what's dangerous about the positive terminal, is if you are undoing it with
a wrench, and your wrench touches any metal anywhere else on the car
...........you get a huge zap, it scares the crap out of you, it could
possibly burn you............and this is likely, but  in the suddern jerk to
get away from something scary going on........you rip your finger on a piece
of sharp metal or whatever.

the very, very dumbest thing a person could do is undo the other end of the
hot battery cable......
like at the starter.   I know a person who did that, then dropped that hot
battery cable, and it zapped a hole right in a brake line, and started a
fire.

the negative cable and terminal is always benign , at least as far as
touching anything grounded goes........and once that's undone..........
everything is at the same electirical potential, and thus safe.
THEN you undo the positive etc.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jere Hawn" <jghawn@EARTHLINK.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, August 04, 2008 5:02 PM
Subject: Negative Terminal (Stupid Question)

> Greetings All
>
>
>
> Here is my stupid question:
>
>
>
> The manuals (all the auto manual that I have seen in my life) say to
> disconnect the negative terminal from the batter before performing.. X, Y,
> Z,. etc.  Why the negative and not the positive one?  Does it matter, is
> negative more dangerous that the +?
>
>
>
> TIA
>
>
>
> Jere