brian burton Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 Hi all, in my eagerness to replace my battery I managed to cross the poles, earth to positive and start the car. Dumb trick I know, anyway I now have no Brake lights or main / Dip beam or side lights, all other electrics seem to be ok. anyone know what damage I have done & how to put it right ? Hope it's not a complicated job, as even replacing a battery seems to be beyond me ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mjit Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 The obvious first point to check is the fuse box, as I think it's a single fuse for all the lights (should be the middle one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 You may also have banjaxed the alternator / dynamo; it was the first thing I did with my 1500 Spitfire and had to shell out on a new alternator. If it's a dynamo and it has been affected you should be able to flash repolarise it back to the correct polarity - details below, but there are many on-line guides on how to do it. https://autotovary.com.ua/imgbank/1601/pdf/48424001302255.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 Thank god it wasnt your modern! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 1 hour ago, Colin Lindsay said: You may also have banjaxed the alternator / dynamo; it was the first thing I did with my 1500 Spitfire and had to shell out on a new alternator. An "assistant" reverse charged my battery, I put it back in and the alternator went Phut! A new diode pack was easy enough to solder in. Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 7 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said: An "assistant" reverse charged my battery, I put it back in and the alternator went Phut! A new diode pack was easy enough to solder in. Doug Sadly I can't blame anybody.... I bought a replacement from Andrew Stone of Belper Derbyshire (remember them?) and as it was pre-Internet days I sent a cheque, forgetting to add both VAT and postage... so they sent it over with a note: "we have sent this by the cheapest method possible so if it arrives, Christmas has come early" It arrived. I sent them a Christmas card as a 'thank you'... in June. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 I logged onto Rimmers and asked for an alternator, they sent an arpeggiator. Boom! Boom! Doug 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 19 minutes ago, dougbgt6 said: I logged onto Rimmers and asked for an alternator, they sent an arpeggiator. Boom! Boom! Doug I had to look that up... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian burton Posted March 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 Thanks Colin, I tried the flash trick unfortunately no success. the first thing I did was look for fuses, only found one red 10 attached to bulkhead, no idea what it's for but it is intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Lindsay Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 12 minutes ago, brian burton said: Thanks Colin, I tried the flash trick unfortunately no success. the first thing I did was look for fuses, only found one red 10 attached to bulkhead, no idea what it's for but it is intact. Herald 13/60 only has one fuse, you may have found it - it controls the main headlamp flash circuit (yours may have been replaced with a blade fuse? No matter as long as it works). With the battery reconnected in the correct polarity (dynamo, I'm assuming?) everything should still work until the battery runs flat even if the dynamo is no longer charging, unless your car has been modernised in some way. If all else works - wipers, heater blower and horn, then the fault is in the lighting circuit alone, (although the brake lights are a different circuit to the tail lights) simply connecting the battery in the wrong polarity won't have blown all the bulbs. I'd start by checking the connections at the column switch and work backwards along the loom, and in particular check the earth connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian burton Posted March 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 Thanks Colin, I will try that now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted March 7, 2022 Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 red wires is side lights (or should be ) Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian burton Posted March 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2022 Success, started at steering column , found poor connections . Thanks everyone especially Colin. Happy motoring. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badwolf Posted March 8, 2022 Report Share Posted March 8, 2022 Doug - Wasn't that 'assistant' your brother? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougbgt6 Posted March 8, 2022 Report Share Posted March 8, 2022 No, son-in-law, never told him, he'd be distraught db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wagger Posted March 8, 2022 Report Share Posted March 8, 2022 I know that you would need to have experience of electrics to understand this, but I always used a three pin inline connector on my printed circuit designs. Middle pin -ve, the outer two connected together and +ve. That way, the connector is reversible and difficult to get 'Wrong'. Another way is to use a bridge rectifier connected to the + and -. The supply can then be connected to either of the ac terminals either way round. Would need a 500 amp or more for a car battery, however. The confusion is generated because a stack of batteries in radios, toys etc are connected + to -, When charging batteries, it is always + to + and - to -. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Truman Posted March 8, 2022 Report Share Posted March 8, 2022 talking Alternators the Sprint developed a light knock on idle I couldn't locate exactly where it was with the big screwdriver but didn't appear to be any bearings etc, so in frustration & having a couple of new Alternators I decided to fit one in place of the original just in case it was that well after two big scratches with blood on the back of my left hand and a 3in bloody scratch on my arm and a big bruise on the right hand hand I still had the noise, when my wounds heal I'll put the old Alt back!! & will fix the middle big Lucar at the same time the wire into the Lucar is getting flexible and very thin! Sorry for a little drift here, the source of noise after removing the rocker cover & plug tubes which is big on a Sprint I found the steel cam wheel support bracket had "work fractured" and broken off and was rattling around in the cam cover touching the chain, all was OK and the bracket is only used when removing and fitting the head so is not reqd for normal operation, so I got out of jail there! The bolt on the cam wheel inner sleeve which is used only when the bracket is connected is knarled up but doesn't affect the cam operation but why did the bracket fail when it's disconnected in normal operation, the chain is tight and cam wheel all tight and camshaft is good and tight with no abnormal wear/movement? Time to rebuild the spare Sprint engine to be ready in case! There's always something to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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