Car won't start and multiple systems no longer work after battery issue

gunthrek

Greetings,

The battery on my wife's 2012 xB went bad and we were going to try to get the car running to go get a new one. I took the battery out of my F250 and tried to connect it, but I got a bunch of sparking and the horn went off and I heard some rapid clicking. Not sure why it did that since it's just another 12v battery, but I have to imagine it was a problem because now the starter doesn't react at all.

The windshield wipers, turn signals, and electric mirrors don't work either, nor will the radio turn on. The keyless entry responds with the noise, but does nothing to the locks. Other electrical items like the headlights, dome lights, hazard lights, etc. still work.

There's also a strange whirring sound coming from near the alternator when we turn the ignition to "on".

I've checked all the fuses and replaced the blown ones, but still nothing. I've tried tapping the starter solenoid to see if it was "fused", but still nothing.

Any help would be appreciated. I really hope I didn't somehow fry some wiring. I'm not able to fix that myself.

Thanks in advance.

thecardoc3

Lots of sparking and then blown fuses? That sounds like the battery was connected backwards. Has the battery now been replaced and connected correctly? If so, all of the diagnostics are still going to start with a professional level scan tool that can access all of the modules on the car. Then depending on what modules can communicate and generate codes and data the next step can be determined.