Crossed-wired the Battery - Moderated Discussion Areas

  ContinuousWave
  Whaler
  Moderated Discussion Areas
  ContinuousWave: Small Boat Electrical
  Crossed-wired the Battery

search | FAQ | profile | register | author help

Author Topic:   Crossed-wired the Battery

prpark posted 04-21-2013 05:20 PM ET (US)
Today, I crossed the terminals and hooked up negative to positive and vice versa [on a Boston Whaler boat model 170 MONTAUK]. Each terminal sparked when I attached, and as I was not paying attention, I noticed the radio did not work. I disconnected and reconnected and the [radio] seems to be dead.
What are the procedures to see if I have done permanent damage? I pushed in the main and bilge breakers, what next? Thank you, in advance, for your help.--Phil
jimh posted 04-21-2013 10:37 PM ET (US)
Phil--You have reversed the polarity of the boat to the battery. See the prior discussion on precisely this topic:
Reverse Polarity to Battery
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/003361.html
jimh posted 04-22-2013 08:46 AM ET (US)
Check for fuses that have been blown. If you are lucky a few fuses have blown and protected the devices downstream.
It used to be common in DC-powered devices for the input power circuit to have a large diode wired across it to ground so that if the polarity were reversed the diode would be forward biased. This would result in a very large current flow, which, if the device were properly installed with the correct value of fuse protecting it, would just result in blowing the fuse. This reverse-polarity protection diode was usually sized to be able to handle a lot of short-circuit current, so it would outlast the fuse. Whether or not devices on your boat have that sort of protection is not known.
Some DC-powered devices have the input power circuit wired to a full-wave bridge rectifier, so that even if the applied power has the polarity reversed, the diodes in the full-wave bridge rectifier straighten out the current path. Nothing bad happens to devices like that when the polarity is reversed. Whether or not devices on your boat have that sort of protection is not known.
If a device has no reverse-polarity protection, it might draw a high current when its power source is connected with reverse polarity. If there is no fast-acting fuse to protect the device, the high current might cause damage to the device. One unfortunate aspect of solid-state devices is their intolerance of momentary overloads. They often fail catastrophically when the current flowing through them exceeds their maximum rating, even if only for a very short time.
jimh posted 04-22-2013 08:52 AM ET (US)
For over-current protection, fuses generally operate faster than circuit breakers. This is an advantage in favor of fuses. They might blow fast enough to save some expensive electronics from being ruined.
Again, the recommendation to clearly mark the battery cables and the battery terminals for polarity with color vinyl tape is most strongly made. Here is another instance in which confusion about battery cables may have caused damage to a lot of costly electrical and electronic components.
prpark posted 04-22-2013 09:08 AM ET (US)
jim - Thank you for the reply and the link to the reverse polarity post. I will follow up based on your input and ensure the cables and battery terminals are clearly marked.
L H G posted 04-22-2013 12:51 PM ET (US)
I don't know which engine you have on that 170, but it would either be a 2-stroke Merc 90 or a 4-stroke "Mercaha" 90. You had better check the engine and see if runs. There is high probability you blew out the engine's rectifier. Look for an erratic tach signal.
jimh posted 04-22-2013 05:21 PM ET (US)
Please see the prior discussion for information about the damage to the battery charging circuit of the outboard engine. That topic is discussed in detail in the prior thread.
prpark posted 04-23-2013 01:10 PM ET (US)
Please confirm that to reset the breakers on the "black box" (DC Main and Bilge) and on the helm, that I push in the rubber covered breaker?
Thank you for your help.
PRP
davej14 posted 04-24-2013 05:06 PM ET (US)
Yes, to reset the breakers you press in on the rubber covered reset button.
Hope that damage is minimal, you will be very lucky if the rectifier on the engine is not damaged.
It seems like every couple of years we see this happen. I don't recall who exactly made the comment but it was something like "most people only make this mistake once".

Hop to:

Contact Us | RETURN to ContinuousWave Top Page

Powered by: Ultimate Bulletin Board, Freeware Version 2000
Purchase our Licensed Version- which adds many more features!
© Infopop Corporation (formerly Madrona Park, Inc.), 1998 - 2000.

Author	Topic: Crossed-wired the Battery
prpark	posted 04-21-2013 05:20 PM ET (US) Today, I crossed the terminals and hooked up negative to positive and vice versa [on a Boston Whaler boat model 170 MONTAUK]. Each terminal sparked when I attached, and as I was not paying attention, I noticed the radio did not work. I disconnected and reconnected and the [radio] seems to be dead. What are the procedures to see if I have done permanent damage? I pushed in the main and bilge breakers, what next? Thank you, in advance, for your help.--Phil
jimh	posted 04-21-2013 10:37 PM ET (US) Phil--You have reversed the polarity of the boat to the battery. See the prior discussion on precisely this topic: Reverse Polarity to Battery http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum6/HTML/003361.html
jimh	posted 04-22-2013 08:46 AM ET (US) Check for fuses that have been blown. If you are lucky a few fuses have blown and protected the devices downstream. It used to be common in DC-powered devices for the input power circuit to have a large diode wired across it to ground so that if the polarity were reversed the diode would be forward biased. This would result in a very large current flow, which, if the device were properly installed with the correct value of fuse protecting it, would just result in blowing the fuse. This reverse-polarity protection diode was usually sized to be able to handle a lot of short-circuit current, so it would outlast the fuse. Whether or not devices on your boat have that sort of protection is not known. Some DC-powered devices have the input power circuit wired to a full-wave bridge rectifier, so that even if the applied power has the polarity reversed, the diodes in the full-wave bridge rectifier straighten out the current path. Nothing bad happens to devices like that when the polarity is reversed. Whether or not devices on your boat have that sort of protection is not known. If a device has no reverse-polarity protection, it might draw a high current when its power source is connected with reverse polarity. If there is no fast-acting fuse to protect the device, the high current might cause damage to the device. One unfortunate aspect of solid-state devices is their intolerance of momentary overloads. They often fail catastrophically when the current flowing through them exceeds their maximum rating, even if only for a very short time.
jimh	posted 04-22-2013 08:52 AM ET (US) For over-current protection, fuses generally operate faster than circuit breakers. This is an advantage in favor of fuses. They might blow fast enough to save some expensive electronics from being ruined. Again, the recommendation to clearly mark the battery cables and the battery terminals for polarity with color vinyl tape is most strongly made. Here is another instance in which confusion about battery cables may have caused damage to a lot of costly electrical and electronic components.
prpark	posted 04-22-2013 09:08 AM ET (US) jim - Thank you for the reply and the link to the reverse polarity post. I will follow up based on your input and ensure the cables and battery terminals are clearly marked.
L H G	posted 04-22-2013 12:51 PM ET (US) I don't know which engine you have on that 170, but it would either be a 2-stroke Merc 90 or a 4-stroke "Mercaha" 90. You had better check the engine and see if runs. There is high probability you blew out the engine's rectifier. Look for an erratic tach signal.
jimh	posted 04-22-2013 05:21 PM ET (US) Please see the prior discussion for information about the damage to the battery charging circuit of the outboard engine. That topic is discussed in detail in the prior thread.
prpark	posted 04-23-2013 01:10 PM ET (US) Please confirm that to reset the breakers on the "black box" (DC Main and Bilge) and on the helm, that I push in the rubber covered breaker? Thank you for your help. PRP
davej14	posted 04-24-2013 05:06 PM ET (US) Yes, to reset the breakers you press in on the rubber covered reset button. Hope that damage is minimal, you will be very lucky if the rectifier on the engine is not damaged. It seems like every couple of years we see this happen. I don't recall who exactly made the comment but it was something like "most people only make this mistake once".