I must be blind! I hook battery backwards

Hey Guys, Here's the deal if you inadvertently hook up your battery backwards on a Buell;

1) your cooling fan will run immediately in reverse at high speed.

2) after you disconnect your battery, your 15Amp "KEY SWITCH" fuse will be blown. If you replace just the fuse, It will just blow again as soon as you turn the ignition on. See Below.

3) Your "Key Switch" Relay will also be blown. You can buy one on Amazon for $7.(Standard Motorcycle Products Micro Starter Relay MC-RLY5)

4) When you get the Relay, look at the legend on your fuse box cover and identify your key switch relay and replace it with the MC-RLY5 that you get from Amazon. Then replace the 15Amp Key Switch fuse. And your ready to Rock!

^^^^good starting point....but sadly on average at least 50% of these scenarios result in a cooked ECM.
if you're too rushed...too stupid...or too incompetent to correctly install a battery you should not be working on motorcycles.

Yup ^^^^^^

Well, while you are correct to a point, give him a break, we all have to learn and some have a harder time than others.



P.S. I'm trying to be nice to a newb, as you can see by the below statements, do yourself a favor, bring your bike to a good mechanic from now on reason being, the next time you screw up, it could kill you !

I don't think this happens to someone who thinks they are a mechanic and screw it up, IMO this mistake happens to a person who knows they are no mechanic, but is cheap and it's just 'too simple' a job. It's also the person who goes to Wal-mart and gets the totally wrong battery because the part number is 'close enough':down:

This doesn't happen to BMW's because those owners go to the dealer to set the air pressure in the tires:angel:

The same person could probably do a slightly more difficult task because they'd actually be paying attention to the details... and then still torque the drain plug to 35ft/lbs 'because the manual said so':confused::sorrow:

Lunatics totally right, but the word is "incompetent" and the problem with that is exactly in the definition. I am 100% for people learning to be self-sufficient mechanics, but the thing about motorcycles is... They'll kill you.

as a side note, my wanna-be electrical engineering brain is super curious to see how an ECM gets "cooked" from reverse polarity? I can see why the IGN fuse blows, even why the coil in the IGN relay burns (same reason actually), but without a high current short, the solid state ECM should be fine? Maybe the IC for the fan signal wire would overload but the bike would still run. If anyone has one I'll pay shipping just to burn the gel out of it because I'm a huge geek:black_eyed:

In My Opinion

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cooter

I even had an old 916 Porsche and got bugs on my forehead with the top off.

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3 years later... but I have to ask... did you really have one of the uber-rare 916's ? or did you mean 914?


had to be 914... 916's had a fixed roof.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cooter

I don't think this happens to someone who thinks they are a mechanic and screw it up, IMO this mistake happens to a person who knows they are no mechanic, but is cheap and it's just 'too simple' a job. It's also the person who goes to Wal-mart and gets the totally wrong battery because the part number is 'close enough':down:

This doesn't happen to BMW's because those owners go to the dealer to set the air pressure in the tires:angel:

The same person could probably do a slightly more difficult task because they'd actually be paying attention to the details... and then still torque the drain plug to 35ft/lbs 'because the manual said so':confused::sorrow:

Lunatics totally right, but the word is "incompetent" and the problem with that is exactly in the definition. I am 100% for people learning to be self-sufficient mechanics, but the thing about motorcycles is... They'll kill you.

as a side note, my wanna-be electrical engineering brain is super curious to see how an ECM gets "cooked" from reverse polarity? I can see why the IGN fuse blows, even why the coil in the IGN relay burns (same reason actually), but without a high current short, the solid state ECM should be fine? Maybe the IC for the fan signal wire would overload but the bike would still run. If anyone has one I'll pay shipping just to burn the gel out of it because I'm a huge geek:black_eyed:

In My Opinion

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my ecm comment based on what i've found from probably 20 customer/phone-call XB's that had their cables reversed. i've been telling people for 50 years now what i was told by wise-men when i was 10 and my learning curve was straight vertical: take the damn battery along with you and match it up. and if your memory sucks put a piece of masking tape on 1 of the cables and mark it correctly. you'll never cross your cables that way.

34:19 Ya, 914. But It did have a 6 in it! A Buick 231 V-6... then a Chev 350. Even though the SBC was stock and smog year it's amazing what 200-ish hp does to that car! I remember clearly, 1st, 2nd, Grrrrind:upset: 3rd:eagerness:. Ironically I do have a 20+ year friend with a 914/6. He rebuilt the engine for the original owner lady as his first job at his then new Porsche repair shop many, many moons ago. She reward him by selling to him when she was too old to drive it... THEN the value went through the moon! He deserves it though, good, honest, dude.

Lunatic: I'm positive it happens (a PUUUUNNNNN!!!!), and I'm certainly not doubting you! Just super curious to why. The knowledge will do no good to me or the poor sap who smoked it, but 'Enquiring minds' and all that:D Good advise on matching the battery, I've done lots of stupid (ahem.. ignorant:)) things and never made that mistake (yet):angel:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cooter

34:19 Ya, 914. But It did have a 6 in it! A Buick 231 V-6... then a Chev 350. Even though the SBC was stock and smog year it's amazing what 200-ish hp does to that car! I remember clearly, 1st, 2nd, Grrrrind:upset: 3rd:eagerness:. Ironically I do have a 20+ year friend with a 914/6. He rebuilt the engine for the original owner lady as his first job at his then new Porsche repair shop many, many moons ago. She reward him by selling to him when she was too old to drive it... THEN the value went through the moon! He deserves it though, good, honest, dude.

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I always wanted to a Rotary powered one.

I thought most V-6 and V-8 guys just skipped 1st, especially on the 901 gearbox. I've ridden in a few of the V-6 and V-8 conversions and they were fun, fun, fun!

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