Underrated video. Been working on cars for 3 years and always kind of been worried about touching the battery. More mainly about the sparks when connecting terminals. Its good to know ill just feel a little buzz and nothing more
I felt a "tingle" just watching this. Thanks for the info! You should do a separate video on jumping a car battery because it would get a ton of views if you explained everything so well like in this video.
Thank you for this! I was questioning disconnecting the battery because of fear of getting shocked. I am going to do this today to clean the corrosion!😊
I had a battery throw sparks at me from a stupid decision. I was trying to disconnect the negative and my wrench came close to the positive. Even then you won’t get fried. You might feel a short tingle but that’s it. I’m not sure if your fuses are shot but I would check to see if it did if you ever make the mistake I did.
People say respect stuff but if you don't know what to respect because you don't know how it works it's hard to give something respect. Thank you for explaining that
If you’ve never washed your engine bay, just look at a couple of videos on how others do it to build your confidence. I have a couple videos on my channel as well, but there’s lots of examples out there. Have fun!
@@YourHomeGarage thanks man, did it yesterday, now I need money to treat the plastic in it bc it’s ugly and grayish, also some degreaser, soapy water didn’t cut it lol
Look up a product called SC1 “new bike in a can”. A friend of mine in the motorcycle community turned me on to it and it’s fantastic for reconditioning plastic that has faded. I conditioned the faded plastic on my Vette almost 3years ago and it’s still holding up. I paid about $8.00 a can, but I bet it’s gone up over the years. There are a few videos that you can find on UA-cam for its application.
Thank you for this! Though I know 12V in any other scenario can't shock you, I always thought for some reason that the sheer amount of amps of a car battery could harm you if you did touch both terminals. So I was always quite skittish with the terminals. But now I know not to be! And I appreciate you explaining about removing the negative terminal first, now I actually know WHY to do that which helps me remember! Now I know better how to handle one :)
Can you do an explainer video on ground? I can never understand it! When I'm working on a car, I just stay away from the battery. I'm tinkering with a car that's positive-> earth as many classics are. Your video is so helpful
You have explained the affects on human body. If the wrench mistakenly touches the positive terminal, being too long, what would happen to the car's electrical components or so?
Great video. • Is sparking normal when attaching the negative clamp from a ‘car battery charger’ to negative terminal even when charger was NOT plugged into any power supply? • Should I expect sparks if using a metal wrench to remove the nut from a negative battery terminal Yes or No is ok !! Thanks from Down under 🇦🇺.
In today’s newer vehicles it’s common for a car battery spark to occur when connecting. All the various electric components just come alive, so when you connect the terminal wire with things on, there will be a little spark. For the wrench - no - because the ground terminal is already connected.
When reconnecting the connectors to the battery terminals do you reconnect positive or negative first? Additionally, how do you safely use a wrench to tighten the nuts of the connectors to the terminals to ensure they're tight enough but without putting yourself in danger?
Positive first, followed by negative when you are reconnecting - this is the reverse sequence from disconnecting. As for using the wrench during reconnection; if your wrench were to slip and hit metal while connecting the positive, you wouldn’t get a shock because the negative cable isn’t connected to the chassis yet. Secondly, when you reconnect the negative and your wrench slipped, you still won’t get a shock because all you did was grounded the negative post, which it’s meant to do. In addition, the nuts don’t require a lot of torque to be fastened to the terminals - only 4 to 6 foot pounds. Hopefully this answered your question.
I’m stuck. I’m installing my battery. I connected the positive. When I put the negative on, I get a spark. Which makes me worried about trying to tighten the bolt.
That's normal. Your positive terminal is the hot side, negative terminal is ground. Once you connect the positive terminal to a live battery the system became charged. Then when you touched the metal terminal to the negative side it sparks, as would any piece of metal touching the negative terminal. If it didnt spark at least a little there's a problem with your electrical system. The fact that it did spark just means everything is working properly. Basically, It just means something is turned on. There are a few things that are always on - part of the radio to keep the time and station presets, for example. Just put it on and tighten.
I have a question about a Lincoln Town Car 2002. The car has Hydraulics everything was running perfectly fine I hit a switch and hit a curb blew out one of my hydraulic pumps in the trunk and also the car doesn't start anymore
My mechanic told me when I go away for a long period of time to disconnect the battery in my Mercedes car, he told me to only disconnect one part with the spanner, the part that connect the battery to the car, not sure if this is the negative of positive, I’m wondering if this is safe? Maybe should use an insulated spanner for extra safety?
This might be a dumb question, but what if you had some kind of conductive material connecting the two terminals together (So a lot of current was flowing) and you touch that material. Would you get a bad shock in that case or it's still the same?
If something conductive was to go across both terminals, such as a wrench - then it will spark and likely weld the wrench to the terminals. The acid will heat up and mostly likely start to leak out. Basically, not a good idea to connect both terminals together.
@@YourHomeGarage Yeah, I figured. It's a hypothetical don't worry. My question was more about what would happen to a person who would touch that wrench though. Would they get shocked?
I don't believe you would get shocked, because your body would be in parallel with the metal conductor. In parallel circuits, voltage stays the same (12 volts) but amperage will be different. The amperage would be high as heck for the metal conductor laying across the terminals, but the amps would still be very low for your skin. I believe the only danger would be very severe burns, but no shock. Very bad idea.
@@YourHomeGarage Why does 12 volts not hurt when you touch the terminals directly but it does hurt when you touch the terminals indirectly through a wrench?
@@s1dest3p i think it's because your skin is not conductive enough to draw the electricity, whereas the wrench is metal and as we know metal is a conductive material, so when you touch both post with anything metal, it will draw electricity, causing heat through the metal, and as we already know, when you touch something hot, it will burn your skin and hurt. (Correct me if i'm wrong)
My battery Is sparking pretty badly. It's a brand-new battery. I just now went to finally hook it up because the last one died. (My fault for leaving the keys in the ignition while working on the car) But this brand new one No matter how I try to connect it, positive first, negative first, I get very scary sparks, looks like my terminals are welding to the battery. after just three times I stopped. once on both sides and once to show an example to someone for help who wasn't much help. I bought a pretty expensive battery too which scares me, and this is a pretty nice car, so I don't want it all being broken. Please help. Also, idk if this matters but i got a new starter put in right before the car died. If you connect the negative battery first, then the positive, I think the starter kicks on which also happened when I tried to jump my last battery before I found out it was completely dead. the starter sort of just kicks on n sounds like a freezer running or a really fast fan lol anyway, help would be very much appreciated!!!!
Even just the little spark from reconnecting the negative terminal scares the shit out of meeeee😭 I do not mess with getting zapped or blowing up a battery in my face
The more dangerous thing is if theres some hydrogen and you cause a spark, the battery can explode spraying acid. Batteries are moslty sealed so theres no danger unless it's damaged.
Great question. Just like a receptacle in your home - a rapid draw can occur when plugging or unplugging an appliance which causes a minor spark. This is normal and same with your car. You can try to minimize it by turning off anything in the car that will draw power immediately. Attached the positive terminal first followed by the negative to avoid a short in the circuit.
I think I got shocked when I was connecting a battery charger to the Positive, while the battery was still connected to the car. Car is Lexus NX. My fingers felt numb/shocked similar to when your foot was asleep
@@YourHomeGarage I didn't unplug the Negative at all, I only disconnected/connected the Positive while I left the Negative connected. So yes in a way. The user guide in my battery charger didn't explain thoroughly. It says 1. connect to Positive on the battery, 2. connect to a metal part to car for grounding, 3. connect charger to the wall outlet.
if batteries were dangerous they wouldnt be allowed to be used in the construction of vehicles AND be so easily accessible by the average consumer youd have to try REALLY hard to get shocked and ven then youve probably had worse shocks in your life a car battery has a very low voltage which is why it lasts so relatively long
A clear and straight-forward explanation in less than 5 minutes!
I still don't trust it lol.
Same I jump every time 😂 then any noise while I’m tryna do it scares me😂
The current may be high as fuck but the 12V is not enough to pass the current thru you
Lmaoo
Same
Hahahaha
Underrated video. Been working on cars for 3 years and always kind of been worried about touching the battery. More mainly about the sparks when connecting terminals. Its good to know ill just feel a little buzz and nothing more
Connect positive first it won’t spark
@@zipper978comment I was looking for thxs
@@zipper978 I got a spark anyway. I don’t want to tighten the bolt knowing it’s sparking.
@@BrokenEquipment. it won’t shock you. Just don’t ground yourself
@@BrokenEquipment. I Also got SPARKS from just tightening positive battery clamp with wrench not touching anything else
Finally a straight answer, thanks man. Wanting to become a mechanic but I started to question it be a use I swore the battery would fry me
You’re welcome and please keep in touch on your journey to become a mechanic.
I felt a "tingle" just watching this. Thanks for the info! You should do a separate video on jumping a car battery because it would get a ton of views if you explained everything so well like in this video.
Thanks for the comment - and I have a How To video on my channel for using booster cables.
Imagine this was a April fools video and car battery’s did shock you on contact 😂
LMFAOOOOOO
SAY WHAT ....THATS TERRIBLE !!! MAN !!! ✌️🙃🥹
Thank you for this! I was questioning disconnecting the battery because of fear of getting shocked. I am going to do this today to clean the corrosion!😊
Excellent - clean terminals are important
I had a battery throw sparks at me from a stupid decision. I was trying to disconnect the negative and my wrench came close to the positive. Even then you won’t get fried. You might feel a short tingle but that’s it. I’m not sure if your fuses are shot but I would check to see if it did if you ever make the mistake I did.
Great video. Answered so many questions for me. This needs to be at a million views.
That would be awesome if it reached that many views!
watching you touch positive and negative at the same time, was still horrifying
I was nervous too a long time ago and then I realized how safe a battery can be when you are responsible around it.
People say respect stuff but if you don't know what to respect because you don't know how it works it's hard to give something respect. Thank you for explaining that
I’m trying to clean the engine bay because it’s so dirty and greasy but I was concerned on this lol, thanks
If you’ve never washed your engine bay, just look at a couple of videos on how others do it to build your confidence. I have a couple videos on my channel as well, but there’s lots of examples out there. Have fun!
@@YourHomeGarage thanks man, did it yesterday, now I need money to treat the plastic in it bc it’s ugly and grayish, also some degreaser, soapy water didn’t cut it lol
Look up a product called SC1 “new bike in a can”. A friend of mine in the motorcycle community turned me on to it and it’s fantastic for reconditioning plastic that has faded. I conditioned the faded plastic on my Vette almost 3years ago and it’s still holding up. I paid about $8.00 a can, but I bet it’s gone up over the years. There are a few videos that you can find on UA-cam for its application.
@@YourHomeGarage I defo will buy it mane thank you.
this was so well explained that even i understood it!
Thank you for this! Though I know 12V in any other scenario can't shock you, I always thought for some reason that the sheer amount of amps of a car battery could harm you if you did touch both terminals. So I was always quite skittish with the terminals. But now I know not to be! And I appreciate you explaining about removing the negative terminal first, now I actually know WHY to do that which helps me remember! Now I know better how to handle one :)
THANK YOU for such a thorough explanation.
Excellent video, thank you!
Can you do an explainer video on ground? I can never understand it! When I'm working on a car, I just stay away from the battery. I'm tinkering with a car that's positive-> earth as many classics are. Your video is so helpful
Me walking up to my car. *whispers to the battery* " I trust you"
As long you don't have salt, you won't get charged with a salt and battery!
You have explained the affects on human body.
If the wrench mistakenly touches the positive terminal, being too long, what would happen to the car's electrical components or so?
This video is concise and great. Im trying to install a kill switch on the negative terminal, can you do a video of how-to?
Great video.
• Is sparking normal when attaching the negative clamp from a ‘car battery charger’ to negative terminal even when charger was NOT plugged into any power supply?
• Should I expect sparks if using a metal wrench to remove the nut from a negative battery terminal
Yes or No is ok !!
Thanks from Down under 🇦🇺.
In today’s newer vehicles it’s common for a car battery spark to occur when connecting. All the various electric components just come alive, so when you connect the terminal wire with things on, there will be a little spark.
For the wrench - no - because the ground terminal is already connected.
So fascinating, thank you!
When reconnecting the connectors to the battery terminals do you reconnect positive or negative first? Additionally, how do you safely use a wrench to tighten the nuts of the connectors to the terminals to ensure they're tight enough but without putting yourself in danger?
Positive first, followed by negative when you are reconnecting - this is the reverse sequence from disconnecting.
As for using the wrench during reconnection; if your wrench were to slip and hit metal while connecting the positive, you wouldn’t get a shock because the negative cable isn’t connected to the chassis yet. Secondly, when you reconnect the negative and your wrench slipped, you still won’t get a shock because all you did was grounded the negative post, which it’s meant to do.
In addition, the nuts don’t require a lot of torque to be fastened to the terminals - only 4 to 6 foot pounds. Hopefully this answered your question.
I’m stuck. I’m installing my battery. I connected the positive. When I put the negative on, I get a spark. Which makes me worried about trying to tighten the bolt.
That's normal. Your positive terminal is the hot side, negative terminal is ground. Once you connect the positive terminal to a live battery the system became charged. Then when you touched the metal terminal to the negative side it sparks, as would any piece of metal touching the negative terminal. If it didnt spark at least a little there's a problem with your electrical system. The fact that it did spark just means everything is working properly.
Basically, It just means something is turned on. There are a few things that are always on - part of the radio to keep the time and station presets, for example.
Just put it on and tighten.
Doesnt amperage kill you? If you use your body as a jumper cable?
Or touching both terminals when the car is starting?
Thanks man, not as scared as before, you've earnt a sub
What about people with steel bones (i.e. hip replacement) or devices like pace makers inside them?
Good info, thanks
So it's the current that kills you? Not the voltage?
So, how about people with metal in them? and the ID2020 metal nanoparticles..
I have a question about a Lincoln Town Car 2002. The car has Hydraulics everything was running perfectly fine I hit a switch and hit a curb blew out one of my hydraulic pumps in the trunk and also the car doesn't start anymore
Does this apply to 24v and 48v batteries?
Yes, there is a great ElectroBoom video about this
Thank you!
Well I appreciate this video so so much❤
My car has a draw. When I removed the negative it arced pretty good. Is it because of the draw?
Fantastic video
It’s the current that kills you. But it needs the voltage to get there.
Do not lick both terminals! This only applies to hands.
This….is actually very sound advise!
I always get my wife to do it cuz I’m scared
smart.
women live longer AND they're more of them.
we can spare a few and we men are minorities and deserve special protections. 😤😤😤
Thanks 😊!
Excellent video!!! Thank you!!! Great content!!! Subscribed! :)
My mechanic told me when I go away for a long period of time to disconnect the battery in my Mercedes car, he told me to only disconnect one part with the spanner, the part that connect the battery to the car, not sure if this is the negative of positive, I’m wondering if this is safe? Maybe should use an insulated spanner for extra safety?
The mechanic would have showed you how to disconnect the negative side, insulated spanner isn’t necessary it’s safe. 😊
This might be a dumb question, but what if you had some kind of conductive material connecting the two terminals together (So a lot of current was flowing) and you touch that material. Would you get a bad shock in that case or it's still the same?
If something conductive was to go across both terminals, such as a wrench - then it will spark and likely weld the wrench to the terminals. The acid will heat up and mostly likely start to leak out. Basically, not a good idea to connect both terminals together.
@@YourHomeGarage Yeah, I figured. It's a hypothetical don't worry. My question was more about what would happen to a person who would touch that wrench though. Would they get shocked?
Bros just gonna ignore my question
I don't believe you would get shocked, because your body would be in parallel with the metal conductor. In parallel circuits, voltage stays the same (12 volts) but amperage will be different. The amperage would be high as heck for the metal conductor laying across the terminals, but the amps would still be very low for your skin. I believe the only danger would be very severe burns, but no shock. Very bad idea.
@@Lavamar *He already answered your first question, no need to be snarky because he didn’t answer your second hypothetical.🤦🏼♂️*
If you touched both terminals with that metal wrench that you were holding, would you feel anything or could it hurt you?
It would burn your hand and hurt.
@@YourHomeGarage Why does 12 volts not hurt when you touch the terminals directly but it does hurt when you touch the terminals indirectly through a wrench?
@@s1dest3p i think it's because your skin is not conductive enough to draw the electricity, whereas the wrench is metal and as we know metal is a conductive material, so when you touch both post with anything metal, it will draw electricity, causing heat through the metal, and as we already know, when you touch something hot, it will burn your skin and hurt.
(Correct me if i'm wrong)
Instructions unclear I am now Black Lightning
Ty, I'm sitting here freaked out because I got to tighten my connecter and I'm scared 😨😨😨😨😨😨
I'm going to go do it🎉
My battery Is sparking pretty badly. It's a brand-new battery. I just now went to finally hook it up because the last one died. (My fault for leaving the keys in the ignition while working on the car) But this brand new one No matter how I try to connect it, positive first, negative first, I get very scary sparks, looks like my terminals are welding to the battery. after just three times I stopped. once on both sides and once to show an example to someone for help who wasn't much help. I bought a pretty expensive battery too which scares me, and this is a pretty nice car, so I don't want it all being broken. Please help.
Also, idk if this matters but i got a new starter put in right before the car died. If you connect the negative battery first, then the positive, I think the starter kicks on which also happened when I tried to jump my last battery before I found out it was completely dead. the starter sort of just kicks on n sounds like a freezer running or a really fast fan lol anyway, help would be very much appreciated!!!!
Very nice.
When will you upload your next video? I'm waiting haha
I’m still terrrrrified lmao
Even just the little spark from reconnecting the negative terminal scares the shit out of meeeee😭 I do not mess with getting zapped or blowing up a battery in my face
Honestly, it freaked me out as well when I started to work on cars. Seeing others do it helped to build my confidence and then it was easy after that.
The more dangerous thing is if theres some hydrogen and you cause a spark, the battery can explode spraying acid. Batteries are moslty sealed so theres no danger unless it's damaged.
Valid point!
battery is monster, it is a nightmare when i am kid that can emanate shock like pokemon
I have a question, when i re-connect a battery it sparks, so, when reconnecting a battery, even with the sparks its safe?
Thank you
Great question. Just like a receptacle in your home - a rapid draw can occur when plugging or unplugging an appliance which causes a minor spark. This is normal and same with your car. You can try to minimize it by turning off anything in the car that will draw power immediately. Attached the positive terminal first followed by the negative to avoid a short in the circuit.
This is the question I've been looking for. I know the sparks may normal, but will they hurt? Especially holding a metal wrench
EVs have both a high volt battery but still usually have the 12V battery
Never touch terminals of a hybrid battery
So every time I saw someone getting tortured with a battery in a movie, it was fake? No way.
A
All of the cuts in the video are him getting electrocuted. Be careful guys.
I think I got shocked when I was connecting a battery charger to the Positive, while the battery was still connected to the car. Car is Lexus NX.
My fingers felt numb/shocked similar to when your foot was asleep
Did you by chance connect to the negative terminal first and then positive?
@@YourHomeGarage I didn't unplug the Negative at all, I only disconnected/connected the Positive while I left the Negative connected. So yes in a way.
The user guide in my battery charger didn't explain thoroughly. It says 1. connect to Positive on the battery, 2. connect to a metal part to car for grounding, 3. connect charger to the wall outlet.
Explain the Kevin Gates video please.
Remember, the amperage is what kills. Milliamps to the heart can be catastrophic.
You loke hueman chat gtp
Giving full story while not being lomg
If you are thinking this is AI or assisted by AI, I can assure you it is not. I am 100% human! But interesting perception.
Now do it with wet hands
I've seen people do that too
@@termosimone3112 liar
@@ValFolarin ok
You know nothing about electricity
@@HVACR_LIFE Im shocked to hear you say that. My opinions are always grounded in facts
What about your tongue??😉
So…I used to check my 9V batteries that way - but I’m older and wiser now - lol
@@YourHomeGarage me too! 😄👌
if batteries were dangerous they wouldnt be allowed to be used in the construction of vehicles AND be so easily accessible by the average consumer
youd have to try REALLY hard to get shocked and ven then youve probably had worse shocks in your life
a car battery has a very low voltage which is why it lasts so relatively long