how to connect for boost?

Dear Group,

I just got home from the cottage and my old 92 Eagle Summit has a dead battery as one of the kids left the door slightly open when we left for vacation. I went to boost it using our 2000 Montana minivan. On the Montana I see clearly marked a remote positive jump starting terminal but I see nowhere to connect to the negative terminal of this charged battery...the battery seems very inaccessible...unlike the battery posts on older cars. If I want to use the charged Montana battery to boost my old Summit where do I connect the negative cable on the good battery of the Montana?

Thanks for your advice.

Doug

Reply to
Doug Mitchell
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Any good metal contact on the engine will do. That has always been true. You never were supposed to use the battery terminal when jumpering the engine.

My sierra has a big flat plate next to the remote positive terminal.

Reply to
HRL

But I thought the good battery had to have its posts connected to both cables...it was the discharged battery where the neg cable went to the engine block?

battery...the

Reply to
Doug Mitchell

Yeah, I was thinking of the discharged one. Anyway, it really doesn't make any difference. The engine is a good connection to the good battery negative too. And probably better than trying to make connection to the standard side mount battery cable where all you can get is a little bite of the bolt.

I remember one time we could not get around to the front of the car so I just pulled up and got the metal bumpers to touch (metal bumbers - that was a long long time ago). Then doubled the jumper cables to reach to the front of the car and used the frame and bumpers as a return. That worked too.

Reply to
HRL

Doug Mitchell wrote in alt.autos.gm

Car batteries are always connected to ground. Making a connection to the frame or engine is far safer than to the battery. The battery will emit explosive gases, and a spark can set that off.

Reply to
Dick C

HRL wrote in alt.autos.gm

Used to be you could jump a car with only one cable, by having the cars' bumpers touch. However, with the modern plastic bumper covers, those days are gone. However, strictly speaking, you really do not have to have either cable connected to the battery on either car. As long as you can find someplace on each car that gives a solid connection to power and high current. That is why a battery works best. For example, if you were jumping 2 Fords, you could connect the postive cable to the hot side of the solenoids, and the negative cable to the engine. Hell, on that kind of set up, you could touch the positive cable to the starter side of the solenoid on the car with a dead battery.

Reply to
Dick C

Hi...

Just a tiny caution here, if I may?

Seeing as people around the world read and enjoy these groups, it might be worth pointing out that NOT all cars are (or were) negative ground.

I'm sure that at least at one time English cars used positive ground systems.

Take care.

Ken

Reply to
Ken Weitzel

Old fords did. I know they did in 1918. Charles

Reply to
Charles Bendig

Ken Weitzel wrote in alt.autos.gm

While you are right, and many, many car makers did use positive ground, I have not heard of one being made since the early 60's.

Reply to
Dick C

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