Aug 30, 2009 14:39
14 yrs ago
French term
masse batterie
French to English
Tech/Engineering
Automotive / Cars & Trucks
"utiliser un interrupteur à couteau ou relais au niveau de la masse batterie ... sinon on peut juste débrancher la cosse de masse".
(the entire sentence or including also "relais" and "cosse de masse").
(the entire sentence or including also "relais" and "cosse de masse").
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +2 | battery earth / ground |
Tony M
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| 5 +1 | battery's negative pole or negative plate terminal |
Drmanu49
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Change log
Aug 30, 2009 14:39: changed "Kudoz queue" from "In queue" to "Public"
Proposed translations
+2
22 mins
Selected
battery earth / ground
'earth' is still very common in UK EN, whereas I believe only 'ground' is used in the US.
Although in practice it almost certainly will be the negative terminal, that is not what the source text actually says, and so would amount to over-translation.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2009-08-30 17:52:18 GMT)
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'negative' vs 'ground / earth'
We all know that the 'earth' terminal of the battery is overwhelmingly most likely (nowadays) to be the negative one — but what if this text were relating to earlier vehicles with +ve earth? We simply don't know from the context given if this could be the case, and it is not our job as translators to impose our own technical knowledge, but simply to translate what the original writer wrote.
From a purely technical point of view, I think it is better to refer to it as 'ground' or 'earth' anyway — in automotive systems, we tend mainly to talk about +12 V power with respect to the chassis ground or 0 V; unlike in some electronics systems, there is no real concept of a +ve ra
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Note added at 3 hrs (2009-08-30 17:53:57 GMT)
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...of a +ve rail and a –ve rail. And it seems clear to me here that it is the function of this terminal that is important: i.e., the fact that it is the one connected to the vehicle chassis — its absolute polarity seems to me of lesser importance in this kind of context.
Although in practice it almost certainly will be the negative terminal, that is not what the source text actually says, and so would amount to over-translation.
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Note added at 3 hrs (2009-08-30 17:52:18 GMT)
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'negative' vs 'ground / earth'
We all know that the 'earth' terminal of the battery is overwhelmingly most likely (nowadays) to be the negative one — but what if this text were relating to earlier vehicles with +ve earth? We simply don't know from the context given if this could be the case, and it is not our job as translators to impose our own technical knowledge, but simply to translate what the original writer wrote.
From a purely technical point of view, I think it is better to refer to it as 'ground' or 'earth' anyway — in automotive systems, we tend mainly to talk about +12 V power with respect to the chassis ground or 0 V; unlike in some electronics systems, there is no real concept of a +ve ra
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Note added at 3 hrs (2009-08-30 17:53:57 GMT)
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...of a +ve rail and a –ve rail. And it seems clear to me here that it is the function of this terminal that is important: i.e., the fact that it is the one connected to the vehicle chassis — its absolute polarity seems to me of lesser importance in this kind of context.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Drmanu49
: Would you use the term "ground" for a battery pole? OK and isn't it always marked as "-"?
2 hrs
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Yes, in automotive, we do; one might say 'battery ground / earth terminal'
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| agree |
Terry Richards
: particularly with the note at 3 hours.
3 hrs
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Thanks a lot, Terry!
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| agree |
chris collister
2 days 2 hrs
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
3 mins
battery's negative pole or negative plate terminal
Noun, 1. negative pole - the terminal of a battery that is connected to the negative plate. terminal, pole - a contact on an electrical device (such as a ...
www.thefreedictionary.com/negative pole
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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-08-30 19:03:12 GMT)
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Negative battery pole, if you are speaking about the battery, is definitely the most commonly understood term worldwide.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-08-30 19:05:09 GMT)
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And in French when speaking about "cosse de masse", every native speaker will understandthat as the pole marked "-" or negative pole.
www.thefreedictionary.com/negative pole
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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-08-30 19:03:12 GMT)
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Negative battery pole, if you are speaking about the battery, is definitely the most commonly understood term worldwide.
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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-08-30 19:05:09 GMT)
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And in French when speaking about "cosse de masse", every native speaker will understandthat as the pole marked "-" or negative pole.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Donatella Talpo
16 mins
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Thank you Donatella.
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| neutral |
Tony M
: Over-translation, since the source text doesn't specify if it is negative or not; I would avoid the use of 'plate', which doesn't sound like natural EN.
20 mins
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"Masse" is almost always negative Tony. And cosse de masse is synomymous for negative.
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| disagree |
Terry Richards
: WE don't even know that it's a car, let alone whether it's +ve or -ve earth. Given the knife switch, I would bet a small amount of money on it being a boat or something agricultural. //No it isn't - the original Mini was +ve earth
3 hrs
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That is not relevant, cosse de masse is always the negative pole on a battery boat or car.
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| agree |
Lionel_M (X)
: Je croyais que le pole négatif était "la masse" dans le monde entier mais bon....
3 hrs
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Thank you Lionel.
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Discussion
However, why not stick with earth terminal? It's a perfectly good translation and will be correct whether the vehicle is +ve or -ve earth.
3) It was discovered that positive earth vehicles are more subject to corrosion around the light fixtures etc. This was caused by the current flowing which tended to make the expensive, welded in place, body panel electro-plate itself onto the cheap, bolted in place, light fixture. In a -ve earth vehicle, the opposite occurs. Oddly enough, this was probably the driving force behind the switch over to -ve earth even though it's no longer relevant as the light fixtures are plastic these days.
It is theoretically possible to design the electrical circuits of the car so that the body ground is connected to either the +ve or -ve terminal of the battery as long as the polarity is taken into account by all the electrical devices in the car. Back in the 1960's and earlier, there was very little in a car that cared what the polarity was - lights, horns and the ignition system work quite happily either way. The only component that really cared was the dynamo (nd they could be initialised to work either way). As a result, cars and motorcycles (and, no doubt, other vehicles) were built with either +ve or -ve earth basically according to tradition.
3 factors changed this:
1) Alternators were introduced. They can't be initialised as +ve or =ve earth and have to be built in two versions.
2) Transistor equipment (radios etc. and then computers) was introduced. Transistors very much care what polarity they are run on and, once again, [continued]