Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

[jbrinkley]

So while in the process of installing a new battery i put the positive on the negative and vice versa. think i burned my starter up.

so i make it right and turn the key and nothing, no click or anything. then i tried jumping the starter with a screwdriver and it cranks. does this mean i need a new starter?

thanks in advance, new to working on boats, kinda inherited the boat.

oh, its a 3.0 mercruiser in a bayliner.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

What year 3.0?

You probably tripped the circuit breaker on the engine.

The starter is working so sounds like upstream.

Your cables are red and black no?? :facepalm:

 

[Don S]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

so i make it right and turn the key and nothing, no click or anything. then i tried jumping the starter with a screwdriver and it cranks. does this mean i need a new starter?

There is always a circuit breaker of some kind on the engine that puts power up to the ignition switch. It's possible you need to reset it. On some, there is a square fuse on the starters main terminal that may also have blown. Without a year or SN of your engine, it's impossible to say if there is or not. You just have to look around.

 

[jbrinkley]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

not sure on the year, will find out from my dad tomorrow. i do know that there is a red reset button on top of the motor, and pushing it did not help. i did read somewhere about a square shaped fuse but didn't see one. is it on the starter?

 

[rocklydockly]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

I did this last year. My payment for my error was a new Mando Alternator. Could have been worse.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

You won't damage the starter but may blow a few fuses and/or fry the alternators diodes.

 

[GasCan II]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

Look in the service man, I beleive there is a fuseable link in the starter hot/supply wire.

 

[jbrinkley]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

still not sure on the year, but the best i could tell the serial number on the motor is om69655, had to look at the tag on the back, one on the carb is worn off. is the square white thing on the starter the fuse?

 

[Don S]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

Yes it does, or it had one when new. Your serial number is one number short, there should be 6 numbers after the 0M but the 0M was enough to determine the SN range for parts.

That fuse is 90A, is bolted onto the starter solenoid and looks like this

 

[jbrinkley]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

ok, just took that off and the two metal pieces inside just fell apart, assuming that means its blowed. will an auto parts store have those?

 

[Don S]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

You don't test them by taking them apart, you use a meter or test light hooked to ground and test the small terminal to see if there is voltage on the small stud.

will an auto parts store have those?

You would have to ask them, if your NAPA carries Sierra parts, the PN is 18-8220

http://www.iboats.com/Mercruiser-Fuse-Kit/dm/*******.794548904--session_id.407852241--view_id.270259

 

[jbrinkley]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

ok, put the new fuse in this morning, i now have my gauges working and the starter is clicking again. but still no starting. did i kill the battery? or is there something else that might be wrong?

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

Check for loose and corroded connections and then make sure battery has a full charge. and go from there.

 

[Don S]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

Have you checked the battery voltage to see if it's charged? You may have killed it, who knows at this point.
Might want to have it charged up and load tested. Tell the people you take it to to get tested you hooked it up backwards.

 

[jbrinkley]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

got battery tested and it was reading higher than should be and they said that could be bad, so got a new battery and still doesn't turn over. is there anything else i can try?

 

[Don S]

Re: Stupid me- wrong battery cable to wrong terminal

Try this. http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=167035