CAREFULLY DOES IT
When poking in or around a car

by Bob Cerullo

Being a good driver means more than obeying means more than obeying road rules. You should also know some important facts about your vehicle and how it operates. Many people have been seriously injured while checking radiators and using jumper cables to start their cars. Before you look under the hood, here are some things you should know.

Boiling Radiator Should your car overheat, causing steam to billow out from the engine bay, resist the urge to pop the hood and remove the radiator cap. Even an engine at normal operating temperature contains hot coolant under high pressure.

If you remove the radiator cap when the engine is overheated, you risk being scalded by boiling hot coolant as it spurts out of the radiator.

There is nothing you can do until the engine cools off.

Jumper cables Most drivers feel pretty comfortable and safe attaching jumper cables when their vehicle’s dead battery needs a boost.

In fact, the majority of motorists risk serious injury every time they attach a set of jumper cables.

Under normal operating conditions, hydrogen gas may vent from any battery. If a spark occurs near that gas, the whole battery could explode like a hand grenade. You can minimize the risk of an exploding battery, however, by following the correct procedures when boosting.

Connect the red positive clamp of your jumper cable to the positive (+) terminal of the dead car’s battery. Connect the other red positive to the positive (+) terminal of the live car’s battery.

Next connect the black negative (-) clamp of the negative jumper cable to the negative (-) terminal of the live car’s battery.

Then connect the remaining last negative jumper cable clamp to a solid metal part of the dead car’s engine, at least a foot away from the battery.

By making the final connection away from the battery, you avoid igniting a spark that could cause it to explode.