Can you draw a diagram (or a picture) and show: You might need a new meter!
Defying physics or taking a picture? It would be nice if you would stay on this (derailed) topic instead of posting petty replies because I would really like to see you show this incredible discovery before the thread gets locked. Apologies to the OP, but I really hate confidently posted misinformation.
I'm not going to take my car's battery components out and arrange a "photo op" for some complete nobody who I don't care about just to prove a point. I have far greater things to do. You do what you want with your car your way, and I will continue to do with mine what I want - with no regard to your opinions or anyone's opinion on this forum.
I honestly wouldn't waste my time. Its as basic as it gets and unfortunately some people will just never get it now matter how simple of a concept it is - No negative connection, no electrical flow.
Only 6 pages? Keep it coming!
These are some good questions. A good multimeter should never "create a ground" unless you are measuring current. When you measure current, the multimeter is in series with the connection and provides a low resistance path for the current to be measured. Basically, a multimeter acts as a wire to keep the circuit connected so you can measure the current through it.
True that works BUT I thought you are supposed to connect the negative to the metal of the dead car....Not going to argue because I don't think it matters the main purpose is to avoid spark on the last connection near a battery + it usually makes a better connection this way.
DAMN we are getting all detailed folks. @ZXMustang look what you started LOLThese are some good questions. A good multimeter should never "create a ground" unless you are measuring current. When you measure current, the multimeter is in series with the connection and provides a low resistance path for the current to be measured. Basically, a multimeter acts as a wire to keep the circuit connected so you can measure the current through it.
When you measure volts, the multimeter acts as a very high resistance so very little current flows through it. If it provided a low resistance like a short circuit, it would drag the voltage down and would not be able to measure properly.
When you measure resistance, the multimeter is actually providing a small voltage like 1V across the connection and measures the current to determine the resistance of the circuit. This is why when you measure resistance, you should always do it to an unpowered circuit or you will be providing a voltage that doesn't belong in the circuit.
It is true that there is capacitance in electrical circuits which will hold the voltage up to some degree. However, in typical circuits, the capacitance is low enough to bleed off within a minute or less. You can speed this process up by disconnecting one cable and shorting it to the other. At that point, you are shorting out any capacitor and bleeding it very rapidly. Only do this if you KNOW the circuit is not powered or you can create a short. Since a car battery can provide 600 amps or more, shorting the battery to ground will be pretty dramatic... lots of sparks and the cables may weld themselves to the terminals or metal they're making contact with making it much harder to disconnect immediately.
And while I'm here, here are pics of the voltage across my battery with the neg cable disconnected:
And the voltage from the positive cable to the negative cable with the cable grounded to a bolt on the chassis:
I don't have a fancy fluke, but my trusty craftsman shows 0.007 volts without the negative battery terminal connected. No sparks, no danger, etc. It does look like my negative terminal needs a good cleaning.
10-4 will do.