Reversed battery.

Richie
Richie Senior Contributor
edited November -1 in HUDSON
What to do in the case of a 6 volt battery being installed backwards, neg to ground and pos to hot. The car was run this way for some time. We took the battery out and are discharging it completely, after it is dead I will charge it the correct way.
In the mean time we put another 6 volt battery in and tried to connect it the correct way but it has a BIG spark, enough to make it so you won't want to connect it. If we connected it backwards there is no spark. I'm thinking it must be the regulator going bad from being charged somehow with reverse polarity or something. An electrician I'm not. Any help would greatly appreciated. Richie.

Comments

  • superwasp912
    superwasp912 Member
    The generator has had it's polarity reversed ,do a search on the forum for threads explaining how to polarize a generator. J.R.
  • Richie
    Richie Senior Contributor
    Thank you J.R., I'll search it. Richie.
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User]
    I experienced this situation on a 51 Hornet I was working on after a modern garage had done their magic on it. With the battery in backward(neg to ground), the voltage regulator cutout contacts weld themselves together and cause a direct short to to ground after installing the battery correctly. This is the cause of the arcing when you hook up the battery. Remove the regulator cover and look at the contact points in the regulator, I believe the forward most one is for the cutout. I was able to un-stick & clean the effected contacts and got the regulator working again after polarizing the generator. You may end up having to replace the regulator.
  • Richie
    Richie Senior Contributor
    That is exactly what I have, I'll check that out in the morning. Thank you ET8conv. Richie.
  • bartibog1
    bartibog1 Expert Adviser
    your chances of reversing the battery polarity are not good .
    the same thing happened to me and as much as i discharged the battery it would not turn around. a new one and regulator as well as polarizing the generator is likely the best option.
    steve
  • 35 Terraplane
    35 Terraplane Senior Contributor
    If you purchase a new 6 volt battery and install it correctly ie "positive to ground" is there anything other required to have the battery the correct polarity?
  • Richie
    Richie Senior Contributor
    Steve,the battery was a new one, about 6 months old. I will buy a new one if this doesn't work out. I suspect you are right and I'll end up getting a new battery and reg. Thanks, Richie.
  • bartibog1
    bartibog1 Expert Adviser
    edited April 2011
    don forget to polarize the generator per the manuals. if you dont have one check the Burr site. http://www.hudsonterraplane.com/tech/tech_index.htm
    steve
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