I would agree with Pat. Any electrical circuit is dead when it is open. It
doesn't matter where you complete the circuit. Current will not flow until
you have a path to ground. That path can be completed anywhere in the
circuit.
An arc is simply electricity finding a shorter path to ground. Electricty
will always follow the easiest path. The arcing to the ring just meant the
circuit decided there was less resistance in your ring than the normal path
to ground.
Andrew Murphy
From: "Patrick J. Horne" <horne@cs.utexas.edu>
Reply-To: "Patrick J. Horne" <horne@cs.utexas.edu>
To: Gary McCormick <svgkm@halley.ca.essd.northgrum.com>
CC: Taro Kusunose <tkusunose@hotmail.com>, datsun- > The problem with
hooking up the positive side of the battery first is that you'll get an
> arc when you hook up the ground - can be death to alternator diodes.
Better bet is to
Gary, I don't see how hooking up the two connections in any particular order
can cause alternator diodes to be damaged. You need both connections in
order
to have current flow, so I don't see why this is true. I taught electronics
for many years and this result seems counter to all that I know about DC
theory. Please explain or give us a reference to further data.
Thanks,
Pat
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voice (512)471-9517, fax (512)471-8885
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