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Jumper cables hooked up backwards on neighbors car

14K views 15 replies 5 participants last post by  FordMan59 
#1 ·
Like the title says my neighbors Grandson accidentally hooked up the jumper cables wrong on their 1997 ford escort. The car they were jumping from was hooked up correctly just reverse on the escort side. They let it run probably 5 minutes hooked up that way and tried to start it a couple of times and no start. Had me come look at it and found 100 amp main fuse blown. Replaced that and after charging the battery fully the car started but the alternator is not putting out anything. Reads around 12.6 vdc at idle. Checked all fuses in the inside fuse box and box in the engine. Anything else I should check before pulling the alternator. The other car they were jumping from seems to be running fine and alternator is working correctly. I'll probably pull the alternator in a few days. Just seeing if there is anything else I should check first.

Thanks for any input.
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the diagrams. The 100 amp main fuse in that was blown and replaced it. The battery light in the car stays on now. I checked all the fuses in the two main fuse boxes and were all good. Maybe I could of missed an inline fuse not in one of the boxes. I did take the car to orieleys and said the alternator was not putting out anything. I already knew that based on the readings from my meter. Guess the next step is to pull the alternator and have it tested out. He might even consider getting a used alternator. He is trying to sell it now. The car has 260k on it.
 
#5 ·
Make sure fuse #14 in the dash is not burnt in the ends. Its the fuse that supplies power from the switch to the voltage regulator. Other than that I'm betting the alternator is toast.

edit - the other fuse besides the 100a is the #1 (fuel injection) under the hood.
 
#7 ·
Pulled the alternator today and it tested bad at the parts store. The car is a 1998 not a 1997. My mistake. Should I go with a re-manufactured or new? I can get a duralast new from autozone for about $155. Reman. are about $20 less.
 
#11 ·
I'm surprised the alternator is all it fried. He might also consider buying a used alternator from a junk yard if he's planning to sell the car anyway. If you're in an area where there's a Pull-A-Part they sell used starters and alternators for about $25. Of course if he can't hook up jumper cables correctly there's a good chance he couldn't remove a starter. I bought a starter for my '88 Escort a couple years ago from Pull-A-Part. It appeared to have just been put on the car shortly prior to the car being junked.
 
#13 ·
I'm surprised more stuff didn't get messed up as well. I guess after the main fuse blew that prevented any more damage. I did offer the suggestion of a junkyard alternator but he chose to just get a re manufactured one locally. I'm going to throw it in tomorrow and hopefully that will take care of the charging issue. There are some other problems with this car and personally feel sorry for whoever buys it. I guess any car that is under $1000 you should expect something wrong with it.
 
#15 ·
Good to hear you got away with just an alternator to fix car , though charging at over 14.0v on idle would indicate battery could possibly be a bit low on charge .Thanks for letting forum know . Maybe worthwhile keeping an eye on alternator output and see if it drops .
 
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