You are here:
Cadillac Repair/battery
Advertisement
Question
my buddy put the battery cables wrong on my 1994 Cadillac Duvill now it dont turn on what happened to it
Hello,
There is of whole host of components that could have been destroyed, so what you are asking me is a very open question. This could cost you $$$$ to repair.
However, if you are lucky, all that happened was blowing a fusible link at the starter. At the starter you will find the body feed harness. This is a separate harness other than the positive cable, but attaches to the same terminal. If you pull on that harness and it seems rubbery and seems to snap back, that will tell you that the fusible link blew.
Remove the negative battery cable. Cut a 2" piece from this wire, take it to a parts store and match it up and tell them it is fusible link.
Get about a 12" piece to take with you.
Cut the end near the terminal where there is regular wire and splice with solder and a piece of shrink wrap you got at the parts store. cut out the balance of bad fusible link and splice again with solder and heat shrink tubing. Hook your battery cable and see if it starts.
When I say there is the potential for damage of $$$, I mean hundreds if not thousands. Modules and the computer could have all fried. Let's hope for the best!
You cannot ever have anyone inexperienced messing with battery power on these cars. Before you check the fusible link, you may want to take the battery and have it checked first. You might have even blown that up!
Its beyond me as to how someone could hook a side terminal battery up backwards because the cables don't stretch far enough unless someone actually installed top terminal battery ends for a top terminal battery, which should not be in one of these cars anyway because the hood generally does not give clearance.
The big red + is positive and goes to the red battery cable.
http://www.autotheftexpert.com
Related Articles
Rob Painter
Expertise
Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?
Experience
Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.