Battery hooked up backwards,OOP!

[cycle_gator]

Guys, EE's included, It is likely the only thing smoked is the voltage regulator and alternator diodes and any other un-protected diodes. Fuses would not blow as they will pass current in either direction with equanimity. For the same reason the fusible links should not blow either. A short circuit was not created. The two poles of the battery remain isolated, the current is simply flowing in the opposite direction.

A positive ground car goes south with the battery reversed beause the generator (most of then were) tries to become a motor as it is trying to turn in the opposite direction of its design.

Now that is not to say that in the panic of realizing his error he did not cross connect, short circuit, the battery. That would have serious consequences.

 

[biggerten]

Guys, EE's included, It is likely the only thing smoked is the voltage regulator and alternator diodes and any other un-protected diodes. Fuses would not blow as they will pass current in either direction with equanimity. For the same reason the fusible links should not blow either. A short circuit was not created. The two poles of the battery remain isolated, the current is simply flowing in the opposite direction.

A positive ground car goes south with the battery reversed beause the generator (most of then were) tries to become a motor as it is trying to turn in the opposite direction of its design.

Now that is not to say that in the panic of realizing his error he did not cross connect, short circuit, the battery. That would have serious consequences.

As another EE, I agree about the time issue, things blow very quickly. I'd be concerned about the voltage regulator/alternator. The alternator diodes would have been forward biased and conducting heavily. I'm less sanguine about reverse-bias diode protection, I'd bet there isn't any. It's common enough elsewhere, sure, but I doubt it in this application. Have been wrong before, could be wrong here, but...............

Good luck!

Huh. I thought I was typing in English.

 

[Soundguy]

Huh. I thought I was typing in English.

Yes you did... Don't worry.. the 2-3 engineers and the tech in the thread understood you perfectly.

Also as an aside.. I disagree with his notion that older vehicles with gennies suffer worse.. actually.. generators handle reverse polarity way better than alternators. I've -NEVER- lost a genny to a reverse polarity situation.. all they are is a ball of wire and brushes.. I have had some mechanical vreg breakers weld on reverse polarity, and for sure a solid state vreg replacement would go south on reverse polarity.. but the gennies themselves are pretty tough.

And as for fuses not blowing.. I've seen them blow.. sure they conduct in both directions.. but what the poster doesn't realize is when youve got current flowing reverse of the way the circuit was meant.. thet you can have some pretty high amperage.. higher that circuit design.. alt's charge at what.. 15-130a mostly... batteries discharge at what up to 400-600a? batteryies always win the arm wrestle when it comes to poor diodes...

soundguy

 

[GPintheMitten]

I've heard you can get the smoke back in sometimes, but it's pretty expensive.

Couldn't resist one more smoke joke. Sorry

 

[EE_Bota]

You EE guys are getting a little loose with some or your technical terms.

There is "smoke" and their is "Essential Electrical Ether."

If essential electrical ether escapes, the device is well and truly ruined, else the escaping ether could not really be termed "essential."

Smoke is merely a primitive analog annunciation device that engineers designed into machines that cleverly flags sections of wiring that the designer suspects may respond favorably to tuning. If you have trouble seeing where the smoke is coming from, often the machine will also have a built-in wireless inspection light that will illuminate the relevant wiring with an intensity approximately proportional to the severity of the problem. Sometimes there is even a little heater included for the cold days and the Canadians! They really thought of everything!

 

[kenstrac]

I forgot to tell him to put a pan under the tractor to catch any watts the spilled out.

 

[Soundguy]

reminds me of 'dark suckers' light bulbs that is.. they don't emit light.. they just absorb dark.. eventually they get full and don't work.. and have that telltale dark spot in them from all the dark they have absorbed...

that brings on the speed of dark. dark travels faster than light... it's easy to prove.. walk into a dark room and turn the lights on.. takes a sec before you can see everything.. now.. in that same lit room, turn the lights off.. see.. it goes dark immediatly..

soundguy

 

[BobRip]

When looking for damaged wiring, there should be some visible signs, (melted, blackened, or warped insulation.

 

[YesDeere]

Dam those leaky watts and essential smoke!!! I agree if theres smoke theres fire, find those not so pretty wires that the insulation is warped.

 

[dcyrilc]

that brings on the speed of dark. dark travels faster than light... it's easy to prove.. walk into a dark room and turn the lights on.. takes a sec before you can see everything.. now.. in that same lit room, turn the lights off.. see.. it goes dark immediatly..

soundguy

I'll have to remember that one.