Hi there! Right, i've dropped a small nut down into the interior of my timing cover whilst changing a water pump on my Volvo. This normally means a huge strip down for a stupid mistake. But, I surmised that as the cover is plastic and open at the top, I have 12 - 15V DC easily available and a multitude of steel / iron tools I could wind a coil round an iron rod, then connect it accross the terminals of the cars battery. Thus forming an electromagnet to "tickle" the nut up the front of the plastic cover until I can recover it.
What i'm worried about is that i'm basically making a dead short accross the terminals. Am I right in thinking that it's the length / thickness of the copper wire that will cause enough resistance to protect the battery? If so, how long is safe? ( Hmmm, this appears to be a "How long is a piece of string" question ) Is this a way to get out of a bind, or a way to wreck the battery?
Les