Problem with 2002 PT Cruiser

[allmons]

My son has pretty much taken the car over ( college kid in a college town). Last weekend he couldn't get it to start. Long story short - put a new battery on it, apprently reversing polarity ( OUCH). Positive wire terminal was burnt in two and he saw a bright flash from the wiring harness near the front of the passenger side in the front part of the engine area. When connected correctly, the car started and ran OK, except that the interior light and radio no longer worked. Next day, the car stopped running bacause the battery ran out of juice. So, is the alternator fried? The wire loom he says he saw flash and smoke seems to go from the starter area to the alternator area. Battery easily recharges when placed on external charger. What should I check and how the heck do you get TO the alternator? Help,please! - allmons

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[irdaneel]

The alternator could be fried, or at least the voltage regulator portion, but I suspect that in the loom somewhere, you'll find your problem. Trace each line through the suspect area of the loom.

[allmons]

Thank you for your response! I should have updated my post sooner....
We discovered a fusible link burned through, which miraculously saved the alternator. There was a fuse blown in the underhood convenience center, which was easily replaced andall problems were resolved.

And for future posters searching this thread, the heavy piece of wire ( fusible link ) comes ONLY from Chrysler and cost us $10 for a short piece!

BUT...considering what damage could have occurred, I was happy to shell out 10 bucks!

[moe]

i was going say check for that but you already beat me to the punch.i'm glad it wasn't to bad.i would run a test light on all the fuses just to be on the safe side.moe