MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - Re: Car Battery's Suck!!!!!

> > Probably more evidence that the car has some kind of electrical fault..? As far as
> I
> > know, the voltage of a car battery isn't high enough to give you a shock like that.
>
> Voltage doesn't matter for the severity of a shock, current does. Car batteries can
> deliver hundreds of amps for short periods (like, say, starting the car).
>
> By contrast, CRT TVs/monitors run at 25-30,000 volts but are only capable of
> delivering a few milliamps so the high voltage in those isn't normally lethal. (It's
> still quite an experience to get shocked by, however, and there are other voltage
> sources inside those things that can deliver more current).
>
> I'm just amazed nothing in the car was damaged when the battery was briefly hooked up
> backwards.

Exactly. Static electricity shocks you get in the winter are typically in the tens of thousands, if not more, volts. The amperage isn't all that great so it does nothing more than annoy you. As I was taught at a young age, voltage is like the speed at which water is falling, and amperage is like the amount. A little bit of amps at a very high voltage can do some damage, just as a ton of amps at a low voltage can kill you.

I'm figuring that no damage to the car happened as the cable terminals were not connected to the posts on the battery. As the new battery was sitting in its place and the terminals were being cleaned, that is when the positive lead nicked the negative terminal and the shock went right into my fingers. It was a brief, momentary jolt.

I'm figuring that the pain and twitching of my fingers afterwards is possibly also related to how freaking brutally cold it was out there. Either way, I certainly learned my lesson this one. Funny how when in college chemistry labs I would always be super cautious and triple check everything so no accidents happen. Definitely advice to take with everything in life.

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