I have a 1995 accord ex. In the process of re-connecting my battery, I think I touched the wrench to the metal piece that holds the battery in place. Got a pretty good spark. (I was tightening the positive cable bolt at the time with the negative already connected). I finished tightening the bolt. Opened the door, interior light came on as normal. I inserted the key and turned it to acc. everything died. Now everything is completly dead. I checked all the fuses in the main fuse box. Any ideas? Thanks

 

Did you hook up the battery backwards and blow the 80 amp glass top fuse? That will cause all kinds of no start no power fun.

 

Not sure if my touching the metal bracket did it, but it turns out the battery tested "unuseable". So, got a new battery and all is well......so far.

 

Next time hook up the negative post LAST.

I've done that once or twice & it didn't destroy the battery. So I'm guessing the battery was already bad.

 

Yep. You are correct. Now I know why you hook up the negative last. I also believe the battery was bad to begin with. I had it connected to a trickle charger (2 amp) and I wonder if that fried a cell. I have read they sometimes do that. Of course, others say it extends the life of the battery. ????

 

Trickle chargers can slowly overcharge a battery, so you can't leave them hooked up for a week. They're good for charging a battery slowly, for example you're not in a hurry to install it & start the car. Slow charging is better for the battery then fast charging. But you have to check the voltage & unhook it when it's done.

The ones that are smart enough to monitor the battery are usually called "maintenance" chargers or something like that. Say you want to leave it plugged in for 2 months...

Whichever kind of charger you use, you still have to be aware of the liquid level in the battery (all cells) & keep that good too.

 

Thanks for the info.