I reveresed my battery and now....
I appear to only have two cylinders firing. I have a 100 HP Yamaha
4-stroke. I inadvertently reversed the polarity and tried to start it.
We replaced the fuse and it started, but ran rough. today we removed
and cleaned the plugs (too late to get new ones).Anyone have any words of advice. (my wife is taking care of telling
what MORON I am, so you can skip those emails). P |
El
May 27
2006
|
| well considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats:
Well, yeah, but to this day I never trust it. Some people don't seem
to think that is important and will buy aftermarket parts and install
without regard to color... I guess the vendor was out of the "right"
color and heck, a wire is a wire. I always trace the negative terminal back to ground.... except on
things like that old Ford-Ferguson my dad had....
|
Gene
May 29
|
| >and thinks that this newsgroup might offer any real advice. |
JohnH
May 29
|
| If possible, I try to do my online business with a store that actually
has a brick and mortar store also. It is too easy for shysters to come
and go too if all they have invested is a web page.
|
Reginald
May 28
|
| CRAP??!! I think not. Given that you already overlooked the big "+" and
"-" signs embossed on the battery, and you already overlooked the [probable]
fact that one big fat cable is RED and the other big fat cable is BLACK, my
immediate sense would be that the most timely and valid advice available
would be to henceforth have someone else work on the engine. Nothing
personal -- just reality. Many people who are adept with things mechanical
probably couldn't do your job intuitively, either. |
John
May 28
|
| All the best and worst the internet has to offer. What i'm looking for is a way to confirm the computer or other problem.
Simple Diagnostics. Probability of doing further damage while
diagnosing or running the engine. other possible failure modes. What
do cylinders 1 and 3 have in common (i checked and cleaned the plugs, 2
and 4 were clean, 1 and 3 looked bad, but not terrible. I replaced the
fuse I blew in the process, which should have protected the
electronics, no? Surely, someone at Yamaha is smarter than me, and
said, "if El Penguini loses his mind and reverses the battery, we
should make it a $0.50 repair instead of a $500 repair." To those of
you advising me against ever touching anything again, I would challenge
each of you to testify that you never did something stupid while being
distracted, not paying attention, or being pissed off. This is what
happened here - all three. Some dipshit damaged my boat,my wife was
yelling at them/me while I was doing this. The nature of technocracy
is that we're all stupid sometimes. Sometimes it doesn't make a
problem, sometimes it does. |
El
May 28
|
| On 28 May 2006 07:10:49 -0700, El Penguini penned the following well |
Gene
May 28
|
| Why should the manufacturer subsidize the foibles of amateurs? I'm sure
there are warnings and stickers all over the engine and manual to the effect
that only qualified professionals should mess with this stuff. The folks at
Yamaha, and others, know intuitively that for some mistakes, the repair
will be $500, and no amount of anticipatory design engineering will change
that. |
John
May 28
|
| I'm sorry, but you guys are idiots. I've never received such poor help
on a newsgroup as I have here. |
El
May 28
|
| >on a newsgroup as I have here. Did you heed what I told you? No. I'd be surprised, now, if anyone *did* offer to provide more help. To call someone an idiot, because they can't completely diagnose your
problem over the internet, seems to be the height of 'idiocy. If you, sir,
are right there and can't diagnose your problem, what, pray tell, does that
make you?
--
'Til next time, John H ***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
|
JohnH
May 28
|
| You get what you paid for! |
Don
May 28
|
| in this case, oxymoronic. Check qualified technician. |
John
May 28
|
| Gee, you sign on and post "I fried my electrical system-tell me what's
broken" and then get aggravated when no specific answers are forthcoming. In an earlier post, you wrote "Some dipshit damaged my boat..." I didn't
realize at the time you were being autobiographical. |
John
May 28
|
| I suspect that if you think you're having a heart attack, you'll call your
doctor, stick the phone on your chest, and ask him if things sound right. |
JoeSpareBedroom
May 28
|
| He wants a refund.
|
Reginald
May 28
|
| On 28 May 2006 09:37:52 -0700, El Penguini penned the following well
considered thoughts to the readers of rec.boats: >I'm sorry, but you guys are idiots. I've never received such poor help
>on a newsgroup as I have here. Ok, I'm an idiot, but my batteries are hooked up just right!
|
Gene
May 28
|
| Gee, I bet you figured out at an early age that RED goes to PLUS and
BLACK doesn't. |
Harry
May 28
|
| The Yammy expert should be along shortly to offer you some advice. The
advice you get kind of depends on you.
Happy Memorial Day
Jim |
jiminfl
May 28
|
| How old are you? I'm just curious - it's something I ask a lot. |
JoeSpareBedroom
May 28
|
| Time to visit the Yamaha shop and have them check what you burned up! "El Penguini" <elpenguini@comcast.net> wrote in message |
Lost
May 27
|
| Right. Maybe the computer module. Take out a 2nd mortgage right away.
:-( And, don't tell your wife what you did. |
JoeSpareBedroom
May 28
|
| Next time, have your wife connect the battery. |
John
May 27
|
| Are these the best responses the Internet has to offer? I was looking
for some real help, not this crap. |
El
May 28
|
| Crap? You motor has an electronic ignition module, which mechanics will call
"the computer". Just about everything else in the motor involves fat wires
which were not likely to be damaged. Chances are very good that a repair
shop can test the ignition module. If you want to get back to boating more
quickly, you'll take that next step. Otherwise, you can whine and search the
web for the next week or three. It's up to you. |
JoeSpareBedroom
May 28
|
| You have a modern outboard motor heavily dependent upon electronics.
When you tried to start the motor with the battery polarity reversed,
you probably damaged some circuitry in the motor, possibly the computer.
You probably are going to need diagnostic equipment and the skills to
know how to use it to fix it. If you don't have the gear and the skills,
you're going to have to seek out a competent outboard repairman. Suggestion: put a dab of flame red nail polish on the top of the PLUS
terminals of your batteries and on the exterior of the clamps on the
PLUS cables of your wiring. Next time you mess around with the battery,
terminals and cables, if you don't see "RED" everywhere, stop what you
are doing. |
Harry
May 28
|
| >for some real help, not this crap. You may have gotten the best answers available from those who were up late
last night or early this morning. Some of the actual mechanic guys may not
be here until later. Don't get upset (too much) with a few 'smart assed'
replies. The knowledgeable folks will (hopefully) weigh in later. Some
folks don't visit the group on weekends, some folks are smart-asses, most
here don't know much about Yamaha 4-stroke engines, and there is a small
percentage that *may* have an idea to help you diagnose the problem. You may have already received the best advice - visit a Yamaha shop and see
what (chips, etc.) you may have burned up. Good luck. You've got my sympathy, if nothing useful!
--
'Til next time, John H ***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
|
JohnH
May 28
|
| While there were some jokes along the way, as you pointed out,he really
did get the only advice anyone can give over the Internet. Harry, Lost, Joe and even John gave this guy really good advice, he just
was not able to understand it. If he thought their responses were crap
he obviously not only does not have the equipment or the skills to
repair the OB, but is obviously new to Usenet if he found these
responses offensive. "> Time to visit the Yamaha shop and have them check what you burned up!" Right. Maybe the computer module. Take out a 2nd mortgage right away.
:-( And, don't tell your wife what you did. Next time, have your wife connect the battery. Crap? You motor has an electronic ignition module, which mechanics will
call
"the computer". Just about everything else in the motor involves fat wires
which were not likely to be damaged. Chances are very good that a repair
shop can test the ignition module. If you want to get back to boating more
quickly, you'll take that next step. Otherwise, you can whine and search
the
web for the next week or three. It's up to you. You have a modern outboard motor heavily dependent upon electronics.
When you tried to start the motor with the battery polarity reversed,
you probably damaged some circuitry in the motor, possibly the computer.
You probably are going to need diagnostic equipment and the skills to
know how to use it to fix it. If you don't have the gear and the skills,
you're going to have to seek out a competent outboard repairman. Suggestion: put a dab of flame red nail polish on the top of the PLUS
terminals of your batteries and on the exterior of the clamps on the
PLUS cables of your wiring. Next time you mess around with the battery,
terminals and cables, if you don't see "RED" everywhere, stop what you
are doing.
|
Reginald
May 28
|
| You might be able to buy a computer module on E bay. If that is the problem
then you just fixed it. If not sell the module back on ebay. |
Rick
May 28
|
| Good morning, Harry!
--
'Til next time, John H ***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
|
JohnH
May 28
|
| Good morning, Sir Reginald.
--
'Til next time, John H ***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
|
JohnH
May 28
|
| Possibly, but I'm wondering what's involved in testing it first. The module
for my motor runs around $300.00. When I bought it used from the dealer, the
module died during the first hour of testing. It took less than an hour for
them to change it, but I suspect that if it hadn't been under warranty, they
still would've charged an hour's labor. So....re-sell the module on e-bay
and lose how much? Or, maybe not. Or, take it to the dealer and get it over
with. It all depends.... More coffee.... |
JoeSpareBedroom
May 28
|
| I agree. A friend of mine has two stupid dogs who chewed a wire harness to
pieces in his John Deere tractor. He found the dogs trying to squeeze their
heads under his Jaguar next. Why he didn't kill them is beyond me. But,
another friend and I arrived at that moment and did the right thing: Offered
him a beer, the use of one of our handguns, some smartass comments which he
understood as being the traditional first way of addressing mechanical
issues. This is normal. |
JoeSpareBedroom
May 28
|
| I'd be wary of a "used" outboard electronics module for sale on eBay. |
Harry
May 28
|
| Yeah. For some purchases, I want to be able to walk back into the place of
business and make trouble, very loudly if necessary, when the place is full
of customers. Luckily, this is hardly ever necessary. |
JoeSpareBedroom
May 28
|
