Jaycote

I hooked up the battery wrong. Smelled burning wires...I ended up realizing the mistake, fixed it, and the car started up fine. It was idling for about 3-5 minutes, and it stalled. I have not been able to get it started since. It got towed to a shop and they were unwilling to even begin diagnosing the issue, due to the wires involved and the potential time it could take. Anyone have an experience with this? I was thinking they could replace the fuse, replace the alternator, and I'd be on my way. They made it seem like this could run into 10's of hours. Are they insane, or is that potentially true?

Long story short, I have a 2000 Black Coupe, with Sunroof, with an engine that runs great, minus the slight knocking sound. Car has numerous updates, but paint could use a detail, and rims have some wear on them. I do not want to spend a single dollar more on the car, and need to sell it quick. I want to sell it as-is, especially if it's going to cost $1K+ to fix my battery/alternator issue. This car went from being the love of my life, to being my worst enemy, in the matter of two weeks. I'd still sell the car, even if it was in good shape, because the money is going towards a home purchase. I'm just going to get much less money for it than I would have originally hoped for.

Any idea's or recommendations?

Byprodriver

Wow electric's is my weak spot too, seems like you have to find a electrician buyer ideally. Maybe better to get a PPI now from a mechanic that can check for bore scoring or other cause for the knocking sound.

808Bill

So sorry to hear this.
Has it been scoped and confirmed for bore scoring?

danielcooper9

Just to be clear, you mean you connected the black cable (negative) to the positive terminal of the battery? If so, it means the burning smell was the result of you shorting the battery directly to the ground system of the car. I don't know the design of the electrics on the car but i don't think there is any built in safety (like a fuse) for that type of mistake. Generally speaking, you applying the full capacity of the batter to all the ground system and most likely the first wires to overheat and blow are the smallest gauge wires (unless there is something built in to the circuit to prevent such a back flow of current. I guessing that's why they are hesitant to dig into such a job, especially if they aren't knowledgeable about the circuits of the car.

Anyway to you question, I think if you search on the forum you will find numbers for a roller around $5 or $6K although I get the impression that they are getting harder to find so maybe it's also a waiting game.

De Jeeper

First thing i would do is pay $2-300 and have it bore scoped to confirm its scoring. Next thing i would do is buy a multineter and learn to use it. Some time and patients can go a long way debugging electrical. I dont think 10hrs would be out of line, but testing and swapping an alt is not to difficult so u can start there for a couple hundred dollars.

strathconaman

There is such a differential in price between a healthy car and not. I think I would spend the money on:

1. Determining if there is bore score. If the engine is otherwise healthy then,

2. fix the charging issue.

4Driver4

I'm not sure you've through this through fully. Reversing the cables is bad, yes, but for your scenario to be true there would need to be power at the other end of all those ground wires. The problem is that the current flow was reversed, not overloaded...which creates a similar sort of problem.

pesuazo

The fact that you reversed (attached properly) the cables, started the car, and then idled for 3-5 minutes tells me whatever it is cannot be extremely serious.....IF the car would have not started after "fixing" the cables I would be more concerned.....it takes a skilled tech to go thru a wiring diagram and troubleshoot.......I just have one question right now, when you say you cannot get it started...I assume the car cranks normally but does not start...right?

I would be checking every fuse as a start............

dporto

Unless you have some weird aftermarket cables in the car, it’s not even possible to reverse the positive and negative leads. They simply won’t reach... I’m smelling bs here...🙄

pdxmotorhead

I've seen several cars hooked up backwards,,
They survived, you may have toasted one of the system control modules,,
but that's not terminal +5 on getting a bore scope and looking..


Check all the fuses.
The alt is likely fine ,, its a rectifier,, they don't pass current the wrong way..
But its possible it back fed the windings, but that would make itself very obvious..
They would be black. Flashlight and a cell camera see if you can see though the cooling vents..

GarrettSR5

Perhaps he put the battery itself in backwards.

GarrettSR5

OP, depending on price of the car, I'd be willing to cover the inspection for bore scoring and purchase the car.

I am local in Southern MA

Feel free to post or PM me some pics and such

Techno Duck

What is the charge status of the battery? Does it turn over or just click? Hooking up a battery backwards can smoke the diodes on the alternator. The car may have idled on whatever charge was left on the battery, then stalled when the battery voltage got too low. If battery charge is still good, that debunks this theory. But if the battery is low, you probably need a new alternator.

TexSquirrel

I’d be interested in it as-is at roller price.
Rollers typically go for $4k-7k.
PM me if you’re ready to sell it.
I‘ll need you to store it until I could arrange shipping.

I once repaired a customer’s car that was hooked up backwards.
It required a new ECU and about 40 hours of labor.
Lots of melted wires.
I wouldn’t quote a repair charge, I just asked how many hours they wanted me to put in maximum, with no promises that it would run even then.
It was a nightmare.
If I’m lucky, it might just be the alternator.
That’s what I’m willing to bet, but if it requires more, I‘ll eat the time involved.

DBJoe996

Probably blew one of the 80 amp fusible links in the power distribution box. I would start there since that is the main power distribution panel for everything else.