[geeks] car question

[geeks at sunhelp.org]

Much too weird.

I wouldn't run it until you check something. Start the engine and take a
voltmeter and see if the polarity of the system is correct (red wire to a
live fuse in the block, black wire to chassis, if the meter swings backwards
you're in trouble.

This is so weird that it causes one to search the outer limits of
possiblities...

I am probably way off base here, but in the old DC generators used in autos
(like 1960 and before), you could loose the core magnetism and you would
have to flash the fields with a little juice to introduce a moment of
magnetism and then the generator would self-excite (not to be confused with
masturbation). If you did it wrong, the generator could reverse polarity. I
didn't think this was an issue with modern cars, but maybe.....

Unless the battery was stone cold dead and you reversed polarity on the
battery when you jumped it? If that was the case the battery would have
gotten warm when you ran the engine. It also means the starter would have
turned the engine backwards. A modern engine shouldn't run backwards (but a
diesel engine can run poorly in reverse, depending on design).

James Fogg, Network Engineer
Vicinity Corporation - New Hampshire
(603) 442-1751

~ -----Original Message-----
~ From: Amy [mailto:scoobydoo at ohno.mrbill.net]
~ Sent: Monday, March 11, 2002 2:29 PM
~ To: geeks at sunhelp.org
~ Subject: [geeks] car question
~ 
~ 
~ ok, y'all are gonna love this. here's your chaince to be 
~ smart and male
~ and help a no-car knowledge female and feel manly!
~ 
~ allrighty. for the past 6 months my car has been sitting dead in my
~ driveway. basically it sat for awhile until the car alarm drained the
~ battery to beyond the dead point.
~ 
~ we went out today to jump it off, connected all the cables 
~ correctly, etc.
~ the car wasnt charged enough to start or run under its own juice (need
~ new battery) after about ten minutes. then i tried to get the 
~ windows up.
~ 
~ pushing the up button made the windows go DOWN.
~ 
~ can someone explan possibilities for this happening, and is 
~ this condition
~ irreversible enough to where i need to take it to the dealership and
~ replace something electrical?
~ 
~ all information yall can give is muchly appreciated as i dont know
~ anything about jump starting vehicles and the problems that can occur.
~ 
~ --a
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