sleepylegacy Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 1990 legacy LS wagon 5 speed well the battery died, couldn't push start it, so went and got a junk yard battery, dumb rump roast me but the connectors on backwards:eek: saw smoke and disconnect, so the smoke came from the alternator and fuse box,I don't really know what to do, I think the alternator is fried now, and the fuse/wire link in the fuse box in the engine bay is fried too. got new battery, found wire link, put link in, and battery in, try to start car, nothing works, no lights, no gauge lights (idiot lights), no auto belts, nothing, but did get the bell from the ignition what did I break, and how can I fix it.? I learned my lesson, look at the battery before connecting. stupid me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 (edited) might have to junk it if the main fuse did not blow. check the fuse box under the hood. Probably one of the BIG fusable links, they "should" blow in this case. If so, you will be fine. If the fuse there did not blow, than you fried the harness, ecu, alternator, starter, ignition switch, lights, fans, radio,etc, meaning, cheaper to junk it. Edited February 9, 2009 by bheinen74 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Man, I feel for you. Such an ez misstake to make. I don't know how many time I have nearly jumped started a car only to realize that I was in the process of reversing the cables. since the alternator was smoking, you can figure that it will need to be replaced. Suggest check source of smoke at the fuse box. Something there got hot enough to smoke, prolly burnt wire insulation. I think the fuse block unbolts from it's mount, so unbolt it, and look for melted wires underneath. There are prolly other fuseable links elsewhere, that need to be looked at for possible replacement. Maybe others here can tell you where to look these fuseable links. I hope you did not try to start the car with the backwards wiring. If not, then you ignition system may be okay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepylegacy Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 well in the engine bay fuse box (near the battery) I opened it cheeked the fuses and notice this wire in there. it was fried, I replaced it with another one, then put the battery in the right way, in the wire fried again. plus I noticed the wire brushes in the alternator went from this nice looking copper to this nasty looking black burnt cooper look. and no I didn't start the car with the backwards connection. I stopped once I noticed the smoke coming from the alternator and fuse box. and the fuses are fine looking to me after looking at them. any thing else I should look at, and know that i broke. and or do.:-\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepylegacy Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 yea and I was gonna replaced the alternator any ways. Lesson learned. take time when it comes to replacing a battery. look hard and well. gonna cost me big. it is my only car spent all my money on buying it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Disconnect the alternator maybe? and try again with a full battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 did you get insurance? have matches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericem Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 did you get insurance? have matches? haha lol!!!!! Doesn't he need collision to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenleg88 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 eh... idk if collison would be the one... youre better off saying it was vandalism... not that im saying you should.. cuz.. thats lying.. and thats bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 eh... idk if collison would be the one... youre better off saying it was vandalism... not that im saying you should.. cuz.. thats lying.. and thats bad. it's also insurance fraud and maybe a felony? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenleg88 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 right right. thats what i meant* i couldnt think of the words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepylegacy Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Nope insurance, I know shame on me cant destroy car and collect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Did you look under the fusebox under the hood? I think there have been others that got there car back working after replacing the main box, if wires going into are OK. Wish you luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I took the time to look in the Haynes Manual for you. In the car wiring section, it shows two fuse links in the wiring harness. From the drawings, I couldn't tell where the fuse links were located under the hood. Suggest you find a Haynes or other Subie manual for the wiring diagram. Hopefully, by now you have had a chance to look further into the wiring to see if additional wiring is burned up. You may get lucky and just have to replace some wiring, and maybe the ecu module. Since you didn't turn the ingnition key during cable reversing, your ignition system may not be damaged. Let us know how you are coming along on this, maybe we can help you some more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sleepylegacy Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 well got a new alternator, and fuse wire link, that got cooked twice. turns out that got cook cause the alternator was bad. any ways put the new alternator in and in also with the fuse link, started the car and it works fine. so the guys at the yard says that there is a safety link in case a dumb rump roast like me does that, reverse the connection on a battery.just the fuse link fries and that is it. so all in all I learned my lesson. yay:lol: car runs like it did before, and blew a fuse in my amp that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster2 Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 well got a new alternator, and fuse wire link, that got cooked twice. turns out that got cook cause the alternator was bad. any ways put the new alternator in and in also with the fuse link, started the car and it works fine. so the guys at the yard says that there is a safety link in case a dumb rump roast like me does that, reverse the connection on a battery.just the fuse link fries and that is it. so all in all I learned my lesson. yay:lol: car runs like it did before, and blew a fuse in my amp that is it. Glad to hear that you escaped this adventure with very minimal damage. How thoughtful for Subie to have the safety link to stop major damage from reverse polarity. From your experience, I will be extra careful when installing a new battery in any car to make sure I connect the cables correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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