Put The Battery In Backwards...need Help

[lexusswa]

Can't believe i did this but i did, i put my new battery in backwards on my 1990 LS400. bought a battery whose terminals were opposite of my last battery. Wasn't even paying attention. The car starts great but nothing electrical works. I checked all fuses on the driver side (interior) and they were good. This happened to a buddy of mine with his toyota tundra. He said his tundra had a fuse in the engine compartment that was a fail safe for something like this. Is there any other area i can check for fuses besides interior driver side? I am hoping for a easy (cheap) fix to this stupid move. Thanks for in advance for any suggestions

[TA in KC]

Yes, you may have bad fuses in the engine compartment fuse box. It is right above the battery on the drivers' side. You should check not only the blade fuses but the larger ones also.

You are not the first person who has made that mistake...someone else on this board did a few months ago and new fuses fixed the problem.

[Zett123]

Can't believe i did this but i did, i put my new battery in backwards on my 1990 LS400. bought a battery whose terminals were opposite of my last battery. Wasn't even paying attention. The car starts great but nothing electrical works. I checked all fuses on the driver side (interior) and they were good. This happened to a buddy of mine with his toyota tundra. He said his tundra had a fuse in the engine compartment that was a fail safe for something like this. Is there any other area i can check for fuses besides interior driver side? I am hoping for a easy (cheap) fix to this stupid move. Thanks for in advance for any suggestions

Sometimes it blows the diodes in the alternator the instant the connection is made. Pray that it is the fuses.

[SirSam]

I had the same problem a while back. I had to replace a main fuse in the engine fuse box, I'll try & find the previous post but I don't remember which one it was off the top of my head. I'll have to go look in the fuse box.

[Alexander the o.k.]

See if it will reset the eprom/ecu by simply disconnecting the neg cable for 20-30 seconds.

If not, do the fuse check thing.

[mustang2v]

You will have to replace several fuses. I think that there will be 2 outside and i think 3 in side

[LEXUSA]

I did this on a Nissan truck and all it blew was the Main Fuse. The truck is quite a bit simpler and has alot less electrical gadgetry I know but that is what a Main Fuse is for, to protect the wire going to the other fuse boxes. You may have more than one individual fuse to replace but the Main for sure.

[CUMan]

This thread should provide a good lesson (and warning) to anyone who is replacing the battery in a Toyota product. Make sure that you buy the right battery!

All three of the Toyota-made vehicles that I own (two Lexus and one Toyota) require the "R or F" type battery, e.g. 24R or 27R. This designation means that the positive terminal is on the left side of the battery when looking at the battery from the front. I am not sure whether this applies to all Toyota products.

The other type batteries, i.e., those which carry just a number (24 or 27), can be used if they are turned around in the battery holder. However, you then have the problem of trying to get the cables to reach a connection point they were not designed to reach.

[eatingupblacktop]

The other type batteries, i.e., those which carry just a number (24 or 27), can be used if they are turned around in the battery holder. However, you then have the problem of trying to get the cables to reach a connection point they were not designed to reach.

That's exactly what happened to me. I picked up the battery without paying any attention to the terminals. When I tried installing it, I realized the terminals were reversed. I tried turning it around but the cables wouldn't reach. Rather than forcing the issue by trying to connect them this way, I went back and had it replaced. Didn't think to check the terminals initially, but will from now on.