Aircooled VW South Africa

I made a mustake the earth cable on the battery was red so I charged the battery the wrong way round and connected it to the Beetle after realizing it was wrong flaterned the battery and recharged it.Put it in every thing works but when you turn the key to start it nothing happens.Checked all the fuses all ok any ideas what could be wrong.

You may have damaged the battery. Most battery chargers have a cut-out in case of reverse polarity. Perhaps you need to reset the charger or replace a fuse before it will charge. Otherwise you may have caused battery plates to warp and short out against each other.

I would use another battery first and try,if you can test the battery even better.Check that you have 12 volts at the starter on the main cable with a battery that you know is good.If you have 12 volts at the starter then check that there is not any cables that have mealted.Also check on the starter the small terminal that when you turn the key that you get 12 volts there.If that is all correct then most likely the starter is cooked.If you dont get 12 volts there check your ignition switch.
I think thats where you should start.

Normally the only thing that goes is the voltage regulator as it is the only thing that is polarity sensitive.

So the starter should work with everything else.

So you may find she starts but will not charge.

I think the battery has seen it maker. and thats not you ....

Good Luck

Herman

If you charged the battery with the opposite polarities then its toast.

Let us know what you found please Terry.

Up date I bridged the starter and it starts no problem so now I need to test the ignition switch do Beetles have starter relays or just straight from ign switch to starter the battery seems to be holding charge.As I only bought the car recently I am not sure if there might be a hidden switch that I could have bumped.Under the dash just above the fuse box there is a button which I pushed in but it wont come back out not that it has anything to do with it.

There shouldn't be a relay, although some people install one to reduce the load on the ignition switch. Somebody might have installed the button as a crude immobilizer, so see if it is wired into the ignition circuit.

a remote starter relay is a good idea and highly advised. As said above, it reduces the load on old ignition switches and keeps them alive a few years longer.

In your case, also look for a hidden starter button

Hi terry,

is this a new car that you have not started before ???

If not, then you have something wrong in the starting circuit.

It would probably be a fuse not making contact, try twisting the fuses in their holders by spinning them with your fingers.

Sure you just have a bad connection.

Herman

I think I might have found the starting problem after scratching around I found it has a relay tucked away but I cant fit under the car to have a good look,so will have to jack it up and look.So can the relay get damaged from reversing the polarity ?

A normal relay should not mind what the polarity is. You do get relays with a built-in diode that’s in parallel with the relay. These are used to clamp the back emf and thereby the quick multiple switching that can occur. But this also should not get damaged by reversing the polarity.

I would guess that the battery got damaged. Maybe take it to a battery shop to have it tested under load. Just measuring the voltage alone is not always a good indicator of it’s health. A cell can be dead and the voltage can still seem fine.

The battery is 100% had it tested and the polarity is back to normal will just change the relay try my luck they are cheap enough. the relay that on is a 4 prong but could only get a 5 prong so I assume I just leave the odd one out.

Yes, you only need four connections. I also had starting problems with my beetle and saw that the PO-installed relay looked a bit dodgy with frayed wiring. I replaced the relay and cleaned up the wiring and all was well thereafter.