Last fall, when I used my lawnmower for the last time, I put it in the shed, connected the Harbor Freight Solar system to the battery and closed the shed.
Today, I went to mow the lawn for the first time this season. Disconnected the solar system from the battery and hit the start switch.. Starter motor runs but doesn't engage the flywheel. Suspecting a stuck bendix, I pulled the shroud from the motor. The bendix had free movement by hand. Hit the start switch and the starter was turning BACKWARDS! Got my trusty digital volt meter and found the battery polarity was BACKWARDS! Apparently, when I connected the solar system last autumn, I hooked it up backwards. Over the winter, the reversed connection apparently drained and reverse charged the lead acid battery. Learn something every day but I'm still curious as to why the reverse connection didn't blow something in the Harbor Freight controller.
Today, I went to mow the lawn for the first time this season. Disconnected the solar system from the battery and hit the start switch.. Starter motor runs but doesn't engage the flywheel. Suspecting a stuck bendix, I pulled the shroud from the motor. The bendix had free movement by hand. Hit the start switch and the starter was turning BACKWARDS! Got my trusty digital volt meter and found the battery polarity was BACKWARDS! Apparently, when I connected the solar system last autumn, I hooked it up backwards. Over the winter, the reversed connection apparently drained and reverse charged the lead acid battery. Learn something every day but I'm still curious as to why the reverse connection didn't blow something in the Harbor Freight controller.