24 Volt battery issue..??? (1 Viewer)

[82BJ42Fan]

I have an 82 BJ44, 24V diesel, and my first 24V car.. Car died on me a few months ago, AAA tried replacing a battery(only had 1 available), then towed me home.. I pulled alternator, had it tested(it's fine), so replaced regulator... As I'm hooking up a second matching battery, the spark was huge, compared to a 12V car.. actually hot enough to score a mark on top of battery.. Old battery was fine, and car sat for months with no drain, so if this is a wiring issue, it's with stuff running, and car was off when I started to hook up the second battery(RHD Japanese model).. So, 'second' battery refers to MY driver side, but if placement of stuff under the hood is the same, regardless of steering wheel, you'd call it the passenger side.. With that said, here's my question: Are the batteries supposed to be hooked up a certain way? Maybe I'm over thinking this, but it seemed like way too much electricity flowing with nothing on, not even a radio clock.. So, would anyone out there with a 24V system be willing to disconnect a battery, and touch the terminal to the top of the post(accidentally like)? I left it disconnected because I was a little worried about melting wires... Everything Iknow points to the voltage regulator as being the problem.. The day it died was cold, dark, and there were 6 stops in 55 minutes, plenty of time to drain the batteries.. After I got it home that day, I disconnected the older battery, charged it, and it started right up.. I had gloves on that day, so must've missed this spark with my glove over the terminal.. Electricity has never been easy for me, so as soon as I get this battery connected, I'm taking it in for a whole electrical checkup... I just want a little guidance on this spark issue first. It seemed a bit excessive.

 

[3_puppies]

2-12 volt batteries become 24 volt by hooking
neg of 1 battery to frame
pos of same battery to neg of other battery
pos of second battery goes to starter

hope that is clear enough

 

[82BJ42Fan]

I get how it's hooked up, but that big of a spark.. is it normal? I left it hooked up for like 5 minutes, then disconnected it.. I got nervous about melting something and starting a whole new electrical nightmare.. I tried repeating this with 2 lawn mower batteries, but the posts were different, and the spark was less, but that could be from older batteries or much lower amps.. I mean, touching the clamp and dragging it across the top of the battery terminal actually left a score mark on the terminal.. Normal for 2 new batteries??