rlme36

I'd prefer the new agm units that are out there. I believe with the flat panel vs the spiral. No out gassing

Dr. No

Then my ignorant mistake. I saw the positive terminal had two wires coming off of it and assumed that one was a ground wire.

Dr. No

Thanks, I assumed the terminal with the extra wire running off of it was the ground wire, have just demonstrated that "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and that when you assume you can make an *** out of yourself.

And it is the mtp-48. A tiny bit bigger and higher capacity but others reported success with them in my search on this board.

NC TRACKRAT

....and, please...Everyone: Before working on a battery, if you want to keep all your fingers, take your ring/s off!

IXLR8

They can gas as well.

Mike J

I know about this - got a nice deep scar that runs totally around my pinky - Engineers in Canada wear a steel ring, and I got it between the -Ve and +Ve poles of a battery by mistake, almost severed my finger, and it took 8 weeks to be healed enough to get it wet. Doctor told me if was really close to being amputated. Really painful, so yes, do not wear any rings when working on cars, and I even take my watch off now.

One the +ve side, I now have a permanent engineers ring (in scar tissue!)

Cheers,

Mike

Dr. No

Yikes - wish I'd seen that. How does that happen? I put on a pair of latex gloves but had my gold wedding ring on under that.

Also, since I now know the second wire connected to the positive terminal is not the ground, what is it?

NC TRACKRAT

Wearing latex gloves is like wearing a condom...good protection but not foolproof. The problem with wearing a ring or jewelry around electrical apparatus is that, if you get it between the + and a ground, you get all the "juice" through that metal, hence burning flesh and the possibility of actually burning your finger off.
I believe the smaller wire coming off the + battery terminal is the feed to the fuse/distribution panel. The larger cable goes to the starter.

Mike J

Short story:
Was using a 13mm wrench to tighten down the positive, and it slipped, my hand holding the wrench dropped, and the ring came in contact with the -Ve terminal, and we had a connection though the ring to the wrench as I gripped it to the other end of the ring which was contacted to the +Ve.

Long story:
Lead acid batteries are good for very short high amp discharges, so the ring immediately went RED/White - it looked like THE Ring in Lord of the Rings. I dropped the wrench, and ran out to the house to do a cold water rinse, yelling curse words all the way - oh it was around midnight, and my kids locked the house up! Ok, fumbled with the keys, got in, and run cold water on it - my wife woke up from all the cursing, and came down.

Ok, big problem - the ring has not been off my finger since I graduated as an EE in '83, and now it had burned its way into my skin. I figured by the time I got to the hospital, the finger would have swollen and I would likely lose the finger, so I had to get it off. I tried to twist if off, and weirdly first tried to see if my finger was still attached strong enough so I would not twist if off as well. It was good, so I twisted, no go, so we poured soap on it and twisted - and pop the ring came off - and now I had an open deep burn wound all the way around my finger, soap everywhere, and it hurts like hell ....

So I did what any other Porsche fiend would do - did I mention that I was preparing for a show the next day? - I wrapped it all up, went down to the shop, and continues to install the battery. Go it finished!!

I went to the clinic next day, it was pretty messy. Bad burns, a bit of bone exposed, limited circulation in the finger. However, they did some cleanup (ouch!), and with silver cremes and other bandages (including ones that were not supposed to bind to the wounds but were actually soaked in super-glue and every removal causes you to start all over), wrappings I made it though the summer and by fall it was back to normal. Lost a whole swimming season, and no sympathy from the wife, since I was working on the "Porsche", not the house...

Is nicely healed now, but with a nice ring of scar tissue that looks like a ring. Now when I meet other engineers, i can say that I have a "real" engineers ring. Picture is crappy, you can see the raised edge of the ring burn...it healed really clean and it goes all the way around.


Cheers,

Mike

Dr. No

wow. wow. Guess that's why you became an engineer and not an MD. This story rates both a and a

NC TRACKRAT

Tip from an old, retired jeweler (me): If you need to get a ring off your finger, either due to an accident, swelling or just too tight, place your hand in or under cold water to reduce swelling, then spray on WINDEX. Ring should slide right off. If not, you'll need to go to a jeweler with special ring-cutting pliers. If you go to an emergency room, they will probably ruin the ring.

Mike J

Thanks - I did the cold water trick - and no windex to be had - so used soap. It worked!

Slow Guy

Windex, would not a thunk it. The things I learn on this forum....

il pirata

I thought everybody knew...

Marc Shaw

Given a choice between my ring or my finger, I'll pick my finger everyday.