Battery hooked up wrong

[michaelingalee]

I am sure some of you out there have done the same idiotic thing that I did last night. It was dark and I was hooking up my new battery in my boat, this battery operates the engine, live well and bilge pump. Anyway i did the unthinkable and hooked up the battery wrong, positive on the negative posts. After i slipped the cables on the wrong posts my wife said, hey the engine is smoking! So I quickly removed the cables and noticed my mistake. DUMB, DUMB and DUMB! Anyway I hooked the battery up right and tried the motor which started, I tried the live well worked, and I tried the bilge and they all worked.

I am wondering if there was more damamge that I did that I might find out when I am a mile out on the lake!

Fell free to call me an idiot but what was done was done.

Thanks for your positive remarks.

Tom

 

[F_R]

Re: Battery hooked up wrong

Depends on what motor you have and what it is equipped with. At the very least, if it has an alternator you blew the rectifier.

 

[michaelingalee]

Re: Battery hooked up wrong

I am not sure if you know but I have a 1984 70 HP Johnson. I will have to look in my manual tonight. I am kind of green when it comes to batteries and electronics. Would this damage anything if I use the boat with a blown recitifier/alternator?

 

[countvlad]

Re: Battery hooked up wrong

I am not sure if you know but I have a 1984 70 HP Johnson. I will have to look in my manual tonight. I am kind of green when it comes to batteries and electronics. Would this damage anything if I use the boat with a blown recitifier/alternator?

yes... you fried the rectifier...

the rectifier charges your battery and operates the tachometer.... i dont recommend running the boat without the rectifier you could damage other components....

change the rectifier and go from there... good luck

 

[ezeke]

Re: Battery hooked up wrong

Actually, running without the rectifier is a lot less risky than running with a bad rectifier connected.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Battery hooked up wrong

ok, I tried that once...hooking up the battery in the dark...I know which battery post is + because I can feel the embossed "+" and "-" but I didn't count on red & black cables being indistinguishable in the dark.

A big ol' spark warned me off just as I touched the 2nd cable to the 2nd post.

Nothing was harmed, not even the rectifier.

Now, these guys are probably correct, you have let all the smoke out of the rectifier, and it won't work without it's smoke, and it's almost impossible to get all the smoke back in there.

But nevertheless, here's something you can do anyway, before spending any money on parts:

First, do you have a working tachometer? If so, and if it's working normally, then you're done...the rectifer is fine. Tach won't work with a blown rectifier.

Next, if you have no tach, measure the voltage across the battery with engine off. Start the engine and measure the battery voltage again. If the voltage is higher with the engine running, then you are good to go.

 

[basspirate]

Re: Battery hooked up wrong

i would play it safe and buy a new rectifier they are pretty cheap, usually around 30 or 40 dollars. much cheaper and easier than having to replace power packs and timing bases

 

[countvlad]

Re: Battery hooked up wrong

i would play it safe and buy a new rectifier they are pretty cheap, usually around 30 or 40 dollars. much cheaper and easier than having to replace power packs and timing bases

absolutely, they are not that expensive and they are easy to change... there's a reason why it smoked.... the old one might work for now but are you willing to take that chance?