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Thursday, June 9, 2022

Question:

Good Afternoon,

I recently had the battery replaced in my truck. The service mechanic referred to the battery connections as positive and ground. Shouldn’t the correct terminology be positive and negative terminals? Isn't the vehicle frame the negative side of the battery, rather than ground?

Bernard Welsh

A

Answer:

Hi Bernard,

Your thinking is correct. There is no ground (as defined by the NEC) in a motor vehicle. To be ground, the earth would need to be involved. The NEC defines ground as "the earth."Keep using the right terms out there. Many don’t, and it often gets them into a bind when attempting to apply the NEC to installations and systems. Slang words and terms mean different things to different people. It is best to use the defined language the Code uses. By the way, automotive vehicles are not covered by the NEC as indicated in 90.2(B). Thanks for participating.

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CHARLIE TROUT: Charles M. Trout, better known as Charlie, was a nationally known NEC® expert and author. He served on several NEC® technical committees and is past chairman of CMP-12. In 2006 Charlie was awarded the prestigious Coggeshall Award for outstanding contributions to the electrical contracting industry, codes and standards development, and technical training. Even though Charlie passed away in October of 2015, his work continues in spirit. NECA continues to maintain this question forum for its many subscribers in memory and recognition of all his significant contributions to making the NEC what it is today.

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