Winston writes:

How much is it drawing? Put an ammeter in the GROUND lead; set it to 10
amps, and go downscale from there.

I grok that it doesn't matter where the ammeter is in this 'series'
branch of the network but I wonder what advantage there is in placing
the meter in series with the ground side of the battery in relation
to placing it in series with the hot side of the battery?

Is it a safety thing, to prevent bad stuff from happening should one
of the wires slip and find ground?

You got it. The first bad thing is when you loosen the Hot terminal with
a socket set, and the handle hits grounded metal.

The second is when you burn your hand on the now-hot wrench.

The third bad thing involves getting the acid and lead chucks washed out
of your eyes.

Disconnecting the ground side first is just smart. It makes no difference
in measuring.

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