Unless the laws of physics and chemistry has changed since I last read it, jump starting batteries by itself (ceteris paribus - all things held equal) DOES NOT affect the alternator.

Benzman500 - if you ever get sued, do let us in a class-action counter-claim for the good of humanity.

As for the tech. aspects, I am sure you'd not be short of expert witnesses here to support your case.

I suppose, that old chap needs some big time help. Any shrinks in this forum?

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... Kerry

126 tailed by a 203, 129 leading the pack.

I totally agree to all the comments. It's a real shame some people are like this. I am sure the law of the land is different with the laws of the water. If you are on the water and you decide to tow a boat into shore. Unfortunately even as a good Samaritan you are responsible for any damage that occurs to his, your boat or any property damage. Laws can be tricky. But like I said I am sure the laws are different. Another unfortunate thing is. The two people who will suffer are you and the next person you come across that will need help. Do not let it get to you. You did the right thing.

Good Luck.

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Mike

I was really disappointed when the old jerk hung up on the Sumaritan.
I was sure this was a real winner for Judge Wampners "People's Court".
I know you will come to the aide of a person in need regardless of this outcome.
That's the type of man you are.
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
Donald, El Cheapo

I advised you to have your FATHER call this guy, and the next post was about how he Hung Up On YOU!!! Get a grip! I can't help, if you don't listen.

You also didn't answer my 2 questions....

BUT NEVER STOP HELPING PEOPLE! Despite the fact that when you cast your bread upon the waters these days, you'll likely get a fine from the EPA! There might be someone whose life you may save...

And hey, El-Cheapo Swinford, you ain't exactly no spring chicken! You're a man who we should all be able to respect and admire (AT LEAST I DO), and a former bomber pilot! Aside from what you already contributed, what other advice can you offer to this young man on how to resolve this matter? What Would Don Swinford Do? We (as usual) rely upon you for your maturity and wisdom...

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!

I cannot believe it is even possible for such a thing to happen. You help someone on the side of the road out of the goodness of your heart, and they try to make you pay for damages that were probably already there.

Come on, his battery discharged while he was driving, it obviously wasn't charging in the first place, why would he expect the charging system to work properly after his car was jumped?

The problem with the US being "The land of oppurtunity" is that it affords to much oppurtunity for jerks like this. If I were in your position I would be laughing my head off at
1) How big of an idiot this guy is
2) What he is in for

Do me and everyone else a personal favor and tear this guy a new one like nothing else. Just goes to show exactly how spoiled some people can become.

-Ali Al-Chalabi

Let us know how it goes, you have all of our support.

Here is pretty much the same situation except more serious. If someones heart stops and you give them CPR and they survive, they can sue you if you are not trained to give CPR. I know its really screwed up but some people just dont have any morals.

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Adam,
2003 Volkswagen Golf GL 24,000 miles. 1.9L I-4 TDI 5spd.

1986 300E. 115,000+ miles. 3.0L I-6 1st daily ride, around town only. (Gone)

Sorry about that I did have my father call him we were both on the line and he hung up. anyway it is my problem not my dad's so i will deal with it. I left a message on the mechine to meet me at my mech shop after the daytona 500 traffic dies down and let my mech look at it.

DON'T DO ANYTHING THIS GUY IS A BELIGERENT SCAMMER YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAY OR DO ANYTHING TO CHANGE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Further contact with this idiot will only hurt your case. Let him make a fool out of himself. Small Claims Court is no biggie if you end up there. I am all riled up over this for no apparent reason, except for the fact that I have been there. In my case it was really my fault. The judge said because I acted in good faith, and was acting as a good Samaritan tough **** for the other guy. He then told him a free service is, what it is, and so on.

Dan,

Leave him alone! I suspect that he called you in the first place because he was just "pissed" that he found out his charging system needed repairs, who better to blame than YOU?

Now that time has passed, he may have cooled off and realized that the fault may not be yours, as he may have been educated by a mechanic.

Don't contact him, if he wants to feed off your emotional energy he will be calling again, but don't play the game he started.

If you are the type of person to stop and help then go with the old gut feeling. Most of the time people really do need help and will not react this way. If you stop and don't have a "warm fuzzy feel'in", get back in your car and leave.

This guy is a D*ck, Life brings people the lessons they need, one day this guy might get a clue!

Do yourself a favor and just move on as you did not cause his mechanical failure.



P.S. Sorry for all the advise I just dished out, I forgot to ask if you needed any in the first place?

Oh, and ENJOY the race today!

If jumper battery is connected correctly, i. e. + to + & - to -, how could it damage anything? Why isn't it electrically the same as the "jumped" cars's own battery sitting there? 'Can't see how properly connected "jump" can damage anything!! I'm sure I've been very lucky so far - 'jumped a lot of vehicles during last 54 years, including Cessna puddle-jumpers & Boeing B-47's & B-52's; haven't damaged anything yet; I'm just very sure when I connect them, it's + to + & - to -! Elec. stuff in the jumped vehicle doesn't care nor know if the elecrons are coming from its own vehicle's battery or the other vehicle's battery as long as they're going the right direction. My .02.

I once had a '77 Cad Coupe De Vile (Not Misspelled!). It's model alternator was notorious for blowing out diodes if you jump started another car. The way it was explained to me was that the act of actually starting the other car momentarily connected the two charging alternators/generators together, with the vehicle having a dead battery's voltage regulator wide open, and as electricity needs to be corralled, or at least flow controlled by the use of diodes, those diodes would be getting more amperage than they were designed for, and would be more likely to fail.

Everytime I jumped another car, I ended up replacing at least one diode in the alternator, so I just stopped doing any "road service". One way to prevent any potential damage to the electrical system when jump-starting another vehicle, is to turn on the headlamps of the jumpor when the engine starts on the jumpee. Doing that places sufficient drain on the two electrical systems to prevent any overload.

As far as Dan's problem, the gentleman with the old classic Mercedes needs a reality check. His battery was stone cold dead, and jumping the beast didn't produce results, so his alternator was likely dead as well. The likelyhood for damage was more on Dan's alternator, than this other one. What Dan did was trying to help, not hurt the situation, so I believe that in order to collect damages, the points of intent, and exercise of due diligence need to be astablished or disproved.

And, I still want to know if the other car did start and make it to a service station under it's own power, or if it never started, and had to be towed. What's the straight scoop, Dan?

If the jumpstart did the trick, then this guy's a dick. :p

Thank you, Johnny Cochran...

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Scott Longston
Northern California Wine Country...
"Turbos whistle, grapes wine..."

Dear Dan: I know of no way he can prove you damaged his alternator. I'll bet some mechanic told him the battery cables must be removed before charging or else the alternator can be damaged, and that is what he is basing his complaint on.I know of no towing service including Mercedes roadside assistance that disconnects the battery cables prior to charging, or jumping to start. I have charged overnight, (10hrs) many a time over the years without any damage to an alternator. I would love to see you send him a bill for $100 for roadside assistance.

Hi there,

There is absolutely NO WAY you could have damaged his alternator as long as you connected the jumper cables with the correct polarity, and no BIG sparks occured. Furthermore, if you got his car started while the jumper cables were connected, it is absolute proof that the cables were connected properly, as the battery would have exploded if the cables were connected in reverse long enough to start a car. The only risk involved in jump starting a car is to the car that is providing the jump - the alternator on the donor car can be overloaded if the jump is left on for a long time and/or the other car is started while the donor car's alternator is operating - it places the maximum load on the alternator (An alternator will put out everything it's capable of, even into an impossible load!), and the diodes in YOUR car (the donor car) could melt down. The alternator in HIS car is effectively not even in the circuit, being isolated by the diodes in its alternator. Think of an alternator as a 3 phase transformer with full-wave rectifier on each branch. If the voltage at the output is higher than the transformer (alternator stator windings) are producing, there will be no current flow through the diodes - they will be reverse biased. (This would be the condition when his engine isn't running, and your battery and alternator are providing the voltage to his vehicle). Of course, if you DID connect the cables improperly (reversed), there is a POSSIBILITY that you could have damaged his alternator, but it's not even THAT likely as long as his battery still retained a partial charge.
Let him sue you, then make an example out of him!

Richard Wooldridge

To retreat is to fight another day.
The clouds blocked the target and Schwienfurt ball bearing factories lived another day.
I would let mr. little think about how he feels toward himself.
What's this spring chicken you old buzzard?
I'm going to go sit in the corner and suck my thumb, you hurt my widdle feelwings.
An old Gentleman told me, to keep from having your little feeling hurt, don't have little feelings.
Happy Trails Beep Beep from Houston!!!
Donald, El Cheapo
from euro to kwajalain(the pearl of the Marshalls)

I clled the guy agian and told him if he did not drop it I would call my laywer I told him who the laywer was and he said he had changed his mide about the suit and that he felt it was my fault but he would pay because i am a kid. I said whatever and hung up the phone
thanks for all your help