RE: Which battery lead to disconnect?

[Dick Stachowiak <stachowiak@domain.elided>]

It makes no difference which battery terminal is removed if you want to 
work on the electrical system.  The reason that removal of the negative 
terminal is recommended is for safety reasons.  If you are removing the 
positive terminal and your wrench contacts any part of the body or 
engine you will draw the full current of the battery thru the wrench, 
and make lots of sparks.  Besides the risk of burns from the red hot 
wrench, you risk igniting the gasses that are present in the battery.  
If you remove the negative terminal and the wrench contacts the body 
that is already at the same potential nothing will happen.  Once the 
negative terminal is off the battery, you can work on the system, you 
can even short the positive terminal without any harm.

Dick Stachowiak

71 Spider
71 GTV
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