UUGGHHH!!!!! Doesn`t anyone know how two jumpstart a car anymore!?!?!?

[UKcuda]

You don't have to use a ground to the body....Red to positive on both batteries and black to negative on both batteries....Been doing this crappy job for 40 years and yet some of you really think it has to be grounded to the body ? Good grief.

I thought he was just meaning that you can do it like that, not that you have to do it like that.

[Barracudadan]

You don't have to use a ground to the body....Red to positive on both batteries and black to negative on both batteries....Been doing this crappy job for 40 years and yet some of you really think it has to be grounded to the body ? Good grief.

I know that this isn`t rocket science but I wasn`t there and for some reason don`t ask me why they could not find the ground post!!!

[heminut]

You don't have to use a ground to the body....Red to positive on both batteries and black to negative on both batteries....Been doing this crappy job for 40 years and yet some of you really think it has to be grounded to the body ? Good grief.

The reason for grounding to some place other than the neg. battery terminal is because on a lot of the newer cars the batteries are either inaccessible or almost inaccessible without removing other stuff like air ducts or overflow tanks. It seems you haven't had your head under the hoods of very many newer cars  ? Good grief!

[acudanut]

  No hate here...You might check your own mirror though.

[acudanut]

Just another typical post for someone who seems to come here to spread his own brand of hate and discontent.

.  Yea, right. see above

[Super Blue 72]

The reason for grounding to some place other than the neg. battery terminal is because on a lot of the newer cars the batteries are either inaccessible or almost inaccessible without removing other stuff like air ducts or overflow tanks. It seems you haven't had your head under the hoods of very many newer cars  ? Good grief!

Ah....anyways, back on topic.  We're all friends here, right guys? 

In the old days at auto mechanic school, we were taught to use the chassis ground because when jumping a dead battery, "recharging" it through a jump will cause gases to form on the old batteries and when you disconnect the jumper at the battery (the one just been jumped) an arc may occur that may set the battery to explode.    

[dodj]

Ah....anyways, back on topic.  We're all friends here, right guys? 

In the old days at auto mechanic school, we were taught to use the chassis ground because when jumping a dead battery, "recharging" it through a jump will cause gases to form on the old batteries and when you disconnect the jumper at the battery (the one just been jumped) an arc may occur that may set the battery to explode.    

Thats what I remember from waaay back. I wonder though.... did it ever happen?
Maybe send it in as a job for MythBusters

[Super Blue 72]

Thats what I remember from waaay back. I wonder though.... did it ever happen?
Maybe send it in as a job for MythBusters

After the teacher said that he would follow up by bringing out a blown up battery at which all the students would go "oooo and ahh" like a good fireworks show.  Probably blew up on the teacher when he was jump starting a car!   

Here's a weird read:

http://answers.edmunds.com/question-What-caused-my-battery-to-blow-up-33808.aspx

What caused my battery to blow up?my friend needed a boost but we had no booster cables,so he took my battery out of my car and tried to touch the positive to positive,my battery was a bit bigger than his so to make a full connection he held my battery upside down with the two positive post touching each other and to get the ground to touch he used a tire iron to touch off on the ground post and the engine,while another person was in the car holding the key on until it got a good connection to start,and it did,spark show galore,here's how it went,his battery in car my battery upside down touching positive post to positive post,negative post to tire iron on both batteries then tire iron to ground,it works,i put my battery back in my car and dim interior lights and my battery seemed dead,I'm thinking it reversed polarity,we turned on the headlights to see if there was juice,after about the third time of putting my terminals on my battery BOOMM IN THE FACE,we were OK after a splash down from the fire dept,but what caused it?is the real question,reverse polarity from being upside down?hm,never again,

[Aussie Challenger]

The small amount of gas discharge when jumping is not enough to cause an explosion when cables are disconnected. Batteries can explode after using a battery charger if you don't first turn off the charger when disconnecting the leads, it is a rare occurrence but better to be safe than sorry.

[Roppa440]

You usually need a major short circuit will cause a battery to blow up.

When my Dad was still working he was once supervising some unemployed "young people" that had been sent to learn some basic mechanical skills in the hope it would give them a chance to find employment.

One day one of them decided to put a spanner across the terminals on a battery "to see what would happen".

It exploded and covered the lad in acid. My Dad dragged him over to a hose reel and washed him down. He was OK (except for the shock - somehow he didn't get any acid in his eyes) but his sweater fell to bits around him.

I once slipped with a spanner and jammed my wedding ring between it and the batt terminal on the starter motor. The battery didn't explode but my wedding ring got hot enough to give me a scar on my finger. There is a LOT of energy stored in a car battery. It hurts when it comes out too fast.

[heminut]

Batteries can explode after using a battery charger if you don't first turn off the charger when disconnecting the leads, it is a rare occurrence but better to be safe than sorry.

I have seen that happen twice, and EXPLOSION is exactly what happens! ALWAYS turn the charger off before disconnecting it from the battery!

[burdar]

The reason for grounding to some place other than the neg. battery terminal is because on a lot of the newer cars the batteries are either inaccessible or almost inaccessible without removing other stuff like air ducts or overflow tanks. It seems you haven't had your head under the hoods of very many newer cars  ? Good grief!

This is the best post on this entire thread.  There are specific places on newer vehicles to connect the +/-  cables.  Every car is different and it takes some time to find those spots.  Connecting the cables to other than recommended areas can fry the cars computer. 

There are plenty of very intelligent people who are "car stupid".  A guy I went to high school with skipped a grade, was in all of the gifted classes and appeared on the game show Jeopardy.  He knew absolutly nothing about cars.  I accually felt smart whenever he came into the shop.

It has nothing to do with todays youth.  There have always been...and always will be, "car stupid" people out there.   

[usraptr]

Thats what I remember from waaay back. I wonder though.... did it ever happen?
Maybe send it in as a job for MythBusters

Yes, it happened to my neighbor.  Sounded like a shotgun going off.  The battery was in a thousand small pieces. 

[72rtchallenger]

Ah....anyways, back on topic.  We're all friends here, right guys? 

In the old days at auto mechanic school, we were taught to use the chassis ground because when jumping a dead battery, "recharging" it through a jump will cause gases to form on the old batteries and when you disconnect the jumper at the battery (the one just been jumped) an arc may occur that may set the battery to explode.    

  absolutely right

This is the best post on this entire thread.  There are specific places on newer vehicles to connect the +/-  cables.  Every car is different and it takes some time to find those spots.  Connecting the cables to other than recommended areas can fry the cars computer. 

There are plenty of very intelligent people who are "car stupid".  A guy I went to high school with skipped a grade, was in all of the gifted classes and appeared on the game show Jeopardy.  He knew absolutly nothing about cars.  I accually felt smart whenever he came into the shop.

It has nothing to do with todays youth.  There have always been...and always will be, "car stupid" people out there.   

  also correct ,unless you show them and most people do not these days,,I  have 3 grown kids ,,my son is a mechanic and my 2 daughters know how to jump a car and change there oil if necessary,,of course they grew up with a 340 tore down in the kitchen until I  could afford to  rebuild it correctly ,,since I  didn't have a garage then it had to stay dry somewhere     

I also saw a battery explode on this guy,,while trying to hook up jumper cables,,and he had them hooked correctly,,but the battery had a dead cell and must have had some gases,,he arced the ground connecting it and boom ,,acid in the eyes ouch,,and a trip to the emergency room 

[Super Blue 72]

One day one of them decided to put a spanner across the terminals on a battery "to see what would happen".

I once slipped with a spanner and jammed my wedding ring between it and the batt terminal on the starter motor. The battery didn't explode but my wedding ring got hot enough to give me a scar on my finger. There is a LOT of energy stored in a car battery. It hurts when it comes out too fast.

Wow, this is the second time I heard the wedding ring story.  Scarred the other guy too.

When I was a teen working in ADAP, now known as Auto Palace, when we got bored we used to put exhaust hangers across the terminals of almost dead batteries that got traded in and watch them glow bright red. 

We also used to put on hard hards (for when you go in to the hanging exhaust system jungle.  If yoou worked there, you know what I'm talking about.  Watch for falling exhaust pipes!!!) and have exhaust system sword battles....   

FYI-For us stateside, a spanner is a wrench.  I had an English gentleman in my auto mechanics class.