Danged near burned my truck up!

[crawdad]

I was setting the idle mixture on my truck today and was connecting my engine analyzer up to the battery. The analyzer is one I bought way back in the 70's made by Sun. Anyway, I had connected the positive lead to the battery and was reaching down to straighten out some of the leads when I guess I accidentally pulled the positive lead over enough to touch the radiator support. The battery in my truck has the positive lead right next to the radiator support (about 2 inches). All of a sudden I hear all this popping and cracking, smoke all over the place and I look over and can see the positive lead of the analyzer welding itself to the radiator support . About that time one of the small ground wires catches on fire RIGHT NEXT TO THE BATTERY! I thinks to myself, oh sheet ! I reach over and try to disconnect the analyzer lead and couldn't get it off. I had to rear back and smack the devil out of it to knock it off the battery and support where it had firmly welded itself. Didn't wind up doing any damage that I could tell, but it sure scared the hell out of me. I'm going tomorrow to see if I can find another battery that has the positive post on the other side toward the firewall and away from the metal radiator support. Live and learn....never to old.

[84slopwaggin]

Thank goodness you didn't do any worse damage. You might try a side post battery if you can't find one with the positive towards the firewall.

[1987 Shortwide]

One day leaving school (jr year highschool) my positive cable got caught under the A-arm in my 79 malibu wagon.... I know what you went through buddy, it's freaky!

[84 400]

yeah man close call battery is a scary thing. glad to see ur okay

[evan]

That would have freaked me out. I thought it was bad enough when I dropped a wrench and it landed on both the positive and the negative post.

[wedgemon]

I had an 83 GMC 6.2 Diesel that the starter drive gear over-ran the ring gear, which, of course, kept the solenoid open, which overheated the wiring, and started a fire. 5 minutes of run-on and flaming wires, 1 axe blow to the positive lead, and a shot of extinguisher juice. Plus a call to 911. Couple new cables and a new starter and all was good.

That danged truck ate about 2 starters and 2 batteries a year.

"That's all I have to say about that..."

[kilrfrog]

Mornin on ya! Was just goin thru some old posts, drinkin my coffee and came across yours. I had a similar experience, but with an old battery/alternator tester my dad used for years and never had problems. Needless to say, alot of cussing and water later, I removed the dual post battery and went back to a side post only.

[86 GMG]

i dont believe the battery post are left or right convenient but really all you have to do is just flip the battery around and re route your cables maybe replace with a little longer ones but its not difficult mine has been that way for a few years now because my dumbass has welded a 1/2 in wrench to the battery and support and burned the crap out of my hand also. sorry to laugh at your trouble but i have done it too. good luck

[Tynee]

Originally Posted by kilrfrog

Mornin on ya! Was just goin thru some old posts, drinkin my coffee and came across yours. I had a similar experience, but with an old battery/alternator tester my dad used for years and never had problems. Needless to say, alot of cussing and water later, I removed the dual post battery and went back to a side post only.

You threw water on an electrical fire, and lived to tell about it?

I actually had a comical situation of this nature happen once. A buddy and I were swapping the engine in his Mazda. I was under the hood, and he was inside the car disonnecting wiring. He said, "Are we supposed to have interior lights?" I said "No, the Battery is disconnected." I looked over at that point to learn that I had inadvertently laid a ratcher across the terminals of the battery. It took me a minute to figure out how we could POSSIBLY have lights on in the car without a battery connection.