Scotty Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 My cousin called me to ask me what was wrong with their 96 SLS. I advised my cousin to clean the battery connection, especially the positive connection. Well he just sent me this story, the lesson to be learned here is, ALWAYS connect and tighten the NEGATIVE connection LAST!!!! Here is his story, WOW: The Seville is running well; did Debbie tell you about my screw-up? You heard that she was having trouble with the battery cables being loose, and I had her take it into the shop for them to tighten them up, but they didn’t clean the posts. I went to just tighten the cables after work one day, and managed to weld my wedding ring between the socket wrench and ground when tightening the hot cable. That was 2 months ago and I still have a blister; it burned a circular ring around my finger and I tore the skin back when I yanked the ring/finger off the weld. I was in a hurry because it was so hot, in fact I burned my other hand taking off the ring once I was free. I felt pretty stupid, but when I was over at Debbie’s office doing the cleaning, some other stupid guy came along and told me his story about welding his ring (I hid my finger as long as I could). There was a lot of corrosion on the terminals, I used Coke instead of baking soda and cleaned everything up. No trouble since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navion Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Scotty, I'm glad that your cousin didn't get hurt any worse than he did. That was a close call. He is also lucky that the spark didn't ignite the hydrogen gas from the battery & cover him with acid. Fro safety, remember to take ALL rings, watches, & metal braclets off before working on anything that has any kind of electric potential. I have see the results of people getting their rings and watchbands shorted between hot & ground under dashes and while working around batteries. Some of those guys with expanding metal watch bands have a permanent scar branded around their wrist. Rings will get white hot instantly when placed between an unfused circut & ground. In the worst case, they will weld themselves in place. It dosen't take much imagination to guess what the results of that will be! When I was first married, my wife wanted me to wear my wedding ring at all times. I told her that I wouldn't because of the danger that it posed at work. She was upset at me at first, then she met someone that had nearly lost his finger when he got his ring caught on some machinery. She hasen't bugged me since. I know some wives that think that if their husbands don't wear their wedding rings, then they are "on the prowl". I say that they need to realize that unless you have a desk job, the rings are better left at home. If you do wear metal jewelery, remember to take it off before you open the hood or stick your hand up under the dash! Britt Britt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 A quick story about rings, I used to work in a shipyard, and a guy lost his finger jumping off the back of a truck because his ring got stuck! Another story, I played college basketball, my friend jumped up for a rebound, and his ring caught the rim, and ripped the hell out of his finger.... This is the first I have ever seen a ring injury from electricity... wow.. If you tighten the positive cable first with the negative cable disconnect this would never happen... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cadillac_caddy_sts Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Oh man! One day I was cleaning and tightining the conectors on one of my batterys and my dad came out and got mad at me because he had a storey of a guy that did the exact same thing! That would hurt like hell!!!!! Defending Northstar perf a qtr mile at a time!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yenko Posted February 28, 2005 Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 Good thing I dont wear rings! That would really stink! I will still keep that in mind if I ever have to clean my battery connection.......... IMPORT CRUSHER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbuc Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 I heard a story from one of my teachers that was pretty crazy. This person he knew, had an old Ford pickup, and was doing a little off roading with it. They didn't have a battery tie down, so when they hit this big bump in the road, the terminals contacted the hood, and welded them selves to it. About a second later, the battery exploded, and sent acid flying all over the engine compartment. It ate away at some wiring, and almost caused a fire in the process. I found that story to be quite funny, since you would never think of something like that happening. Another one of my teachers, told me another story about a guy he worked with in the shop. He was removing a bad battery fropm the front a car that was leaking hydrogen badly. He accidentally made a spark, and the battery exploded, sending him flying about 15ft straight across the shop. He had some minor burn from the acid, and a concussion, but he was alright in the end. You've got to be very careful handeling batteries. They can kill you in an instant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 After reading all these wedding ring horror stories I think being single is not that bad after all. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted March 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 When you think about it you can't get a better conductor of electricity than the gold in a ring! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted March 1, 2005 Report Share Posted March 1, 2005 That's another reason why I have never worn a wedding ring. Never got any grief for it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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