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Postive is always
Positive. When you hook up a charger to a battery, any battery, or a
battery to a battery, it is ALWAYS positive to positive and it is ALWAYS
negative to negative.
When you have a car that is positive
ground, and before 1956 that was common, the cable from the positive post on the
battery attaches to the ground on the engine while the negative attaches to the
cable to the starter,
If you ever attach booster cables to
any car, regardless which side is the ground, it is ALWAYS positive to positive
and it is ALWAYS negative to negative.
To do otherwise may cause your battery
to explode with battery acid being sprayed everywhere.
The only difference between a negative ground car and a positive
ground car is the way the cables are attached to the battery.
Whether the ground is positive or negative, the positive post on the battery is
positive.
By the way, in the 1930's
through the early 1950's, cars that had positive ground were Auburn,
Chrysler, Cadillac (to 1942), Crosley, DeSoto, Dodge, Ford, Frazer, Graham,
Hudson (1934-1957), Hupmobile, Kaiser, Lafayette, Lincoln, LaSalle (except
1934-35), Mercury, Meteor, Monarch, Nash, Packard, Plymouth, Reo,
Studebaker, and Terraplane (1934-1937). The big switch to negative ground in North
America occurred in 1956 with the adoption of 12 volt systems.
Cars with negative ground were Buick,
Cadillac (from 1946), Chevrolet, Essex, Hudson (before 1934), LaSalle
(1934-35), Oldsmobile, Pontiac and Willys. So before
1956 manufacturers with negative ground cars were in the
minority.
As well, many British cars (Austin,
Envoy, British Ford, Hillman, Humber, MG, Morris, Riley, Rover, Singer,
Standard, Sunbeam, Triumph, Vauxhall) used positive ground into the
1960's. Datsun also used positive ground through 1965, not surprising
as it was based on the 1950's Austin Cambridge.
Bill
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 11:46
AM
Subject: [FWDLK] Popsitive ground
My car's battery
was showing in need of a charge to I hooked up my 3 amp battery charger set at
6 V. It showed about a 1/2 to 3/4 amp charge. Left it overnight
and totally dead. So, I tried a new Interstate that had been shelf
sitting for 3 years or more and it was dead.
Bought a new 6 V
battery from Napa and installed it and cranked car and drove it under
carport. Noticed the amp meter going negative when I juiced the motor
and positive when I turned on the lights. Shut is off and went to bed
and i woke up in the middle of the night realizing this car must have been
like the old Fords of the era and had a positive ground. Got my shop
manual out and verified it is a positive ground. So, I took the battery
to my shop and connected the battery charger and it only registered a 3/4 amp
charge when I put the positive battery charger on positive battery and neg on
neg. I then reversed the charger connections and it jumped to 3 plus
amps which is all this little W.T. Grant charger, that is 50 or more years
old, can handle.
Then I decided to
just remove the battery charger and see if I should be doing it
reversed. On the surface it seems that that would be correct but wanted
to run it by folks who have more experienced with the 6V pso ground stuff than
me. Even my M/ASE mechanic said he did not know as it was before his
time.
TIA
Tom
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