What happens if you accidentally confuse the terminals of the car battery?
- August 12, 2022
- 0
It seems that confusing the terminals on the battery is still a lot of work. In fact, not only a novice motorist, but also an experienced car owner
It seems that confusing the terminals on the battery is still a lot of work. In fact, not only a novice motorist, but also an experienced car owner can portray this, because, as you know, “there is a hole in the old woman”. The AvtoVzglyad portal decided to investigate the issue of the consequences of such an error.
The damage caused by incorrectly connecting the battery to the terminals depends on the circumstances in which this event occurred. If you put the battery on the “wrong side” and plug it into the outlet of an unstarted car, most likely nothing bad will happen if your car is equipped with old-school halogen bulbs. For them, the direction of the flowing current is completely unimportant.
With LED light sources it is not so easy. Current can only flow in one direction through a diode. On the contrary – in no way. But if you stress him in the “wrong” direction, he may very well be “offended” by such treatment and burn out. And you no longer have that, for example when you open the doors, the light in the cabin comes on.
When you reverse the polarity of the battery connection and try to start the engine, many unpleasant things can happen to the car. Take the appetizer for example. In this scenario, he will try to turn in the opposite direction. It is unlikely that he will succeed. But the winding can burn out. The generator’s diode bridge, like the LEDs, will likely burn out as well. “Electroshock” will certainly burn a lot of fuses, which is actually for the better, because so they will protect much more valuable components of the electrical system. Incorrect battery polarity can even “kill” the engine control module and other electronic “brains” in the car.
Sometimes they try to connect the battery incorrectly to an already running car. This is perhaps the safest option, because during such manipulation between the terminals and wires, such loud, bright and inflammable “special effects” will immediately start that even the most forgetful or stupid car owner will understand that he is doing something wrong … and stop. If, despite the cascades of electric discharge sparks, smoke and similar “pyrotechnics”, he still incorrectly connects the battery, then it will cause the car almost the same problems as described above, as when trying to start it. Added to this is the increased risk of fire.
A common situation with the wrong “battery” connection is when you are trying to “light up” one car from another. Using this method to start a car sensibly, that is, charging the “dead” vehicle battery of a moving car some time before attempting to start, the damage will be minimal. As a result, the resuscitated battery will only heat up, boil and eventually fail. The electrical systems of both machines (both the donor and the “patient”) are not affected. But if you immediately try to start a car with a dead battery while the “rescue engine” is running, all of the above systems can burn out in both cars. So the polarity of the battery in all manipulations with it must be checked very carefully.
photo AutoView
The damage caused by incorrectly connecting the battery to the terminals depends on the circumstances in which this event occurred. If you put the battery on the “wrong side” and connect it to the power supply of an unstarted car, most likely nothing bad will happen if your car is equipped with old-school halogen bulbs. For them, the direction of the flowing current is completely unimportant.
With LED light sources it is not so easy. Current can only flow in one direction through a diode. On the contrary – in no way. But if you stress him in the “wrong” direction, he may very well be “offended” by such treatment and burn out. And you no longer have that, for example when you open the doors, the light in the cabin comes on.
When you reverse the polarity of the battery connection and try to start the engine, many unpleasant things can happen to the car. Take the appetizer for example. In this scenario, he will try to turn in the opposite direction. It is unlikely that he will succeed. But the winding can burn out. The generator’s diode bridge, like the LEDs, will likely burn out as well. “Electroshock” will certainly burn a lot of fuses, which is actually for the better, because so they will protect much more valuable components of the electrical system. Incorrect battery polarity can even “kill” the engine control module and other electronic “brains” in the car.
Sometimes they try to connect the battery incorrectly to an already running car. This is perhaps the safest option, because during such manipulation between the terminals and wires, such loud, bright and inflammable “special effects” will immediately start that even the most forgetful or stupid car owner will understand that he is doing something wrong … and stop. If, despite the cascades of electric discharge sparks, smoke and similar “pyrotechnics”, he still incorrectly connects the battery, then it will cause the car almost the same problems as described above, as when trying to start it. Added to this is the increased risk of fire.
A common situation with the wrong “battery” connection is when you are trying to “light up” one car from another. Using this method to start a car sensibly, that is, charging the “dead” vehicle battery of a moving car some time before attempting to start, the damage will be minimal. As a result, the resuscitated battery will only heat up, boil and eventually fail. The electrical systems of both machines (both the donor and the “patient”) are not affected. But if you immediately try to start a car with a dead battery while the “rescue engine” is running, all of the above systems can burn out in both cars. So the polarity of the battery in all manipulations with it must be checked very carefully.
Source: Avto Vzglyad
I’m Sandra Torres, a passionate journalist and content creator. My specialty lies in covering the latest gadgets, trends and tech news for Div Bracket. With over 5 years of experience as a professional writer, I have built up an impressive portfolio of published works that showcase my expertise in this field.
