Hi just replaced the battery in my 1974 Triumph Bonneville.. and the wire coming from the negative terminal (ground) was not hooked to anything.. I replaced with a wire of the same guage.. and when i hook up the positive terminal the negative wire gets really hot and starts to smoke what is that a sign of? Not an electrical genious or anything all your help is greatly appreciated
Not much to explain, all the power leads are connected to the negative terminal on the battery. The other lead is connected to the frame (positive). That's all there is to a positive ground system, it works just a negative ground but the current is running in the oppisite direction.
As Dave says, the power leads all expect to see negative potential and the chassis (ground, or "earth" in English English) is connected to the positive side.
The direction of current flow makes no difference to incandescent lamps or point-contact ignition systems. However, the polarity of the system does matter to the alternator, and to the big Zener diode that serves as your voltage regulator.
When the battery is hooked up backwards, the Zener diode goes into full conduction. That's why enough current flowed to heat up the wire. Some of that current also flowed the wrong way inside the alternator windings and the rectifier diodes in the alternator.
If you continue to have electrical problems after reconnecting the battery correctly, be sure to check these items for possible damage from the excess current flow. Usually there won't be any lasting effects, but it can happen sometimes.
On 2005-07-28 00:50, Redgoat wrote:
Not too sound like an idiot.. but here it goes where do i hook the Negative wire from the battery up too.. I dont have a clue. can anyone tell me?
Do you mean the neg. that connects to the positive terminal?
Connect it straight to the frame, or engine, or better still both. You would use a ring connector on the end of the wire and secure it under a bolt head, like a washer.
[ This message was edited by: Slinky on 2005-07-28 02:22 ]
__________________ "You can't fly with the eagles if you keep scratching with the turkeys."
okay got the wires all hooked up.. everything is golden.. except dont have spark in one cylinder.. checked the plug its not the plug.. checked the wire.. its not the wire... think it might be the ignition coil... got power going into the top of the coil but nothing coming out of it.. is there something else i should be checking that I might be overlooking?? Where can i get a new coil or two??
where do i hook the Negative wire from the battery up too.. I dont have a clue. can anyone tell me?
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