help - battery connected incorrectly

[SAB]

I have by accident connected my car battery incorrectly (pos on neg and vice
versa). I must have fried a few things. Where do I start to check? The car
starts, but the battery light goes on and battery drains rapidly.

 

[Mike Behnke]

Salvage yard for replacement parts.

 

[Bob Shuman]

I'd start by pulling all the fuses you don't absolutely need to start the
vehicle and then try to verify there is no excess current draw. I'd then
start replacing the fuses one by one to see which circuit(s) are at fault
and then trace what is on them if you find the culprit(s).

Good luck.

Bob

 

[Larntz]

It is likely that you fried the diodes in the alternator. If I am correct,
you can pull the large red wire off of the alternator and tape it up to
prevent shorting out, and your battery will not go dead. Keep a charger on
it each night you should be able to use your car until you get a
replacement.

HTH
Larntz

 

[mic canic]

test all fuses i'm sure you blew a few

I'd start by pulling all the fuses you don't absolutely need to start the
vehicle and then try to verify there is no excess current draw. I'd then
start replacing the fuses one by one to see which circuit(s) are at fault
and then trace what is on them if you find the culprit(s).

Good luck.

Bob

 

[Mr. Elbe]

test all fuses i'm sure you blew a few

The battery light being on indicates no charging. Most likely the
battery reversal not only blew fuses bat also a fusible link. Worst
case, it fried the diodes in the Alternator.

 

[Bob]

The battery light being on indicates no charging. Most likely the
battery reversal not only blew fuses bat also a fusible link. Worst
case, it fried the diodes in the Alternator.

Actually, there's an even worse case..... in most newer vehicles, the field
on the alternator is controlled by the PCM (ECM, Computer, etc.) This means
that there's the distinct possibilty that you'll need to change that to fix
the problem. Find out what the field pin is on the alternator, and see if
it's at 12 volts (or so). Then look at the the output lug of the alternator.
If the field pin is high, and the output is not at least (at the very
least - it should be closer to 14) 13 volts, then the alternator is sick. If
there's little to no (less than 6 volts) on the field pin, then the computer
is sick.