Sparking Negative post!!!

Ack!

OK: Bought a new battery yesterday. Connecting it today.

Had no issue disconnecting the old one (negative first, positive after).
Went to connect the new one... Positive post first... went to connect the negative and as soon as the connecter touched the post it let off sparks! :S

It did that two or three times, now it doesn't spark if it is touched to the post, but i'm scared to continue. I'm nervous if i touch it while connecting the Negative post that i might get electrocuted.

HELP??
Attached a photo of the current situation.

Also: the Green wire. Is that the grounding/neutral cable and should it be on the Positive post? Or the Negative? Because no one seems to have noticed if it was in the wrong place!!

Excluding antiquities, grounding is ALWAYS to the negative side. But that green wire doesn't look like original equipment. Where does it go?

You sure you didn't connect those cables backwards?

See if you can locate the starter solenoid and see if the fuse has popped.

https://sites.google.com/site/nighthawkwiki/maintenance/electrical-troubleshooting

Thanks, guys. I'm gonna try again in the morning. Too dark out right now

I hate messed-up electrical wiring.

The positive terminal *should* have a red plastic protective cover over it. Part of that is so that the positive side can clearly be identified, and part of that is to put at least some sort of insulating barrier between the positive terminal and metal objects (tools) that could accidentally touch it and short-circuit (and potentially start a fire). The positive wire *should* go to the starter solenoid which generally also contains the main fuse. The unfused section of wiring from the positive terminal to the starter solenoid *should* have red insulation or at least something red on it. There *should* be no mistaking which is the positive terminal.

The negative terminal does not have to be insulated, because the other end of the large negative cable should go to the main chassis ground point, which is usually a bolt going into the engine block somewhere (possibly, but not necessarily, near the starter motor). There will also be a ground for the wiring harness, which *might* be that green wire.

If you connected them backwards, if you were lucky, hopefully it blew the main fuse. You saw sparks prior to that fuse blowing. Now that the fuse is blown, the electricity has nowhere to go, so no more sparks. Connecting electronic components in reverse polarity is a good way to make the smoke come out of them, and then they don't work any more.

In addition to investigating the main fuse, and putting the terminals the right way on the battery, DO track down that red plastic protective cover for the positive terminal. Unprotected positive battery terminals have caused many vehicle fires. DO fix this.

Brian P said:

I hate messed-up electrical wiring...

...In addition to investigating the main fuse, and putting the terminals the right way on the battery, DO track down that red plastic protective cover for the positive terminal. Unprotected positive battery terminals have caused many vehicle fires. DO fix this.

Click to expand...

Ugh. Dammit!
I'll see if reconnecting it tomorrow works. If not, i'm going to have a good sob with some cookies and milk, then call my mechanic and his pick-up truck...

Looks like there's a ton of corrosion on those wires too (not just the terminals), bend/handle them with caution otherwise they can crack and arc inside the jacket, then bad bad things happen. Might need to replace them in the very near future.

All is not lost. Thankfully a smart bike engineer had put in a fuse so that further damage or a fire did not occur. The fuse popped, thereby stopping further damage. At a couple of dollars at most, fuses are cheap and easy to replace. Though not as spectacular as a fire, the anti-climactic pop and smoke of the fuse is preferable. Get a multimeter, put it on resistance/ohms and connect one probe to a good piece of metal on the frame. Find out which battery wire give you no resistance. This should be your negative contact, or so called ground. Your green ground wire is certainly thin and not standard. Beware of the red flag, or in your case, a green warning flag.

What bike do you have? Where do you live? If it is very old, disregard the above advice and find someone who can help you. Maybe someone nearby can help you?

One other point no one has addressed thus far. You will NOT be electrocuted, (at least to the point of death).. unless you have a bad ticker, and relatively low voltage is enough to trip it..lol

If this were to happen then as your falling grab the wires again to restart the ticker..lol

Follow the cables, the ground will likely find its way to the chassis pretty quick. the positive cable will head to the fuse block. The green wire is an added on piece, someone added something to the bike at some point, usually you add accessories to the positive side of the battery. Its not usual for a small spark to occur when attaching the ground, fuel injection systems, alarms and accessories can cause them. Kind of like the spark from a lighter. Its only 12 volts and wont hurt you at all.

but... big healthy scary sparks may indiicate a short to ground

hedo2002 said:

You will NOT be electrocuted, (at least to the point of death).. unless you have a bad ticker

Click to expand...

I have a pretty young ticker, so i think i'm ok then.

BUT!
It turns out it wasn't my fault at all. I feel so much better.

My garage ordered the wrong battery
So: New (PROPER) battery model now on order. Need to buy a new fuse to replace the one that snapped during my attempt to install the incorrect one.

But meanwhile, my garage is still awesome. They gave me a Loaner Battery (I didn't even know this could be a thing) until the new model arrives, and offered to install my new fuse for free.

So everything is good again. I'm just relieved it wasn't anything serious or dangerous!