Blonde moment - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

hartsdc · 11-26-2012, 08:30

I accidently hooked up my battery wrong. It only sparked and the horn went off. No smoke ect. It was only a second or so. The car drove for about 5 miles. Shut the car off and it wouldn't start. I got a jump and it died not even 5minutes later. Towed it home. Battery is good and the alternator tested ok, but the battery still won't charge. We even replaced that part that makes the alternator work. What else could it be? Fuses maybe? If so how in the world do I know where to look? My three sons are ready to kill me for this!

**R.S.LOGAN** · 11-26-2012, 09:45

You would have to supply more info before anyone could try to help . What car , year etc .would do for a start .

**R.S.LOGAN** · 11-26-2012, 10:12

Are you sure the battery is o.k ? Have you load tested it ? If the alternator is not charging wont help the battery .Was it the alternator regulator that was replaced ? Checking fuses would be a good idea .

**chipset** · 11-26-2012, 16:51

You replaced the part that makes the alternator work. What part is that ? You back
flashed the bagttery. Without much more info there is not much we can help you with.
The thing is there can be a fuse blown ( not likely ) or a fusable link melted (maybe )
or serious enough damage that you write the car off. If you don't know what to look for
your chances of finding the problem is slim and close to nun. You never know. You could
luck out and spend $1.00 to fix it. We got a car in the dealeship that had a bad battery.
Factory screw up. Battery was assemled with wrong polarity posts. BANG. Over $3000.00
to fix it. Good thing it was warranty. Good luck

**360ci** · 12-09-2012, 08:28

Another possibility if the battery and alternator test OK, is that the PCM may have been overloaded which can cause a slew of problems, and set you back a grand in repair costs.

By reversing the polarity, that would be similar to someone giving you a charge through a defibrillator in an attempt to reverse pump your heart while its still beating properly. The outcome isn't good.