Hooked up battery wrong

BJPAYNE

MEMBER
ALL OTHER MAKES ALL OTHER MODELS

I changed the battery out on my wife's 2002 Daewoo Leganza but hooked the cables up backwards (please no jokes) :oops: The car tries to turn over but doesn't. Everything works except the radio and wipers. I am hoping it is just a fuse before I pay for the tow to the shop.
Any help would be appreciated.

1 Reply

THERASPER

MEMBER
11 POSTS

I don't know anything specificly about that type of car, but I would start with the fuses. The thing to add to that is fuseable links. In other types of autos there are links built into the cable running to the starter, and sometimes in the cables that feed the power distribution block. They, sometimes, look a bit like a repair in the cable, a section that is a bit larger than the cable, but covered with heat-shrink. If you have power at one end of the cable, and not the other, the link is the failure.
I am not sure how to take the statement "tries to turn over, but it does not". A power-ground can have effect on everything from fuses to the PCM. A very, very good place to start would be with running the codes on it, and seeing if the PCM is responsive.

Best of luck with your repair, and I hope the damage is minimal.