Hi Gene 
 GC> I am really stumped by this and I was wondering if anyone might
 GC> have an idea what is going on.  I have an old E-type that was
 GC> flooded several years ago and I am slowly restoring it.
 GC> I am at the point where I wanted to connect a new battery and
 GC> obviously one needs to be cautious when this is done.  I tried to
 GC> connect the ground terminal first (it is negative ground) before I
 GC> connected the + terminal. 
 GC> To my surprise, there were sparks when I connected the negative
 GC> terminal to the ground.  I checked and there is nothing connecting
 GC> the positive terminal so I do not have any idea what could be
 GC> causing the completed circuit.  Any ideas? 
Gene, by the simple act of placing a fresh battery in the car you caused deep 
rumblings from within the earth. Placing a connection on the negative of said 
battery, you awoke LUCAS, Prince of Darkness who displayed his power to you 
in a flash of light. Had you finished the job by making connection with the 
positive terminal, the course of history could have been changed :)
Now, in all honesty, I do not see how placing only a negative connection on 
the car you could have had ANY sparks if there was indeed nothing touching 
the positive terminal. If I was doing this, I would try again, checking that 
there is nothing touching the positive terminal. I would then hold a 2 amp 
fuse to the postive terminal, and with everything in the car turned OFF, I 
would touch the end of the positive cable to the 2 amp fuse that I would be 
holding in contact with the positive terminal. With everything turned OFF the 
fuse should not blow. Of course the other way would be to check between the 
positive cable and chassis ground with an OHM meter. If you read more than 6 
OHMs (or so) you would probably be oksy to hook up the battery. 
Good luck with your E-type and drop by the BRIT_CAR echo also and tell us 
about it.
Gerry
--- timEd 1.10
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