Help Needed Guys...

Maz · February 24, 2005

KK, some of u may know i have a flat Battery and need to get it replaced from one of my early post, now i need your expert help, as i have found that the Battery in the car atm (the flat 1), also had the connecting posts at the front, but it had been fitted in the car with the connecting post at the back (they turned the Battery around), which mean now the Pos post is on the right and the Neg post is on the left, i tried to find out from the ICE install if they had rewired everything so it connected to the Battery the right way, but the guy who done the work is away and i need to get the new Battery fitted before monday (as i need to move the car to let a skip in the back of the garage), so here some questions for you guys...

1/ if the Battery is fitted like i said without rewiring wont that fire/blow all the fuses in the car, or even damage some of the electrics?

2/ does the pos/neg wires on the IS color coded?

3/ will i damage anything when i connected the charger up the wrong way round(didnt notice the Battery had the pos/neg the other way round at the time), i charged 10 hours without notice it, but the Battery was completely flat at the times, would the Battery blow up normally if i connected wrong?

4/ the car work before, so wouldnt that mean it been rewired so the pos wire is on the right and the neg wire is on the left to fit the Battery?

i haven't had the times to take the Battery out yet, so i couldnt check the wires, but i hope some of u expert can enlighten me a bit, so i dont have to worry about it, as i dont what to connect it up and blow everything up including myself....

would getting an autoelectician worth a while in this case?

thank for the help in advance.... :) :) :) :)

MrADeveci · February 24, 2005

erm, I'm not too sure on this one ........ what about calling the AA or the RAC ?

Let them re-wire everyting ?

Rob · February 24, 2005

hi maz i cant answer all the questions but....

the Battery leads on the IS are not colour coded really, the + ve has a red plastic cover on it, which clips over the terminal and the post on the Battery, -ve is black as u would imagine, and on the normal car is on the LH side ( viewed from the drivers seat)

have a look and see if you have enough play in the Battery leads to reach the terminals on a normal Battery ( if u need to use one that is)

as for charging the Battery the wrong way around - well it dont do any good and can in really bad cases cause damage to the plates, but if it is a modern charger it may well have a protection circuit in it to prevent this.

I would just take the Battery out and charge it up on a trickle charge and when u need to use the car ut it in and then move the car.

Geoffers · February 24, 2005

I thought they were at the back anyway? Maybe they are in the middle and I haven't noticed enough of the Battery behind it. Either way, I've not seen any at the front but I may be wrong.

If it was connected the wrong way round, the car wouldn't work at all. There is a great probability that something would be damaged at least, although most modern electronics have diodes in to protect them. (Even my mirror closures have a diode in just in case). It's either always been like that, or there's been enough play in the cables to move them around.

As Rob says, there is a big red plastic cover over the positve normally. (It's on the left on every one I've seen)

Your charger probably would have gone into instant shutdown if it was the wrong way. But, there is a chance that the initial connection spike could have damaged something.

Hopefully your charger would have reacted fast enough, and the diodes protected the reverse current going through the electrical system.

Maz · February 24, 2005

Thank for the reply guys, here is a pic of a standard Battery...

standard battery pos/neg post at the rear with pos on left, neg on right side

the flat Battery i had now in car and the new bosch silver top had those 2 posts at the front, and i notice the flat 1 had been fitted by turning it 180 degree, now both post is at the rear, but the Battery pos post is now on the right and neg post is on the left, and it still have the cover with the + sign on the left wire, so im not sure if the ICE installer had moved the pos wire to the right so it connect to the pos post on the Battery, but surely if he hasnt done that the car wont work wouldnt it? the flat 1 had been in the car since November, and been working ok, im very worry that i will connect the Battery wrong and blow things up atm....cry im so confuse atm...cry

Geoffers · February 24, 2005

Looks like you're going to have to follow the wires mate and look for one that goes directly to the body. You're sure it's earth then.

I take it there's no markings on the Battery itself? (Moulded markings, not a label)

Could it just be that the label on the flat Battery is put on a different way so it appears as though it's the wrong way round, but the pos/neg are in the right place?

Maz · February 24, 2005

thank for the inform Geoffers, i got a auto electrician coming tomorrow just in case, hopefully he can have a go of follow the earth wire, anyway here are a pic i took today of the flat Battery...

my flat battery

Rob · February 24, 2005

maz that picture looks perfectly normal - as Geoff said earlier ignore stickers they can be put on anyway round so are not reliable in the slightest

Maz · February 25, 2005

got it sorted today, and yes the damn Battery had the sticker wrong way around , and the Bosch Silver Top is too tall to fit in my car, end up with a Lucas Battery, but everything is back to normal now...i hope.... ;) ;)

Thank again guys for your reply and help.... :) :) :) :)