newmezuk04 wrote:
Theres things I just dont understand.
Set out points for a bridge or a road using a £8k bit of equipment no problem, but things with cars I struggle with.
That's the way it is Chris. I'm happy and content with electrics but I bet I'd fail miserably to set out a bridge! Horses for courses and all that. Us who are happy with the sparky stuff are a strange breed
Trouble is, electricity, for the most part, is rather invisible.
This thread reminds me of the old adge. Not so much directed at auto electrics but more on the domestic side...
"There's old eletricians and there's bold electricians but there's no old, bold electricians"
I'm of the former persuasion and after well over 30 years I still check a circuit is dead to the point of having an attack of OCD before commencing work, even on auto electrics.
The tales in this thread of dropping tools across batteries serves to illustrate that even 12V can be dangerous. It might not directly kill like mains can (it's the mils that kills and the volts that jolts as the old saying goes) but the huge currents available can cause terrible burn injuries and as a wise precaution you should never work on auto electrics wearing any sort of jewellery that might cause a short, the most dangerous being metal bracelets and watch straps. The resulting burns can be incredibly nasty.
Car batteries subjected to a heavy short can also explode, throwing sulphuric acid all over the pace. Seriously nasty stuff
