Stranded due to a dead scooter battery

[sanman]

or the fall from the ladder.  you still make a funny noise when you do it 

True dat. Scares the heck out of my wife when I do that.

[sanman]

Sanman, how many of those hits were across your body, i.e. from one hand touching the neutral or a ground and the other hand touching the hot, as opposed to from one side of your hand to the other (such as if you bumped the hot while the rest of your hand was touching the box or the neutral or ground wire)?

Will every across the body shock kill you?  No.  But I can guarantee that 110 volts *IS* lethal in a lot of cases.  It's just a matter of how the current flows through your body

Point taken. I've grabbed hot with my right hand (not intentionally) while holding onto the grounded frame of a diswasher with the left. Sliced my hand good on the frame when I jerked away, but I got up and walked away (bleeding profusely). Guess C&Sdaddy's right about God watching out after fools and drunks.

[kgbsquirrel]

I believe the lower limit for dangerous or deadly voltage is 50 volts per National Fire Code or some official organization, and a lot depends on where the current is flowing, like through the heart or something.

The absolute minimum to be lethal is 32 volts at 0.1 amps. They hammered this fact hard during electrical class. Mind you this depends on a lot of things, such as nearly zero impedance from the skin (due to them being wet with a conductive substance for instance) and the current passing directly through the heart.

[sanglant]

just a thought, but do you have room for a, let me get the link can't think of a name,

something like this?
http://www.amazon.com/Wagan-EA2045-SelfCharge-Jumper-Jumpstarter/dp/B000066OC8
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-VEC012CBD-Starter-Inflator/dp/B000EJV5N8
http://www.amazon.com/Schumacher-IP-95C-Jump-Starter-Compressor/dp/B0012MYI8U
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-JUS500IB-Starter-Inflator/dp/B0024GR0S8
http://www.amazon.com/Allstart-AMJ-401-ALLSTART-Mini-Jumper-Jumpstarter/dp/B000EPSVCK

now then, i have no idea if one will work, i bought one of these recently(works great , but really bogs down the motor ) and saw them. sorry if this has been covered, read the thread and didn't see it.

[MillCreek]

^^^ I have one of these in the back of the Escape.  The jumper clamps are too big to fit into the scooter battery compartment.  I have successfully used it on a car, though.  I have a reminder on my Outlook to plug it into the wall and recharge it every two months.  

Those units are pretty heavy due to the batteries inside, and I don't think they would be practical to carry on a motorcycle.  On a lark, I bought a small compact B&D jump starter that was about 6x6x3 inches, and it was absolutely useless.  It is a trickle charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket.  I tried using it twice to start my Mazda pickup when the onboard battery failed, and it did not work both times.  I subsequently read the reviews on Amazon, and the reviews pretty uniformly duplicated my experience.

[erictank]

I believe you are referring to "Cold Cranking Amps."

R = E / I  (Resistance = Voltage ("E") divided by Current ("I"))

That "800 Amps" refers to when the battery is connected to a 0.015 ohm load, like maybe a starter motor with 6-gauge windings and connected by an 000 gauge cable to the battery, all at whatever temperature they measure those cold cranking amps at, and all while cranking on the engine.  It's just a figure of merit.

Answer:  It might be able to put out 800 amps, but not through your tongue, any more than it would put 800 amps through your taillights.


And why not?

I = E / R  (Current ("I") equals Voltage ("E") divided by Resistance)

I just measured my tongue's electrical resistance.  It is about 200 ohms.  The current that would flow through it if connected to a 12 volt battery would be 60 milliamps, 0.060 amperes.  That works out to less than 3/4 Watt, and there ain't much heating power in 3/4 Watt.

'Course, I was just eating saltines and milk, so that 200 ohms might be a little low.

Terry, 230RN

(ETA: I'm just guessing at the conductor gauges in the starter motor and the cable to it.

Might not blow up your tongue, but that's enough to potentially stop your heart, just about.  Depends on whether your particular combination of tissue and saliva makes it all the way up to 200 ohms, mostly, I guess.  There was a tale running around ET 'A' School in Orlando about some idiot who poked the multimeter probes into his fingertips - that's through the skin and into the flesh - and electrocuted himself when he did a resistance check that way for fun.  Not knowing what the battery capacity of those Flukes were, or what his internal resistance was, I can't say whether it'd be possible.  *I* wouldn't try it.

What's your body's electrical R from hand to hand with dry skin?

I've maxed out the meter before, when the air (and my skin) was REALLY dry, but typically, IIRC, I tended to be in the neighborhood of 100Kohms.  Been a LOOONG time since I checked, though.  I've taken the occasional hit of 110VAC before, didn't like it any more than anyone else does, but I don't believe I've ever taken it across the chest.

[230RN]

What's your body's electrical R from hand to hand with dry skin?

Dry hands, across my whole body, just holding the two probes between fingertips, 6 to 9 megohms.  Depends on whether I've just told a lie or not.  

But grab two 110VAC conductors between your two hands and it will probably kill you.

My father did a lot of wiring and "tested" the connections when juiced up with two fingers of the same hand, just lightly over the two connections.  He'd get a little buzz.  Worked great until he was installing a 220 V well pump line.

Only time I ever heard him holler "ouch!"  

Terry, 230RN

erictank, I corrected my post due to a reading error on a new meter.  Re-checking with a more friendly older meter indicated 200K ohms.  

[sanglant]

^^^ I have one of these in the back of the Escape.  The jumper clamps are too big to fit into the scooter battery compartment.  I have successfully used it on a car, though.  I have a reminder on my Outlook to plug it into the wall and recharge it every two months.  

Those units are pretty heavy due to the batteries inside, and I don't think they would be practical to carry on a motorcycle.  On a lark, I bought a small compact B&D jump starter that was about 6x6x3 inches, and it was absolutely useless.  It is a trickle charger that plugs into the cigarette lighter socket.  I tried using it twice to start my Mazda pickup when the onboard battery failed, and it did not work both times.  I subsequently read the reviews on Amazon, and the reviews pretty uniformly duplicated my experience.

pity, i was thinking this one, . and one of these() might do the trick. still something to try if you ever have one handy.

[CNYCacher]

Dry hands, across my whole body, just holding the two probes between fingertips, 6 to 9 megohms.  Depends on whether I've just told a lie or not.  

But grab two 110VAC conductors between your two hands and it will probably kill you.

So, you can be killed by 0.0183 milliamps?

[Nick1911]

So, you can be killed by 0.0183 milliamps?

Isn't 30ma suppose to be the lower limit?

I remember reading that somewhere. 

[MillCreek]

An update.  Ever since my dead battery incident, I had been looking for a set of jumper cables that would fit the scooter and motorcycle. The clamps on the car jumpers were too big to fit into the battery compartments.  I had gone to five local autopart stores and three motorcycle dealers without success. I was starting to look online and was thinking about buying a set from Aerostitch for $ 17.

On my way back from a meeting at the hospital this morning, I stopped at a Schuck's auto parts.  For some reason, all of the Schuck's auto parts stores in Washington state have just changed their name to O'Reilley's. This store still had the Schuck's signage.  Much to my surprise, in the battery section, they had a set of motorcycle jumpers. It costs $ 9.99 and stores in a circular clear plastic pouch about 5 inches in diameter by 2 inches deep.  It has the small battery clamps, is 10 feet long and uses bright yellow 10 gauge wire. Suffice it to say that I snatched it up. Now that I have them, I will probably never need them, but I will start carrying them on the scooter. I don't worry about the Suzuki dual sport since I can bump start that.

[Tallpine]

How come the scooter doesn't have a backup rope start ? 

[mgdavis]

Had a similar experience when an acquaintance showed up for a group ride. His Duc 848 had started at home, but wouldn't start again when it was time to leave the meeting spot.

High compression, fuel-injected, v-twin engines don't push start, even with three grown men pushing.

[Bogie]

I saw Jen's dad on "Pool Startup Day" rewire the extension cord that was being used to run the sump pump that was draining the slime.
 
I think he got himself zapped about three times on a 110 line inside about a minute.
 
And he's an "expert."
 

[Monkeyleg]

It has the small battery clamps, is 10 feet long and uses bright yellow 10 gauge wire.

Does it come with a tiny little AAA card, miniature tow truck and a midget driver?