MY mistake, I left off the shorting out part. It should have read "By connecting the positive cable first THEN the negative cable, you eliminate/minimize any surge that is sent into the electrical system of BOTH cars resulting from a short." NOT "By connecting the positive cable first THEN the negative cable, you eliminate/minimize any surge that is sent into the electrical system of BOTH cars." That's what happens when you leave the computer before finishing what you type, then returning and sending it before proof reading it before hitting the "send" button. But whatever it may be, it's still a safety precaution to hook up the positive first. Good thing for proofreaders to pick up mistakes. :-) Steve --- In dmcnews@xxxx, "David Swingle" <dswingle@xxxx> wrote: > I've got to jump in on this one. I can't understand what electrical > engineering principle could possibly impact the requirement to > connect the positive or the negative first, with respect to inrush > surges as the connection is made. It's a single circuit. Current flow