety guidelines for jump starting. That said, I connect jumper cables to the top posts of batteries frequently and have no problems. I do this because you get an excellent connection between the cable clamp ends and the lead posts.
2) If you can get a better connection between the cable and the battery than to a ground post or chunk of metal on the engine, you can pull more current and get a stronger jump start.
3) If the battery cable connections on the car's wiring are corroded or otherwise sub-par, you will have to pass the current through that poor connection, reducing the strength of the jump start.
In this situation, if you only need to connect to the battery on one of the cars, just make sure the last connection is on the other car, away from it's battery, and the spark risk is mitigated.
Source(s):
Personal experience & engineering school.
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So I believe that it is ok to do and should not cause any problems, HOWEVER I've also been told that it should not be done on newer cars as it could mess with the electronics. My car is 8 years old and was fine, but I wouldn't advise it on new cars which have a lot of electronics in the engine.
Hopefully this was useful...
Source(s):
My past experience
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chipster
Answered Question
April 16, 2009 02:53 PM
What happens if you connect the black cable to the (-) battery of the dead battery instead of the grounding screw?
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Best Answer Decided by Votes
| April 19, 2009 05:58 PM |
1) The last connection you make is the one that sparks. So, if that is the LAST connection you make, it is closer to the battery, and thus violates safety guidelines for jump starting. That said, I connect jumper cables to the top posts of batteries frequently and have no problems. I do this because you get an excellent connection between the cable clamp ends and the lead posts.
2) If you can get a better connection between the cable and the battery than to a ground post or chunk of metal on the engine, you can pull more current and get a stronger jump start.
3) If the battery cable connections on the car's wiring are corroded or otherwise sub-par, you will have to pass the current through that poor connection, reducing the strength of the jump start.
In this situation, if you only need to connect to the battery on one of the cars, just make sure the last connection is on the other car, away from it's battery, and the spark risk is mitigated.
Source(s):
Personal experience & engineering school.
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Other Answers (1)
April 16, 2009 03:00 PM
Do NOT quote me on this :) but I had the same question when I tried to jump my car and found several sources that said not to connect the the black/negative connector to the negative terminal. However I could not get my car to start so I called someone out and the first thing they did was connect the cable to the negative terminal and my car started straight away. So I believe that it is ok to do and should not cause any problems, HOWEVER I've also been told that it should not be done on newer cars as it could mess with the electronics. My car is 8 years old and was fine, but I wouldn't advise it on new cars which have a lot of electronics in the engine.
Hopefully this was useful...
Source(s):
My past experience
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chipster
April 16, 2009 03:25 PM
Just found a web-site that says you should only connect to the negative on the dead car battery as a last resort. You minimize an explosion by using a shiny metal component on the dead car, such as a screw or an area on the engine block.
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April 19, 2009 04:45 AM
I've had a similar experience to roybott's. Both my car manual and the included instructions for my jumper cables say that you should only attach the second alligator clip on the receiving (dead) car to a ground of some sort.
On the other hand, it seems that practice is different than theory. I waited about 10 minutes for my car to charge up my friend's VW, to no avail. After moving the last alligator clip onto the negative terminal of her battery from the grounding screw, her car started up in minutes.
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On the other hand, it seems that practice is different than theory. I waited about 10 minutes for my car to charge up my friend's VW, to no avail. After moving the last alligator clip onto the negative terminal of her battery from the grounding screw, her car started up in minutes.
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