I may have a big Problem

Good Folks,

About a year ago, I got a company car. I had been driving my 2002 Base Boxster every day until then. Car was running fine when I parked it. The time has flown and I never even started it since.
The need came up last night so I put the charger on the battery, nothing after a long while.

Pulled the battery out, went to parts store and purchased a new battery. Well by this time it was dark and I believe I installed the new battery backwards. Car did start, but I started smelling burning wires (plastic burning smell). Turned off the car, re-installed the battery, now NOTHING, no lights, no crank, Zero anything.

I also got to looking, I am not even sure what side the + and what side the - should be on. Both cables are black with no indicator for identification. (one being closest to driver side, other being closest passenger)

Any thoughts or ideas are much appreciated.

Greg in SW MO.

1. I am surprised that it would crank and start if the battery was backwards. That means "it shouldn't" but I'm trying to figure out if something of might cause it to spin..... So i am very hopeful that that didn;t happen.

2. Begin by testing. The ground cable should measure a short to a bare chassis bolt (chassis is ground). GND = negative.
You may also trace the leads. One will essentially go to a ground strap, connected, via a very short run, to the chassis.

I am not sure what occurred. Sounds like a short. Rodent damage?

Go do the basic testing and report back.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Grant, thanks for the information.

I am stuck at the office today, but my son and Dad drove over to my place and installed yet another new battery.

My Dad then called me and said he had no more than connected the positive side of the battery and a "blue-ish" smoke started coming from the "right" air intake. (out of the engine compartment).

He disconnected the battery and the smoke stopped, but he said it smelled electrical to him.

G

Be very, very careful. Obviously things are being damaged every time you hook up the battery.

It is likely that your car will need to be flat-bedded one way or the other. It might be best to get it to your most trusted diagnostician - dealer, indie etc.

Smoke is never good, but we can hope that its a simple short-circuit due to something like a chewed wire that shorted to chassis. In that case it might be as simple as some wires, and a re-boot. But first someone has to do the tests i suggested, plus look over (visually with no 12V applied) the wiring in the engine compartment where it sounds like the smoke came from.

Don't cause more damage.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

With a car that has sat unused for in this case a year rodents, probably mice, but it makes no difference -- the damage is done -- will be found to be the cause of the car's behavior.

If it is rodents you will probably have to rely upon your homeowner's insurance as the repairs can be quite expensive. They start at several thousand dollars minimum but can climb to 2 or 3 or even 4 times that easy.

Best get the car flat bedded to a qualified shop and fill the techs on the details. They'll have to inspect the car top to bottom, front to back and determine what damage there is. I've seen engines have to come out to replace engine wiring harnesses. But not only wiring but hoses, seat upholstery, carpets, A/C vent tubes, the rubber sheeting that seals the radiator ducts. You name it, rodents will gnaw on it.

If by some miracle no rodent damage is found then it is just a straight electrical problem but this can be a real bear for a DIY'er to find and fix.

I have seen a similar problem.

In addition to the comments above, make sure you have the air conditionaing system checked. You do not want to be breathing rodent feces. A friend had that stuff in and could not get it out. Ultimately he had to get rid of the car.

There are serious (bad) things in rodent feces. Do not take it lightly.

I put LOTS of fabric softener sheets in my 987 when I store it for the winter - in the air intake and fan exhaust, the trunks, the interior, and I stuff rags into the tailpipes.

Also bags of desiccant are a good idea in the interior.

I realize this won't help the OP, but for anyone else storing his/her car....

Got home last night and my Son "remembered" that a month ago while him Mother and I were in Mexico for a week, that he was wanting to take the Porsche for a spin.
So, he put the charger on it Full blast, not slow charge, then forgot it. Left in on for near a week.....

He said once he remembered, he pulled the charger off and the battery was "very hot" and the car would not start....

This may be an additional clue. What do you guys think could be the damage done by over-charging? I think based on this he "fried" the battery, but obviously it went further than that.

Thanks all for the posts. Rodents could still be at play here as well.

even if it damaged the batter (unlikely), it would damage nothing else A simple battery swap would fix all.

You car is charging all the time when running.

Rodents or some other issue.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

and then shut off the engine and reinstalled the battery. I hope correctly.

Now the car does not react to the key being turned on and the engine does not crank when the key is turned to the starting position.

If you re-installed the battery the correct way the 2nd time the lack of response to the key is probably due to one or more fuses having blown.

They blew not because of the battery being installed incorrectly -- I'm no electricity whiz but I can't imagine the engine cranking if the battery was installed incorrectly the 1st time -- but because one or more wires are shorted. This is I think the root cause of the behavior/symptoms.

The best explanation for this is rodent damage.

But I may be wrong.

Regardless, whatever is wrong will not correct itself with a new battery, or replacing the blown fuses, or anything else you can do at home. The car needs to be taken to a proper shop for diagnosis and repair. I would advise no further attempts to trouble shoot the behavior, no more turning the key on or trying any electrical system switches like headlights, etc., to avoid possibly damaging any other electrical circuits.

I installed a backward battery in my old TR6... thankfully the Amp-meter blue as a 'fuse'. In your case I would expect something else acted as a fuse.. starter solenoid, voltage regulator, or something else close to the batter. Good luck!

Except he is an electricity whiz. At least the digital kind.

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

... cars are not fuse-protected on the ground side so if you hook up the battery backwards you will fry most of the electronics including CLU, ECU, etc.
You'll need to have an expert with the right equipment (PIWIS or PST-II) look at it to determine if it's even worth trying to fix.
Do not run more juice through the system until it's checked.
Sorry to hear.
Pedro

Pedro Bonilla
1998 Boxster 986 - 314,000+ miles: [www.PedrosGarage.com]
PCA National Club Racing Scrutineer - PCA National HPDE Instructor - PCA Technical Committee (Boxster/Cayman)

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Racecar spelled backwards is Racecar

"Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" ... Steve McQueen as Michael Delaney in "LeMans"

"If you wait, all that happens is that you get older"... Mario Andretti

"Being second is to be the first of the ones who lose" ... Ayrton Senna

The starter circuit is designed to handle a big current on the positive side, much smaller on the negative side. By trying to send a big current through the negative side you've probably burned it up. Check the negative lead coming from the starter motor. It's probably fried. Replace it and you may be back in business. Depending on the design of the starter motor (I can't remember off the top of my head) you may have to get a new starter.

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It's unlikely you've fried the computer or other important bits. You can't flow current backwards through the circuit since the negative side is grounded and there is tons of space for extra electrons.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2014 09:35AM by Boxsterra. (view changes)

Enquiring minds want to know.

Pedro's correct good chance you took out some electronics. I'm surprised you didn't have a good size arc happen when you hooked the positive up to negative. That burning smell could of been capacitors blowing in your electronics. Best bet is like everyone is suggesting, take it to a shop to get looked at. It may just be some "cheap part" that blew out. But continuing to leave power on not knowing what was causing that burning smell could cause more problems..

Hi Guys,

I do appreciate all the comments and will address when given a chance. I travel a bunch and have not had time to look at or have looked at yet.

Once a verdict it reached I will post the results.

Thanks again. I know that we can count on forum for good advice!

G.

Probably nothing serious. Try to put the smoke back in the wires, that might work. This product is for Brit cars, but it may work on Boxsters.

[www3.telus.net]

That is Funny stuff right there!