Battery question

[oneidadan]

Hello, I needed to jump start a car today. I connected the jump leads to the right battery (if you stand at the front of the truck looking towards the windscreen). Tried the other car and it wouldn't start. After a few goes I swapped the cables onto the left battery and the other car started first time.
Does this mean the right battery is naffed? or is it normal for that to happen and if so why?
Fanku!

[BUSHWHACKER]

Yes.
Age.

[nero279]

not neccesarily, it could be caused by dirty battery terminals, or a poor connection to the jumpleads on the first battery, by swapping to the other battery all you did was get a better connection.

[BUSHWHACKER]

How very dare you!

[nero279]

[collects coat and leaves]

[MattF]

not neccesarily, it could be caused by dirty battery terminals, or a poor connection to the jumpleads on the first battery, by swapping to the other battery all you did was get a better connection.

Nope, you're completely wrong. Poor contact via the jumpleads would have had no effect on the other vehicle whatsoever. It would have needed good contact for it to pull the other vehicles supply down.

Also, if one battery is sh@gged, the drain would occur whichever battery you connected to, as they're connected in parallel, so you most likely connected the leads the wrong way around, i.e: neg to pos, pos to neg.

[oneidadan]

Yes.
Age.

Is that a yes it's dead or a yes it's normal?

[oneidadan]

Nope, you're completely wrong. Poor contact via the jumpleads would have had no effect on the other vehicle whatsoever. It would have needed good contact for it to pull the other vehicles supply down.

Also, if one battery is sh@gged, the drain would occur whichever battery you connected to, as they're connected in parallel, so you most likely connected the leads the wrong way around, i.e: neg to pos, pos to neg.

I'm fairly certain I connected them the right way round, cause I doubly checked before trying it (especially as last week an auto electrician connected the leads the wrong way round when trying to charge my girlfriends corsa and loads of smoke started pouring out And funnily enough her alternator died right after, so could be a connection there. Anywho that's a different subject).
I was the one trying to start annother car (again the corsa) so my car was OK it was her battery that was flat.

[stormforce]

well if thats what the auto spark had done on your truck then he should be paying for a new battery as thats what is most likely to of knackered it then

[oneidadan]

No it was my girlfriends corsa that got fried.

He had to charge the battery to code a new key, got it wrong way round and lots of smoke ensued. Although I think he might have destroyed the alternator on the corsa as the 'no charge' warning light came up once we had fully charged up the battery.
Managed to fit a new alternator yesterday (and nearly contracted hypothermia in the process) but the battery was flat again, so I had to jump start it, which led me to find out that the right battery wouldn't start the corsa.

It go me worried you see cause i've recently had to change my starter motor, and I remember reading on here that a faulty battery could damage a starter motor, and if it is broke I don't want it to kill another starter.

[MattF]

Right. I get what you mean now. You weren't trying to start the Surf from another vehicle but vice versa. What Nero said was correct then.

[nero279]

Right. I get what you mean now. You weren't trying to start the Surf from another vehicle but vice versa. What Nero said was correct then.

apology accepted

[MattF]

apology accepted

[oneidadan]

thanks, so do you think it was just a bad connection when I tried the first battery?