Tab,
The philosophy behind the "right way to jump" is to avoid making the last
connection on a battery terminal. The 'by-the-book' technique always has the
last
connection being made to a solid ground on the engine of the vehicle to get the
jump. The idea is to avoid creating a spark at the battery because of the
possible presence of hydrogen. We don't need another Hindenberg.
Bud Krueger
52Td
77MGB
Tab Julius wrote:
> 1) It is my understanding that you can even jump different-polarity cars as
> long as you put the negative cable on the battery terminal itself and not
> the body of the vehicle. I confess to never having tried it myself.
>
> 2) Not to start a thread on the "Right Way to jump" (probably too late) but
> I have always jumped vehicles connecting neg-to-neg, then pos-to-pos. I
> have seen some official instructions on a cable set indicating the opposite
> (that is, pos first), but never understood why. By connecting the negs up
> first you ensure there's a return path for when you go to do the pos's, or
> so I've thought. I've jumped a lot of cars this way (living in toasty New
> England) and have never had a problem, but if someone knows why pos should
> connect first, I'd like to hear it.
>
> 3) I always have the jumper running, and the jumpee of course is off, and I
> hook them up. Depending on how drained the jumpee is, they may need to be
> hooked up only for 5 seconds to get it started, or twenty minutes if it's
> really shot. Keep in mind to drive the jumpee for a while after (I usually
> give it a good 30 to 45 minutes) to give the alternator a chance to
> recharge the battery.
>
> 4) Also, it never hurts to own a battery charger. I have one I paid maybe
> $35 for - don't really recall - that I had been using for my lawn mower,
> but had chance to use it on my Toyota the other day. I had left the dome
> light on or something and had not gone near it for nearly a week (driving
> my B instead) and it was well and dead by the time I went to turn it on.
> Unfortunately, it is an automatic, and was in my garage. Not a problem - I
> figured I'd roll it out and jump the battery with another vehicle as donor.
> Alas, it has a safety device that precludes the transmission from being
> shifted when the engine isn't running, so I had no way to shift it from
> Park to Neutral to allow it to be pushed out of the garage (of course, it
> was in nose first). I ended up having to use the battery charger. The
> only other alternative would have been to borrow some Really Long jumper
> cables from my local mechanic, or to make a new entrance to the garage.
>
> - Tab
> '78B
>
> At 12:40 PM 12/13/99 -0500, James H. Nazarian wrote:
> >Hi Scott,
> >
> >Your 1976 MGB is wired "negative to ground"; so is virtually every car
> made since
> >at least 1970. If you are going to jump start from another vehicle,
> confirm that
> >both cars have their negative lead (should be black) grounded to the frame or
> >body close to the battery. If you confirm that, be certain the two cars
> are not
> >touching metal to each other, then clamp one end of your jumper cable set
> to a
> >piece of wood, again confirm that the two clamps do not touch each other.
> Take
> >the other end of the jumper cable set to the boosting battery, clamping
> first the
> >red lead to the positive battery terminal, then clamp the black lead to the
> >negative terminal or a good ground point.
> >
> >Bring the opposite end of the cable set (still clamped to the wood) to
> your MGB
> >battery; clamping first the red lead to the positive battery terminal,
> then clamp
> >the black lead to the negative terminal or a good ground point such as the
> frame
> >that holds the battery. Start the boosting car; let it run. If you are
> using a
> >light gauge jumper cable set, leave the two connected this way for 5-10
> minutes.
> >Now start the "B" as you normally would. Leave the connections on until
> the MG
> >warms up. When fairly certain that the MG will stay running, turn off the
> other
> >car and begin to disconnect the clamps in the opposite order as they were
> >connected: MG Black, clamp to wood, MG Red, clamp to wood, other car
> black, other
> >car red.
> >
> >If you are going to jump start from your battery charger, the process is
> simpler.
> >Connect the black and red leads from the charger to the MG battery
> negative and
> >positive terminals respectively. Turn on the battery charger for a 5 minute
> >charge. at the end of that time, switch over to the start position and
> start the
> >MG as usual. As soon as the MG starts, switch off the charger, and remove
> it when
> >the car is running smoothly.
> >
> >BTW if you are doing this in a garage or unclosed space, watch the
> ventilation;
> >with two cars running, you will suffocate before they do, and that's no
> fun at
> >all.
> >
> >Good Luck,
> >
> >Jim
> >
> >Scott Regel wrote:
> >
> >> Can you jump start the "B" without frying anything? I have a battery
> charger
> >> that can jump start it, but was wondering if I would be opening a can of
> >> worms. I've got to get a new battery, but don't have the funds until
> the end
> >> of the month and the weather has just been to nice! TIA, also thank you
> guys
> >> for all your great help and input on this list. Talk about a support
> group!
> >>
> >> Scott
> >> 76B
> >
> >
> >
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