Reversed battery cables on 2006 90 hp 2-stroke

[Jerky]

Well it was all going well till the momentary lapse in attention hit..

Mind you this is a Zero hour engine I am installing. I can't tell you how mad I am at myself for this.

Anyhow, I connected the last cable to the battery with a nice spark. I then headed over to the remote trim switch on the throttle to test it and nothing. Still not knowing what I had done, I turned the key to the first position and still nothing. Not even on the multifunction gauges. Then it hit me. All the signs I missed along the way became clear. My stomach twisted in a knot and I head back to the battery where sure enough the cables were reversed.

I hoped I could just switch them back as a wild shot in the dark, but no dice. Nothing seems to work anymore.

So, my question is where to start to find out what exactly I did. I have tried to find answers to this, but uncovered nothing specific so far. Some have just replaced a fuse and been on their way. Others have mentioned diodes, rectifiers and CDI's. I know there may be a dealer in my future, but I am hoping for some good luck somewhere.

Any help would be appreciated! I am sick to my stomach right now.

[Jerky]

Step 1 done

Found fuse I fried under cowling. So far all items appear back to normal. I am still afraid I damaged the rectifier as it looks like it is tied directly to battery before any sort of fuse. Still looking for any guidance. Will try to research more on troubleshooting that.

[robert graham]

I did the same thing on my 1999 90C 3 weeks ago, and all it did was fry that 20Amp fuse under the cowl, replaced that and everything worked fine...thank the lord for fuses! You should be good to go!

[Jerky]

Seems to be fine except........

Thanks for the encouragement!

Motor and gauges seem to operate normally, but multifunction gauge is showing upwards of 16v at 2700 rpm.. Trying to find out if this is sign of damage. What is normal on this engine? Is it regulated or not?

[robert graham]

Best I can remember at normal cruising RPM's my charge rate is in the 14.5 to 15.5 volt range, but next time out, I'll check it closer and let you know. I don't think the screw up with the battery cables hurt much other than that 20 amp fuse. Guess when they designed the motor they thought, "how can we keep these bozo's from destroying the motor?", and the 20amp fuse was born! Good Luck!

[99yam40]

Thanks for the encouragement!

Motor and gauges seem to operate normally, but multifunction gauge is showing upwards of 16v at 2700 rpm.. Trying to find out if this is sign of damage. What is normal on this engine? Is it regulated or not?

I would check to voltage with a good voltmeter and see if your other one is correct. !6 V is too high. The voltage regulator should keep it down to around 14v, you may have damaged it.

[Jerky]

Maybe not so lucky..

I got a repair manual and tested the Rectifier with an ohm meter. As far as I can tell, my results showed a bad rectifier. The book said something about not using a digital ohm meter, but it's what I had. I ordered a new one. I seem to be back in business. Charge voltage is back down. I do get as high as 15.2 volts after I have placed a load on the system(lots of trimming)

So it appears I am back to normal. I thought we were looking to stay in the 14v range, but others appear to go over 15v at times too. Any thoughts on what else I should check before calling this mistake fixed?

[Gill7858]

sadly i just did the same bone headed move and inverted my wires also. now i have no gauges or trim whatsoever. I checked the relays and inline fuse in the fuse box in the engine(right side of engine under starter). Are there any other fuses anywhere else on the engine that i should be looking for? Let me know, thanks