In article ,
mm wrote:
As to the risk here, I routinely touch both clips of the 1-amp 12 votl
battery charger I have. I havent' done that with the 8 amp charger,
probably because the phrase "8 amp" scares me, but it shoudln't and
tomorrow I will, I'll even find some alcohol to spark in. If I don't
post back, it means my house burned down and took my computer and me
with it.

It only takes a few milliamps to kill you. Assuming the current has a path
to a vital organ, like the heart.

Of course many modern car battery chargers have a relay on their output
with the coil operated by the battery - via a diode - to prevent damage to
the charger if it's connected with the wrong polarity. Which also means
it's less likely you'll touch the connectors when they're live.

A powered up but disconnected battery charger of a basic design might well
present a greater 'hazard' than when connected to the battery as the open
circuit voltage could be much higher than the nominal 12 volts.

--
*Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.