chris322

I did something tonight that I imagine has not happened to anyone else. Seeing that I live in the Midwest and today was one of the few nice days, I planned on taking the battery out of the basement and going to the storage unit to start up and drive the 911 after my first winter storage. Of course I was in a rush to try to get it done before the sun went down. Being the non-mechnical bozo that I am, I saw the black wire and thought negative and assumed the other wire was the positive wire. Well, I should have known that when what I thought was the positive wire did not want to fit on the post that something was wrong. I ended up hooking the negative wire to the positive post and then when I tried to hook up the positive wire to the negative post, the sparks made me realize something was wrong. Of course the car started smoking a bit and I frantically tried to disconnect the postive wire to the negative post. It took about 30-45 seconds and the car proceeded to smoke a bit more. So, I got it unhooked and I did not attempt to start or do anything to the car with the battery hooked up backwards. Thinking that the battery may have been cooked or bad to begin with, I went to autozone had it tested and bought a new battery. I then took the new battery and hooked it up right and everything appeared to be normal, lights/warning lights, etc. I actually started the car briefly and it seemed to run fine. Could I have done any damage to the car being reversing the battery cables for the aprox. 45 seconds? Any advice or related stories are appreciated and I won't be upset if anyone calls me a moron as well. I deserve it.

graham_mitchell

smoke = damage

Even if everything electronic still works, if there was smoke that means you have almost certainly damaged the insulation coating on some of your wiring. You should find it asap and replace the damaged sections before they short to ground somewhere and cause more damage.

Greg Fishman

Check the speedometer for proper function. Also the radio might have blown a fuse.

This is what happened when my friend (yeah that's it) jumpered my car the wrong way.....

Marc in AK

Smoking from where? Marc

p.s. One shouldn't smoke stuff before working on ones car.

chris322

Good Point. I have watched enough Cheech & Chong movies to know not to smoke before working on cars. Actually the smoke was mostly from the front of the car by the battery, but my big concern was from the smoke that was coming from the back of the car around the air filter. It was actually somewhat dark so I cannot pinpoint its exact location. The dumb mistake that I made is making me sick to my stomach and I have a feeling that it is going to be expensive and not easy to repair.

deltawedge

I've blew out the internal voltage regulator on an alternator by doing the same (not a p-car, though). Was there any smoke coming from the fan area?

chris322

There may have been smoke coming from that area. I am not really sure. I was in full panic mode (that has not really gone away) and I had the back of the car in an unlit storage unit close to dusk. Of course I am beating myself up for being an idiot and I am also worried about the potential damage and cost to repair.

chris322

Thanks for the replies. I have an appointment at the dealer on Monday. It appears that the damage may be limited to the burning of the insulation on the wiring harness. I am going to take a look at it on Saturday and attempt to ascertain the damage. My hope is that the alt. and the computer was not impacted by my stupidity. Of course, if I smoked the insulation on the wiring harness, that could add up to some $$. I am always hesitant to use the dealer, however the options in Toledo are very limited especially for something like this. It is now day two and I am still sick to my stomach and beating myself up.

mike cap

Chris,

It may not make you feel any better, but all of us have made mistakes like this by trying to rambo a simple project - with results like yours. Try not to kick yourself in the head too much.

Graham is right - the smoking was simply burning insulation on the wiring. If you can point the dealer's tech in the general direction(s) (where the smoke came from) that will go a long way in helping them out. Then the tech should be able to get to the harnesses in those areas and inspect them. Time for them to get out the flashlights and inspection mirrors. This is something you want them to spend some time on now - the consequences of bare wiring or cabling if not found now could be more significant later.

It's funny how you can buy a $50 battery charger at WalMart and it has a circuit to sense reversed polarity so you don't ruin the charger, but a $70,000 car doesn't offer the same protection. Especially 'funny' when you consider the electronics and miles of cabling at risk.

Hope this turns out well for you.

Chuck W.

Chris...Don't be too hard on yourself. At the end of 2005 if you can look back and this was the worst thing that happened...it was a good year. Money will solve this problem. There are a lot of problems it won't. Good luck with the repair and keep us posted.

TomF

Hey, don't beat yourself up. I have done some stupid things myself. Like the time in high school I took the hood off my 71 Z-28 to do some intake work. I then got in my mother's SW and backed over it. Oops. That was expensive.

Make sure that the damage is thoroughly sought out. A half-burnen through wire that is unknown is much more dangerous than a fully burned through one that you know about.

Hang in there. It may not be that bad.

mike cap

Tom,

Did you really do that? I know it was a while back so I hope you don't mind me laughing - I am also a former Z-28 guy ('69 RS).

I am WAY too embarrassed to tell anyone about my "incident". Lack of attention to detail, trying to rush, knew better and very expensive....

slapshot

The beauty is, we all do this kind of stuff. Something eventually comes up. Chuck is right on the money in his observation. It is truly a no harm no foul kind of screw up, which in the long run, once checked out with any molten insulation replaced, will not impact you or the car in any negative way. Good luck. Tell us what the outcome is.

c4bliss

Oh this does bring back memories. I did just that as well, except mine was some genius switching the red and black covers on the new battery i had just bought. I stupidly assumed they would be right and hooked it up in my truck. I feel your pain. I did quite a bit of damage to mine, lots of wires and such burned up... good luck with yours..

chris322

Thanks guys, this board is not only a valuable technical resource, but a great place to vent and discuss issues like this that can be stressfull. If this turns out to be a somewhat inexpensive mistake I think I will be able to let it go. Taking things into perspective it has been a good year. I just found out that my wife is pregnant with our first child, which in the big scheme of things overshadows the mistake with the car. I will keep everyone posted and my main objective is defintely to get fixed right to avoid any huge issues down the road.