crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

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familyman1

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I did one of the dumbest things in my life, one of those things you seriously question yourself after. Mistakenly crossed my battery cables, for a few seconds, sparks and then a poof of white smoke came from the alternator. Couldn't believe I made to the top of the idiot list. Went inside in unbelief, returned hooked up the cables correctly, tested the electronics on dashboard, all works, turned key and motor turned over. The question, did I kill my alternator? Don't know how to check and if I did any advice how not to spend a ton of money?
 
achris

achris

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

Likely you killed the diodes and regulator in the alternator... There's a saying in the electronics industry.... "Scientist found out what makes electronics work. It's smoke, because when the smoke gets out, it stops working"...

Remove the alternator and take it to an auto-electrician to have it checked out and repaired. An auto-electrician is not a marine mechanic... I don't know what they are called in Ca...

You are going to need to check out everything else electronic on the boat; ignition system, radios, GPS, sounders, etc.... Even if it didn't smoke or make a popping noise, it could still be damaged....

Got to ask... How did you get the cables wrong? One's red the other's black... And even if you did get it wrong, the battery isolator switch should have stopped any current flow (unless you turned it on with the battery on wrong.. :facepalm:)....

Chris....
 
Don S

Don S

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

take it to an auto-electrician to have it checked out and repaired. An auto-electrician is not a marine mechanic... I don't know what they are called in Ca...
Click to expand...

Chris is not referring to just an auto mechanic, he is referring to a shop that specializes in starters, alternators, electric motors.


You may have blown some other engine fuses, what engine do you have? Be specific. Model, serial number, year etc.
 
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familyman1

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

Sorry,I have a 97 Reinell 203, mercruiser 5.7L alpha 1. Engine serial # 0K027732, transom # 0K128109

Regarding how I did , pure stupidity, put the battery back in the opposit way I normally have the did the inevitable. This morning I turned the key to see if it would at least turn over and it did so fine. Just a quick turn of the key to see if I wanted to try and start it. What fuses and other things should I check? All my navigation,bulge, blower, lights, battery all work and the starter. Is there a way I can turn the boat on with muffs and use some gage or meter to check if the alternator is charging?
 
Don S

Don S

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

So far it seems to be ok, I suspected you may have blown the square fuse on the starter. But you may not have one or it was removed.
Put some water to it on muffs and start it up and see what works and doesn't. I doubt the alternator works since you let the smoke out.
 
G

glenn property of pam

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

you can put the boat on muffs and see if everything is working ok. The problem with the alternator is that it may show that its working fine on a volt meter. There are 10 diodes in the alternator and depending which one or group fried the alternator could put out low voltage (no output), high voltage no regulation (enough to smoke other items) or it could act as a power drain with the engine turned off (shorted diode)and leave you with a flat battery after a few days. If you have already seen the smoke its better to have it repaired now then to find a problem later.
 
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familyman1

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

Thanks guys, is it cheaper to just get a new one? I didn't check the exact part # 807652 yet for price but I did search last night to just get an idea the $ for a new one for a 97 merc and they seemed to be around $100 to $130.
 
G

glenn property of pam

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

cheaper to have it repaired but once you take your time and effort in to dropping off the old one at the shop and picking it up etc then you may figure its not worth the effort.
 
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familyman1

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

Thanks! Still kicking my self. Are you familiar with spark plug gaps for my plugs or maybe I should start a new thread. Merc recommends AX-MR43T with a gap of .035 and the local marina sold me NKG plugs 4323. BR6FS plugs but the lady told me .03 gap. I dont want to do another stupid thing and put plugs in with wrong gaps.
 
Don S

Don S

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

.035 is the gap.
 
FreeBeeTony

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

achris said:
"Scientist found out what makes electronics work. It's smoke, because when the smoke gets out, it stops working"...
Click to expand...

I have been in electronics for 30 yrs and can confirm this statement....................:)
 
F

familyman1

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Re: crossed bat cables, alternator smoked ;(

Well, I removed my alternator and will get it checked out and I will post the results so others who will probably do the same stupid thing might know how I came out. I'm hoping to get it repaired and not have to buy a new one. I will share what was damaged.
 
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