reb78 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Me that is! SWMBO left the lights on on the 110 earlier. Won't out to start it later and the battery was flat. No big deal. I nipped home and grabbed my spare battery and jump leads. Now for the silly bit.... It was dark and I connected both leads to the battery in the truck. I connected the positive, to the spare battery and then the earth. There was a fair old spark, but I clamped it on. 15 seconds later there was smoke. I'd gone and connected the bloody batteries up wrong! I pulled one of the clamps off. Now, I've called myself a lot worse than plonker this evening. I've blown the fuses on my eberspacher and my amp as they are connected via a fused wire each to the battery, but at the moment everything else seems to be working. Am I likely to have done any other damage?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Anything with electronics in it could potentially have been traumatized. Examples: Diodes in the alternator, glowplug timer, flasher-relay, intermittent-wipe-relay, tachometer, alarm/immobilizer, engine-management ECU (doubt you've got one). [it made an amusing mess when I let someone jump-start his 12-volt Ford Transit minibus from a 24V FFR Land-Rover: he had to replace the radios and all the sidelight and instrument-panel bulbs !] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 Alternator and flasher relay are the only two bits on the list so far that are on my truck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 I did this to a Peugeot - the battery +ve was black and the earth red. I didn't work that out until the smoke stage. No damage apparent - and that was a few months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted December 12, 2013 Author Share Posted December 12, 2013 I did this to a Peugeot - the battery +ve was black and the earth red. I didn't work that out until the smoke stage. No damage apparent - and that was a few months ago. I'm hoping the blown fuses are it, but knowing my luck, something else will surface! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 Anything with electronics in it could potentially have been traumatized. Examples: Diodes in the alternator, glowplug timer, flasher-relay, intermittent-wipe-relay, tachometer, alarm/immobilizer, engine-management ECU (doubt you've got one). [it made an amusing mess when I let someone jump-start his 12-volt Ford Transit minibus from a 24V FFR Land-Rover: he had to replace the radios and all the sidelight and instrument-panel bulbs !] Brings back memories from a lad needing a jump and all we had nearby was a 24V Volvo A25 Dump truck, I knew which battery it was that he needed but he picked the side with 24V and wouldn't listen when I told him use the other side. Needless to say it fried his fairly new Mondeo, it was never the same after that Should always double check though, it can be a costly mistake for a moments lapse of concentration!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete3000 Posted December 12, 2013 Share Posted December 12, 2013 may have damaged either battery? warped the plates or damaged the post to plate braid? see what the voltage looks like to see if a cell has shorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted December 13, 2013 Share Posted December 13, 2013 The last battery I connected up the wrong way caused a VERY loud bang, and blew me all the way to the hospital. I now know that that such an event is referred to as an HfH moment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 That familiar... still got the corner of the battery stuck in the roof insulation 20ft up.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted December 14, 2013 Author Share Posted December 14, 2013 I think I was lucky given those outcomes. I seriously don't know what I I was thinking - I think the trouble was I wasn't really thinking and was doing it in the dark. I'd assumed I'd out the battery down a certain way round, but never actually checked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 It *shouldn't* have done any damage to the vehicle electrics since everything crucial in vehicles is supposed to survive reverse polarities. For exactly this reason!! That's not saying a Defender will be the same though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted December 14, 2013 Author Share Posted December 14, 2013 Thanks Ed. everything seems to be working. I've replaced all the blown fuses and they seem to have protected the components connected directly to the battery by blowing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyninety Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 I did this to a Peugeot - the battery +ve was black and the earth red. I didn't work that out until the smoke stage. No damage apparent - and that was a few months ago. Your lucky! My friend tried to jump his 200 90 off a 206, it fried the ecu, which is connected to the ignition barrel, the keys had to be changed, along with all the key barrels in the doors. Cost 1500 to repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted December 14, 2013 Share Posted December 14, 2013 Phew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exmoor Beast Posted December 16, 2013 Share Posted December 16, 2013 I melted the entire start/charge loom on my 110 doing this, it was a right mess. Will :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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