When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
TL;DR: idiot installed battery backwards, now truck is very dead.
it all started back in july when my wife called me at work to tell me the truck was dead and she needed a jump. over the course of the next week or so, we needed like 3 more jump starts, had to figure out why the battery was dying. at some point following this mess, i noticed that the truck had a slight gangster lean. found a leak in the airmatic suspension airbag wha have you, front drivers side. assuming the compressor was constantly running to try and fill the bag, i figured this is why the battery kept dying and all my problems would be solved if i replaced the part. i purchased the aftermarket arnott replacement airbag shock thing online. YAY, but after watching the youtube video, pulling my wheel well apart and breaking my knuckles trying to disconnect the sway bar linkage, i realized i dont have the tools for the job. so i turned to the facebook for help, and promptly got a phone call from a friend advising me to get my crap together and bring the truck to his shop, i could do the maintenance with his tools no problem. GREAT, but everything was in pieces and he was rushing me, so after throwing the tire back on and all the plastic covers and crap in the back seats, i tried to start the truck and surprise!! totally dead. well, i ran across the street looking for a jump, and the used car dealership over there one up'd me and gave me a used battery to borrow.... worst thing i ever did. so i took the battery, while on the phone again with my impatient friend, and threw it in the truck, sat in the drivers seat and might as well have shot my self in the face. the wipers came on all the lights in the cabin came on and the truck didnt start.. what the f??? oh crap, it was then i realized i didnt even pay any attention to the polarity of the used battery terminals i just threw in the truck, and low and behold, i had installed the damn thing backwards.
since that time, ive combed each fuse box including the 'pre' fuse boxes and replaced 3 burnt fuses, one 20 amp in the trunk box: i dont even know what that was for, a 7.5 in the dash box, this one free'd up the steering column, and the console interface lite up, and then the big one was a 100amp fuse in the engine compartment pre-fuse fuse box, where the jump start post is located. i thought this was gonna be the one, but all that did was give me head lights, a/c, maybe windows.. but still no crank, no click, nothing that suggests this truck will ever start again. i also am still missing radio or command center, like nothing, no display or nada, also my front wipers arent working, the rear wiper works, but i get nothing from the front. so no start, no radio, and no wipers.. ive check every fuse im aware of, i tested each relay for continuity, but i dont know if they are switching, and im looking for ideas, im looking for electical schematics, im looking for anyone who maybe did this stupid before?? also after i get it started i still have to change out that damn airmatic suspension bag.. so any advice there is also welcome.
TL;DR: idiot installed battery backwards, now truck is very dead.
it all started back in july when my wife called me at work to tell me the truck was dead and she needed a jump. over the course of the next week or so, we needed like 3 more jump starts, had to figure out why the battery was dying. at some point following this mess, i noticed that the truck had a slight gangster lean. found a leak in the airmatic suspension airbag wha have you, front drivers side. assuming the compressor was constantly running to try and fill the bag, i figured this is why the battery kept dying and all my problems would be solved if i replaced the part. i purchased the aftermarket arnott replacement airbag shock thing online. YAY, but after watching the youtube video, pulling my wheel well apart and breaking my knuckles trying to disconnect the sway bar linkage, i realized i dont have the tools for the job. so i turned to the facebook for help, and promptly got a phone call from a friend advising me to get my crap together and bring the truck to his shop, i could do the maintenance with his tools no problem. GREAT, but everything was in pieces and he was rushing me, so after throwing the tire back on and all the plastic covers and crap in the back seats, i tried to start the truck and surprise!! totally dead. well, i ran across the street looking for a jump, and the used car dealership over there one up'd me and gave me a used battery to borrow.... worst thing i ever did. so i took the battery, while on the phone again with my impatient friend, and threw it in the truck, sat in the drivers seat and might as well have shot my self in the face. the wipers came on all the lights in the cabin came on and the truck didnt start.. what the f??? oh crap, it was then i realized i didnt even pay any attention to the polarity of the used battery terminals i just threw in the truck, and low and behold, i had installed the damn thing backwards.
since that time, ive combed each fuse box including the 'pre' fuse boxes and replaced 3 burnt fuses, one 20 amp in the trunk box: i dont even know what that was for, a 7.5 in the dash box, this one free'd up the steering column, and the console interface lite up, and then the big one was a 100amp fuse in the engine compartment pre-fuse fuse box, where the jump start post is located. i thought this was gonna be the one, but all that did was give me head lights, a/c, maybe windows.. but still no crank, no click, nothing that suggests this truck will ever start again. i also am still missing radio or command center, like nothing, no display or nada, also my front wipers arent working, the rear wiper works, but i get nothing from the front. so no start, no radio, and no wipers.. ive check every fuse im aware of, i tested each relay for continuity, but i dont know if they are switching, and im looking for ideas, im looking for electical schematics, im looking for anyone who maybe did this stupid before?? also after i get it started i still have to change out that damn airmatic suspension bag.. so any advice there is also welcome.
Last Benz I saw with reversed battery was an s550 and it had a blown engine ecu, blown alternator, main gateway, instrument cluster and both headlight aiming modules.
I know you don't want to hear that but you might be in deep trouble. There is a lot of luck involved, so who knows...
Hopefully the op writes back when he finds out how much this will cost him. He can afford a GL therefore he can afford the repairs ... Isn't that how it goes?
i may in fact call the insurance company! i didnt think of that!!! i didnt get to it today so im still sitting on electric schematics, which i hope to use to isolate the control modules from the hardware.. if that is possible. just to maybe pinpoint the problem isnt one of the many relays or fuses, and maybe even figure out which module or modules are malfunctioning before i am forced to hand it over to the professionals. and as far as the comment about being able to afford a 450 and afford the maintenance fees.... i got a pretty good deal on this truck in upstate PA at a place called Knopf. my wife wanted something with 3rd row seating for our 3 kids and the associated street rable which accompany them everywhere. she was looking at the MDX, and i pushed her into the GL cause i had already bought myself a c320 and am really happy with it. but we arent well off to say the least, i am just off the opinion that you have to decide what you want and what price you can pay and find it. so once she agreed to the GL, i shopped and shopped and ended up finding this one with HUGE milage, its an 07, i bought in 2010, and it already had 80K miles on it. so yea with the huge mileage and some negotiation, we paid 27k, so our monthly payments on it are 410. i know people that drive a ford for more, given its a later model year, but still not as nice. either way, its in our budget. my stupidity is not
do you have an extended warranty on it? I'm guessing no
Do NOT start looking at schematics and start ordering parts... take it to a knowledgeable independent mechanic or an MB stealership and have it officially diagnosed so you can spend the LEAST amount possible (however many thousands that may be) to get your car in working order.
Listen me, I know this sux -- but it's a small bump in a long road of life. Let's say worst case scenario this costs you $4000.00 -- ok, you'll suck it up and deal with it, pay it off and move forward and learn an invaluable lesson that may save you even more money in the future.
I wish you all the luck in the world that this is something under $1000.00, please keep us updated
You would think there would be a fail-safe to prevent polarity mismatch at the battery level on such an expensive car...
Last edited by PeterUbers; 09-27-2014 at 09:41 PM.
UPDATE:using the schematics my neighbor provided me, i took my meter and went to town this morning. i dont have a sig gen or anything to force switch the relays, so i just ohm checked points before and after the switch and coils to verify continuity. so in addition to the possibilty that ive blown every relay, im pretty sure i verified that ive killed the starter, as im reading a short through what should be the starter coil and motor. sorry about the crappy pic i took it with a potato.
And it's times like this when I tell certain "buddies" and handymen I know to eff-off when they laugh at me for not changing my own oil, or when faced with "minor" repairs.
On my old VWs? No problem. On a vehicle that has a parts value 3 or 4 times the original sticker value? No thanks. I mean, are we college kids? Are we broke?
If you can buy a GL, pay for goddamn service with a warranty, a repair that's on them, not your ***.
I may not be much help, but I hope this serves as a lesson for all the so-called handymen trying to look more manly for their wives or girlfriends, or to otherwise save enough on a part or service to buy the family Wendy's for lunch,
More cars are destroyed by bad drivers and they are still trying to put a failsafe there.
Why would I think that? Because $10 inexpensive household electronics have polarity protection ... Why wouldn't a $90,000 vehicle --- that's why I would think that, I know, sounds crazy for me to make such a huge leap, right? Lol
And it's times like this when I tell certain "buddies" and handymen I know to eff-off when they laugh at me for not changing my own oil, or when faced with "minor" repairs.
On my old VWs? No problem. On a vehicle that has a parts value 3 or 4 times the original sticker value? No thanks. I mean, are we college kids? Are we broke?
If you can buy a GL, pay for goddamn service with a warranty, a repair that's on them, not your ***.
I may not be much help, but I hope this serves as a lesson for all the so-called handymen trying to look more manly for their wives or girlfriends, or to otherwise save enough on a part or service to buy the family Wendy's for lunch,
Why would I think that? Because $10 inexpensive household electronics have polarity protection ... Why wouldn't a $90,000 vehicle --- that's why I would think that, I know, sounds crazy for me to make such a huge leap, right? Lol
The context is different. The $10 appliance has zero expectations about its' users so polarity protection is a must. The 90k vehicle is expected to be serviced by a qualified tech which will not make such mistake.
The context is different. The $10 appliance has zero expectations about its' users so polarity protection is a must. The 90k vehicle is expected to be serviced by a qualified tech which will not make such mistake.
Why would I think that? Because $10 inexpensive household electronics have polarity protection ... Why wouldn't a $90,000 vehicle --- that's why I would think that, I know, sounds crazy for me to make such a huge leap, right? Lol
It all depends on how much you understand about the 5 cent part to protect a device designed for the consumer to change the battery fairly often,
vs.
The complexity and cost (Probably several hundred plus design, testing, warranty, etc. costs) to protect a car designed for an experienced person to replace the battery 2 to 5 times in its life.
09-26-2014, 07:06 PM
i screwed up, so so hard
