# Battery connected opposit

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-connected-opposit/88681>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [January 14, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-connected-opposit/88681 "2015-01-14T12:45:04Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Yann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bc79bd/32.png) [@Yann](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Yann)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 12:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-connected-opposit/88681/1 "2015-01-14T12:45:04Z")

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Hey, i got a 2001 Honda Civic and tried to replace the battery. I mistakenly connected the wrong cable to the - and same thing for the +. There were sparks and all went dark. Is there some automatic shut off system on that car or is the car just fried?

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**Author:** ![PvtPublic](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/pvtpublic/32/13089_2.png) [@PvtPublic](https://community.cartalk.com/u/PvtPublic)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-connected-opposit/88681/2 "2015-01-14T17:26:27Z")

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A friend of mine did this on his Honda, he called me the only thing I found was a 100Amp (I think) fuse that was blown. It was held in with 2 phillips screws. replaced that and all was well. Just as an aside make sure you have the correct battery. The terminals may be reversed. That was the case with his and why the cables even reached, if you turned the battery around so the terminals were were on the correct sides the cables wouldn’t reach their terminals.

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**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-connected-opposit/88681/3 "2015-01-14T17:40:41Z")

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If the ignition was off when the sparks were flying the damage is likely limited to the high amp fuses as @PvtP mentioned. If the ignition was on the damage could be extensive.

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**Author:** ![shadowfax](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/shadowfax/32/13026_2.png) [@shadowfax](https://community.cartalk.com/u/shadowfax)\
**Post date:** [January 14, 2015, 8:18pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-connected-opposit/88681/4 "2015-01-14T20:18:09Z")

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Third vote for the main fuse. An auto parts store should have it. Be sure you get the right one - there are several different kinds.

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**Author:** ![dagosa](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/dagosa/32/9837_2.png) [@dagosa](https://community.cartalk.com/u/dagosa)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2015, 1:59am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/battery-connected-opposit/88681/5 "2015-01-15T01:59:17Z")

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Man…hope it’s disconnected now. You can blow a battery up, which imho, is a bigger problem then blowing a fuse.