[LouD]

The new standard for automotive electrical systems will be 42V. It can cause an arcing fault that will burn through metal, and is sufficient voltage, at the amperage required for automotive applications, to kill.

[Old Professer]

Most arc welders using DC operate between 32-40 volts and 100-300 amps current; however, the reason the voltage is generally limited to this value is to protect against injury from accidental touching of both poles by the operator and one side is always connected to a true earth ground; human skin makes a great dialectric which can be shown by squeezing both ends of a battery-powered ohmmeter.

The real danger is from soft-tissue exposure to heat.

[Nov3]

42 volts DC and it is all over period. If you latch onto that you don't get loose. We had 75 VDC backup batteries at a plant I worked at. I was shown some rather gruesome pictures of someone who had gotten ahold of that and it was ugly. It turned them into burnt leather!