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Just bought a 51 Packard 200. The car starts and runs fine - but the BAT light is on and I do not think it is charging.

The 6 volt battery is connected with the NEGATIVE terminal to ground. I look in service manual and schematic says positive ground.

Two questions please:

1. Is it possible / likely that a previous owner converted the system to 6 volt negative ground ? Is there a way I could tell if this has been converted ?

2. Can I damage anything if I just switch the terminals back to positive ground ?

If the battery is in backwards, how could it run ? Wouldn't the starter motor (and other stuff) run backwards ?

Thanks !

I found the same thing in my 48 when I bought it. It also would reverse charge the battery, causing it to boil over. I just turned it around after asking the same things and it's been fine since. Apparently, the starter, ignition and blower motor aren't polarity dependent. Good luck!

If car is stock, no damage will have occurred. Just place cables in proper order and repolarize regulator per instructions. If it still doesn't charge, then gen, reg or wiring needs some work. The motors are all wound in such a way as to not be polarity dependent & will work either way. Heater blower is only questionable one as some have said it runs backward, other say not.

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Wow - this group is GREAT ! Thanks for the quick responses.

Car is all stock. I have the service manual and I'll flip the cables and repolarize the regulator.

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The truth of the matter is that the starter motor is a series wound motor (Rotor and stater windings in series with one another) and will turn the same direction regardless of the voltage polarity. The blower motor is a shunt wound motor and IS polarity sensitive. It will run backwards when the polarity is reversed however the squirrel cage blower part of it will still supply air in the same direction just not as efficiently. That is probably why some people believe the blower motor is not polarity sensitive. As far as I know the ignition really doesn't care which way the battery is connected. The charging system surely is polarity sensitive.


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As far as I know you are polarizing the generator not the regulator.

I switched the battery cables to positive ground and polarized the generator. WORKS !!!!

I have a 6v trickle/float charger - would like to connect to battery when car is sitting.

Question: Can I connect this charger to battery with battery in car ? I think answer is "yes".

I don't know if the charger is expecting or requiring the attached battery to be negative ground or not.

Thanks for your help !

Connect battery charger '-' to '-' of battery and '+' of charger to '+' of battery. The battery charger is a BATTERY CHARGER. The car connexions or polarity are irrelevant to the battery charger.

However, i would be cautious not leave the trickle charger on the battery continuously for more than 2 or 3 days at the max without checking water level in the battery.

Charging a battery depletes the **WATER level leaving higher acid concentration **. So CONTINUOUS charging for LONG periods of time is or may not be a good idea. I never use trickle chargers on a continous basis for more than 2 or 3 days and that's only if the battery is dead to begin with or i plan to operate the equipment in a few days or there are some other unusual circumstances.

Trickle charges CAN FRY a battery over a long period of time, ESPECIALY small batteries such as motysickle batteries.

IMPORTANT: Let the battery charger warm up for about 30 seconds or longer BEFORE connecting to battery. DO NOT BELIEVE THE MODERN INSTRUCTIONS OF ANY charger that states to connect to device BEFROE plugging in charger to wall outlet.

when DISconnecting the charger use safety glasses and hold your head AWAY from the battery as far as is comfortably possible. Batteries produce hydrogen gas WHEN CHARging and there IS a remote chance of a spark occuring especialy in confined spaces.

** edited for correction **

PackardV8 is certainly correct about his cautions of overuse of a trickle charger (as opposed to a battery tender), but technically it doesn't deplete the acid, the acid is actually strengthened by charging until the max of about 18% is reached; thereafter overcharging can warp the plates and if they warp enough to fracture the insulator between them they can short. You could also damage the cell matrix, in either case the battery is not recoverable.

My general practice is to trickle-charge overnight (at about 4 amps) once every 6-8 weeks during periods of prolonged car storage.

OH !! Yes. Thanks for the acid depletion correction. Actualy it depletes the WATER. Correct???

I've never used a Battery Tender. I've heard some mixxed reports about them mostly from m/c owners. Never heard anything about what distinguishes the Batery Tender from trickle charging tho.