OOPS. Hooked battery up backwards. Now what?
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OOPS. Hooked battery up backwards. Now what?
Well, we unhook the battery every night on my buddies project 1978 Ford Bronco Custom. And the ground was having a hard time reaching. So I turn the battery around and he needs some help doing something. So I go help him and then he wants to start it up real quick to see if how it runs. Well forgetting I turned the battery around I hook the positive to the neg and the neg to the positive, then smoke from around the solenoid. I pull off the positive, then hook it up right. Then nothing. I put on a solenoid from a parts bronco we have that we don't know if it works and hook it up and still no juice anywhere. So I jump the the front of the solenoid to the back and it cranks and starts. Then it dies, and I try it again and now it won't crank. So I try jumping the positive on the battery to the little plug on the solenoid(the one closest to the front) and it cranks over and starts. It does this 3 times till it will just crank and not start. It never slowed in cranking either. Tried starting fluid, nothing.
Anyone have any ideas?
Anyone have any ideas?
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 108
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Don't feel bad... I did it once just a few years back, but I got lucky and nothing was fried.
What you most likely did, is fried the starter solenoid, and one or more fusable links that connect to the solenoid. The easiest thing to do, is hook everything up properly, and take a test light, and stick it in the wire AFTER the fusable link. The fusable links are normally either RED or ORANGE in color, and are SQUARE. If it lights up, the link is good. No light, bad link. You can get links at Advance Auto Parts, autozone, napa for a few bucks a piece.
Since it will only run for a few seconds, it is possible you "may" have fried the ignition control box mounted on the drivers' side inner fender too. But I would try the links first...
Good luck....
What you most likely did, is fried the starter solenoid, and one or more fusable links that connect to the solenoid. The easiest thing to do, is hook everything up properly, and take a test light, and stick it in the wire AFTER the fusable link. The fusable links are normally either RED or ORANGE in color, and are SQUARE. If it lights up, the link is good. No light, bad link. You can get links at Advance Auto Parts, autozone, napa for a few bucks a piece.
Since it will only run for a few seconds, it is possible you "may" have fried the ignition control box mounted on the drivers' side inner fender too. But I would try the links first...
Good luck....
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