Major arc at solenoid connection. Did I damage anything?

TexasLongball

Ok so I have to admit something that I'd rather not share but it's the only way to know what damage may have been done. Prior to starting this project, I had next to ZERO knowledge of circuits and working with electricity in general.

I was replacing the batteries in my new cart rebuild (http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/intro...addiction.html) and had a rather major arc occur at the solenoid connection. It happened as I was tightening the large post connections on the solenoid with the batteries connected. Yeah, I learned my lesson the hard way.

It was bad enough that the terminal connector was blown off the cable, the resistor blew apart, and the nut I was tightening is now welded inside my socket.

What I'm worried about is what damage I don't see. What damage have I done? What do I need to check before installing a new solenoid?

This site has helped me so much already and I appreciate everyone's input.

BGW

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scottyb

Maybe none, do you know what two posts exactly you touched the wrenches to?

TexasLongball

I'm not sure that the wrench touched anything else. The batteries were completely connected so I thought the error occurred in tightening the nut/washer onto the terminal while hot. I'll check which post it was but not sure what other post was touched (if any).

TexasLongball

OK I just checked, and none of the posts on the solenoid are labeled but it was the cable that directly connected to the positive on my first battery. I'll admit that my experience is minimal so I just labeled what wire went where and reconnected with new batteries. Guess I should've connected the solenoid PRIOR to hooking up the batteries.

scottyb

no. you're mistaken

Although you should connect the battery terminal last, connecting the solenoid end last would not cause the event you describe. Only a dead short can weld with that much authority. It will happen again unless you find your wiring error.

TexasLongball

Well...****! I labeled everything the way it was. I guess I wasn't as sure as I thought. Ugh, now I have to trace every cable I guess. Time to get intimately familiar with the wiring diagram.

TexasLongball

Thanks for taking to time to answer my question!!

rib33024

Post some pics of under the seat, and lets us take a look . Maybe we will see something. and like Scotty said, to weld a socket in the wrench it had to be POS to NEG

Revolution

defiantly post some pictures like Rib suggested. Theres a lot of sharp eyes around here that might just save you a lot of hours tracking down the wiring problem.

scottyb

The last thing you want is a repeat of this event..... so lets see the wrench, the solenoid and anything else that may or may not be relevant, like the Main Negative battery connection