Alright, I had my car all hooked back up and ready to go, and then I went and stuck the battery terminals on backwards (thinking the wire going to the amp was a ground, instead of a power cable), and now nothing happens at all when I turn the key... the headlights and horn work, but the interior is basically dead.

I checked the under-hood fuses and they all look fine... I haven't checked the under-dash fuses yet (and can't at the moment... the car is four hours away).

Is there anything I might have forgotten that would cause a similar problem, or have I blown something worse than a fuse?

Another question: where does the vacuum hose for the brake booster go? I can't seem to figure out a few of these hoses at all...

Anyone have an idea where the hose that goes from the charcoal canister to the block goes? I can't seem to find any place on the block for it...

 

When I had my battery cables backwards, I blew the 80AMP fuse. Recheck all your fuses. Also, remove and check the back-side of the underhood fuse panel for anything melted or loose. Remember that the main fuse is bolted in, be sure the bolts are tight.

As for the vacuum hose for the brake booster, it connects to the rear hard line that runs along the firewall. The hose itself is S-shaped. The other end, I think, ties somewhere into the exhaust system or Air Control Valve. Check the FSM.

 

not uncommon to blow the ECU if the cables are hooked up backwards

 

What I want to know is where that hose actually connects on the engine...


I sure hope I didn't blow the ECU though... so silly to have such a minor mistake be such an expensive problem.


I'm 99% sure that the main fuse isn't blown.

 

i did this and now my horn dont work... hope you figure it out...

 

how did you end up getting the terminals mixed up??

 

Slight update...

A friend of my dad's came by (since I'm not home...) to check out the car for me.

Apparently none of the fuses are blown (and some are amped too high? I don't remember any of them being like that), but my starter wire arcs... so maybe I hooked someone up wrong, or forgot to hook up a ground or something.

I guess that's enough to create an open circuit that won't let the ignition turn on?

(since that's where the juice goes first, anyway...)

 

Ok, I guess there isn't actually a negative ground wire for the starter at all?

Then I wonder what I hooked up to one of the terminals... it was a thin black wire with a loop on the end, with a little black box on the loop.

So what in the heck was that? An engine ground or something?

 

Little black boxes are usually Condensors for power circuits.