[JSeery]

Tinker, see if this helps. To get a spark you need a complete path from one battery post to the other post. When you directly touch the battery leads you have that path. With the car wiring, even though the system is "hot" in a lot of the wiring there is not a path to ground unless one is created. This could be a wire shorted to ground or a switch left on on say the lights or the ignition. It could be the cut-out stuck shut, etc. But unless there is a path to ground there is not going to be any current flow. If you check the battery lead with a meter you will not see any reading unless again there is a path to ground. The same current flow that would show up with a voltmeter is the current flow that would produce a spark.