Jumpstart Error

HAN NGUYEN

MEMBER
2004 TOYOTA COROLLA
AUTOMATIC
98,000 MILES

My friend jump started his car with my car but connected the cables wrong on my car. The rubber on the cables lit on fire and after we put it out, we had realized the mistake. The cables burned both front bumpers and neither car will start now. The car with the dead battery was a Ford truck and mine was a 2004 Toyota Corolla. What is the potential damage in both cars from this error?

Friday, August 12th, 2016 AT 11:53 PM

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
34,110 POSTS

Start with a pile of blown fuses. Computers have diodes, which are one-way valves for electrical current flow), in them installed backward so it is like they are not even there. When the polarity is reversed, the diodes turn on and act like a dead short which forces fuses to blow to protect the rest of the circuitry.

The generators have diodes in them too for a different purpose, but they too will look like a dead short when the battery voltage is reversed. Look for a really big bolted-in fuse for those, or a fuse link wire. To test a fuse link, pull on it. If it acts like a wire, it is good. If it acts like a rubber band, it is burned open.

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Saturday, August 13th, 2016 AT 12:48 AM