How to Avoid Sparks When Removing Battery Terminals

People are relieved when their car breaks down and they discover all they need is a new battery. It's one of the cheapest car repairs and, literally within minutes, you can be back on your way. While changing the battery is quick, it can also be dangerous. Here are some tips on how to avoid powerful sparks when removing battery terminals.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wrench
• Black electrical tape

1. Find the right size wrench for the job. Remember that if you are working on a foreign car you will need to use a metric wrench set. If it's an American car, then a standard wrench set will do the trick.

2. Wrap your wrench in black electrical tape. Your car battery is one heck of a powerful piece of equipment. If you accidentally touch the positive side of the battery and any other piece of metal, watch out. By wrapping everything except the very end, you'll guard against the slip of a wrench resulting in nasty sparks.

3. Disconnect the negative side of the battery first. This will also remove the threat of sparks, as once the negative side is disconnected, your battery is rendered dead for the moment. Make sure to move the negative battery terminal far away from a place where it can come in contact with any metal.

4. Avoid laying your wrench flat on the battery while working on your car. Your wrench will be long enough to touch both the positive and negative posts of the battery. You might think you're laying it down momentarily, but the moment it touches the post and another piece of metal, watch out.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure your car is off when changing or working with the battery terminals. Not only could you catch a spark, but the battery can be quite hot.

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[stupotnoodles]

on 11/11/2009 JUST RECHARGED MY BATTERY TRYING TO RECONNECT BUT IT KEEPS SPARKING