Electronic – Extra negative battery cable when charging outside car

automotivebatteriesbattery-chargingsafety

If you go to: http://www.battery-chargers.com/charging_instructions.htm

…Under "Operating Instructions" part "B: Charging battery outside of vehicle", it says you have to attach an extra jumper cable to the negative battery post, that is then clamped to the charger's actual negative cable. See below:

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Both my charger's instructions and these look identical on this point (Indeed, they might be the same instruction sheet).

Why is this extra cable needed?

(Not like I don't have one, just rather curious…)

Thanks!

Best Answer

So that you can connect/disconnect while not standing over the battery. The batteries contain sulfuric acid which is not a very pleasant substance to splash. Even the fumes are dangerous.

While connecting inside a vehicle, connect the positive first and the negative on the vehicle body while not facing the battery. The negative can be connected to any exposed metal part on the vehicle (and at a distance from the battery). Similarly while disconnecting, disconnect the negative first and then the positive cable. The reason is that the vehicle body is connected to the negative terminal. If the positive cable slips and touches any other vehicle body part, it will cause a short.

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