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Hi all. Had to fit a new battery today,as old one found out by the cold. This new one is a bit taller, so I didn't need the strip of wood which was previously under the metal battery clamp. All went in fine but im a bit worried as to whether the lead coming out of the positive, could possibly touch the metal clamp as it is vey close. I have taped all around it and put a good thick cloth on the clamp. What would happen if it touched ? Fuse everything ? Many thanks, seems fine, but better safe than sorry.

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I think you would get rather a large bang and then molten metal, involuntary ejection of any passenger, and finally loss of new battery (the sequencing may be different!).

What I did was wrap the metal bar completely with insulating tape (so no metal showing) as well as taping up the terminals. Very quick and easy to do and will give you a bit of comfort.

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Hi all. Had to fit a new battery today,as old one found out by the cold. This new one is a bit taller, so I didn't need the strip of wood which was previously under the metal battery clamp. All went in fine but im a bit worried as to whether the lead coming out of the positive, could possibly touch the metal clamp as it is vey close. I have taped all around it and put a good thick cloth on the clamp. What would happen if it touched ? Fuse everything ? Many thanks, seems fine, but better safe than sorry.

I would put some sheet plastic or a rubber mudflap on top of the battery and check every now and then that it hasn't worn through.

I have some thick rubber matting on top of mine but have plenty of room :)

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Hi all. Had to fit a new battery today,as old one found out by the cold. This new one is a bit taller, so I didn't need the strip of wood which was previously under the metal battery clamp. All went in fine but im a bit worried as to whether the lead coming out of the positive, could possibly touch the metal clamp as it is vey close. I have taped all around it and put a good thick cloth on the clamp. What would happen if it touched ? Fuse everything ? Many thanks, seems fine, but better safe than sorry.

As a student I saw first hand what happens when a lead acid battery shorts out. A friend was given an old Austin (Westminster?) with a failing battery. No real problem because it also had a starting handle. However, got to the point where the battery needed to be on constant charge. When his next grant came through he purchased the largest battery that would fit. Unfortunately it didn't quite! He had underestimated the clearance needed.

As he tightened the clamps and slammed the bonnet down, the bonnet shorted out the battery. Immediately followed by a loud bang and, soon after, a smell of burning as the paint burnt off the bonnet and the metal surrounding the contact point deformed. A passerby called the fire brigade who pumped foam into the engine compartment.

After hosing the foam out, we took turns lying under the car, with half a hacksaw blade sawing through the remnants of the battery terminal in order to be able to lift the bonnet. A very long job.

It turns out that we were also very fortunate not to have had an explosion from the original battery

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