# Elddis Autostratus - Battery connected wrong way round



## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

Hello,

I've been a silly boy and while replacing the motorhome battery, trying to talk to my seven year old, and not get too wet in the rain, I have gone and connected a new battery to the wrong terminals - pos to neg and vice versa.

There was a very brief spark from the battery and that was all and I soon realised what I had done.

None of the electrics now work - no dashboard lights nothing. I assume I have blown a fuse and maybe some diodes and maybe worse. I have checked every fuse I know about (glove box and by battery) and not found any blown.

Can anyone tell me what to look for?

Thanks,

Tony


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## shortcircuit (Mar 19, 2006)

Is there an in-line fuse at the battery?


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## motorhomenicky (Feb 1, 2006)

hi 

What age is your vehicle

if its on the new boxer cab there are fuses on the large terminal that connects to the battery

Nick


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## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

*battery*



shortcircuit said:


> Is there an in-line fuse at the battery?


Not that I can see :-(

Tony


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## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

*battery*



motorhomenicky said:


> hi
> 
> What age is your vehicle
> 
> ...


Its an S reg. There are a couple of big fuses bolted to the wall to the left of the battery - both look fine.

Tony


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## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

*Battery*

Hi,

Behind the battery, under a fold of plastic, I found a box sealed with cable ties. Eventually I got it open - harder to get into than Narnia .

There's a massive bolted fuse in there which when tested has shown to have blown. Never seen a fuse like it before so I will have to go hunting to get a replacement.

I hope that will be the end of it and I don't need to replace diodes, relays or anything else.

I feel so stupid for doing this but its all a learning experience :-0). At least I feel better for finding something even if it turns out to be a long trail.

Thanks to those who have replied.

Tony


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## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

*Re: Battery connected wrong way round (Boxer Autostratus)*



TonyBuckley said:


> Hi,
> 
> I hope that will be the end of it and I don't need to replace diodes, relays or anything else.
> 
> Tony


Just to clean this thread up...

What to do if you (stupidly) connect the battery to the wrong terminals on a 'S' reg Peugeot Boxer (Elddis Autostratus).

Behind and above the battery, bolted on to the firewall, is a black plastic box about 4"x4". It has two heavy duty red cables coming out the bottom of the box.

Cut the two cable ties securing the box shell together and prise the top off. In here, is a 175A fuse bolted between the two cables. Its not the easiest thing to get to.

I replaced this and reconnected everything.

All now works fine. The only other damage was that the inline fuse on the radio (10A) was also blown. Replaced this and the radio worked again. The radio is not wired via the ignition.

I hope this helps any other idiots out there .

Tony


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

Tony

You're not an idiot.
I guess we've all made mistakes, some big some small and some we've admitted and some we haven't.

A large part of this site's success is the willingness of members to post their mistakes and the solutions.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. It will no doubt help someone else in the future.


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## klubnomad (Mar 6, 2006)

Everyone makes mistakes in life and you have posted as a warning to others. You were fortunate that your 'vans main fuse went and the 'van survived. Still, all's well now.

Dave

656


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## 97993 (Mar 5, 2006)

Most of you out there will have a fuse like the one described, do yoU carry a spare ? the AA and the likes wont either, I know of at least one M/H stranded for the weekend waiting for the AA to get a replacement fuse 
Exellent post Tony, just poping out now to get me a spare 8O 
Geo


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## AlanVal (Aug 17, 2005)

We had the same problem .I unwittingly put the battery switch down and drained the vehicle battery Alan put jump leads on the red top was on the neg instead of the positive so it blew everything..Green flag tried and did the same Peugeot in edinburgh didn't have one so we had to get piggy backed to penrith they had one they come in loom unit and they have to order 2 at atime so they happened to have one .they said it isn't a common thing to happen :roll: it was 175 amp fuse so not easy to buy.We must try to order one for a spare as well.Do you know how much the fuse was on its own?We did`nt know you could buy it separately.It only took the Garage 5 mins to change it.
Val


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## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

Yikes - hadn't even considered it happening away from home - luckily I was in my field next to the house.

And I don't know how much it cost - after trawling around a few local motor factors who didn't have any and didn't seem interested in getting me one, a mate at work (who rebuilds cars for a hobby) sent off for two by post - don't know where from. He wouldn't take any money and said they were pennies!

He also said that a 1mm (he may have said half mil) wire across the terminals would be about the same rating and that I could use that in an emergency. But I didn't fancy risking it as I wasn't even sure if there was further damage and anyway - it wasn't an emergency .

Tony


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## 88927 (May 10, 2005)

Hi Tony
Any chance of a picture of the fuse, even the blown one would be ok with details of size etc? Then I could try to source these fuses and offer them to fellow MHF folks who have the Fiat / Peugeot cabs......

Keith


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## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

Well this picture looks just like it. You can see its not a pullable fuse - needs bolting directly onto the cables. And you cannot tell it has blown by visual inspection.

http://www.power-store.com/view-item.asp?itemid=101&id=21&

I'm not saying this one would be suitable. I gave my mate the old one and trusted him enough to get the right replacement.

It's 175A rated at 32V. I'll measure the dimensions and post later.

I don't know if there is anything other than wrongly connecting the battery that could blow this? Everything else should be protected by its own lower rated fuse which should blow first? But you're right, if even people like the AA don't carry them, then it may just be useful - one day 

Tony


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## 91021 (May 1, 2005)

Dimensions are 7cm by 1.8cm.

The original is a Littelfuse Mega 175A/32V.

Tony


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## AlanVal (Aug 17, 2005)

Thanks Tony ordered one for spare, dont want to go through that again .. The garage said they only order them when needed they dont keep them in stock,but they have to order them in twos. we were lucky they had one left .but that was after Alan had to spend an extra night on a site till they tried a garage in Edinburgh the next morning with no luck,still he had a nice peaceful night on his own lol I had to get a lift back for work next morning.second time out with the van and with our friends in their caravans talk about being embarrassed.
val


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