Battery Light On-Please Help

[jlehma13]

I have a stock '92 5.0. I had the battery out of it and when I re-installed it, I hooked up the terminals wrong (- to +, - to +). There was a series of sparks followed by a little plume of smoke coming from the positive wire. nothing is melted, and the car started up right away when I hooked the cables up properly. Now the battery light is on on the dash. I drove it around for a while thinking the battery could just be low on charge but the light is still on after the drive and even after disconnecting and re-connecting the battery. I even tried putting the battery from my other '92 in it to see if the light would go off and it didn't. I put the one that I connected wrong in my other '92 as well and no battery light. Would could be the issue here? The alternator is within 2 years old and the battery is holding a charge. Could I have done any serious damage? The battery was hooked up wrong for one second before I pulled the cable.
Help is appreciated!

[SickLX5.0]

U mostlikely blew ur fuseable links for ur alternator which means ur running on battery only so dont get stranded or u fried ur regulator on ur alt. Take ur alt out and have it tested if alt checks out then u'll know it is the links....

[jlehma13]

Interesting. When I drove it, the amp guage on the dash read fairly close to the bottom and did not move at all during the drive. Very well may have been running off of the battery. Anyone have pictures of the fusable link and instructions on how to replace them? Thanks in advance.

[SickLX5.0]

Originally Posted by jlehma13

Interesting. When I drove it, the amp guage on the dash read fairly close to the bottom and did not move at all during the drive. Very well may have been running off of battery.

U can drive a decent distance on a fully charged battery as long as ur not on the brakes a lot or using ur headlights and accesories... The links go to ur silonoid they are round little black cylinder looking deals incorperated in the wire....I cut my links out and put in standerd fuse links u can get them at any auto part store u will need 2. Using these style helps if it happens again cause then you just have to change the fuse.

[jlehma13]

Thanks a ton for the info. One more question...hopefully: So I do not have to rely fully on the parts counterperson and risk burning my car up with the wrong stuff, is there a certain type of fusible link, amperage, or anything else specific I need to ask for? I like the idea of having actual fuses like yours. I just need to know what to get. Thanks again!

[SickLX5.0]

Autozone carries them... Cooper Bussmann heavy duty in line ATC fuse holder. Only a couple of bucks a peice.

[jlehma13]

Finally, got a second to work on the car. After spending a lot of time with the volt meter, it turns out I fried the battery. I'm kind of surprised but I suppose it could always be worse. Car is buttoned up and 100%. Thanks for all the help troubleshooting.