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jeff1

  • Posts: 5855
Can a 12v Battery Kill You?
« on: September 22, 2006, 07:36:11 pm »
I didn't write this topic to scare anyone but to make you aware that in theory a 12vDC car battery can kill you, it isn't the voltage that kills you but the current passing from one arm through to the other arm. and it does not take a huge amount of current to cause your heart to fibrillate this means your heart does not stop but becomes erratic also know as a heart attack.

Fibrillation (which is what kills you) is perfectly possible with a 12VDC
battery in the 'right' conditions.

What it takes is 100mA through the heart (an acquaintance of mine got
killed this way doing a charging check on the 28VDC system in a
helicopter many years ago)

As your effective skin resistance varies, it will depend on your
effective resistance being about 80-100 ohms, and the current going
from one set of fingers to the other (so the current path is through
the heart area).

A word of warning don't assume its only 12v and it wont hurt me the acquaintance of mine was a healthy 21 year old.

If I check a battery now I keep one hand behind me, I don't touch the body work of my car at the same time I touch the battery terminals, if the battery is off the vehicle I don't touch both terminals at the same time.

AuRavelling79

  • Posts: 26600
Re: Can a 12v Battery Kill You?
« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2006, 08:25:51 pm »
Thanks for the heads up.

(Before I read the thread I was going to post something daft like:- a 12 volt battery would kill you if it fell on your head.)

But I won't! ::)
It's a game of three halves!

pjulk

Re: Can a 12v Battery Kill You?
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2006, 08:30:58 pm »
I did an electric course for one of my previous employers and they said on that its not the volts that kills its the amps.

Paul