I have a electronic safe and the low battery light flashed so I bought 4 Duracell AAs for it.
I accidentally put all 4 in the same way instead of one row in one dirction and the other opposite ( The originals had gold bands at both ends and I was working in the gloom with my varifocals at a bad angle)
Within about half a minute when it appeared dead I realised my mistake.
Will I have seriously shortened the life of the batteries with this mistake? If so, I will change them again.
I doubt if you've done any harm at all. I'd *guess* that the four batteries should be in series to provide 6 volts or so. Putting all four in the same way will have produced zero volts, no current flows so no harm done.
I am a *little* confused by you saying "one row in one dirction and the other opposite" though. How are the batteries arranged? Is it 'two and two' so what you have called 'one row' is a pair of cells?
No - their voltages will have canceled out and no current flowed.
Agreed. Only all of them backwards might cause problems, but often the contacts only work on positive sticky out ends anyway.
I assume it's 4 in series, folded round in half. A common system, one end is just a connection between the two battery ends, the other ends lead to the load.
Yes - that is how I now understand it.
Better quality battery holders won't connect at the bottom end if inserted back to front so probably no damage. Your safe should also have a backup c apacitor that preserves the entry code for a few minutes while the batterie s are being changed and this would have discharged if the batteries were pu t in wrong.
Normally all four would be connected in series to provide a 6V supply. by reversing 2, you create a circuit where close to zero current will flow, and so you will draw little or no energy from the cells.
Probably not, it really depends on how equal they were in the first place I'd imagine. Strange battery holder that allows batteries to connect in the opposite way aroundnd at all, There is normally a small soulder on the plus end of the compartment to keep the negative end from contacting the contact itself. Brian Brian Gaff - snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please!
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----- Original Message ----- From: "DerbyBorn" Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2016 3:30 PM Subject: Battery polarity mistake
Brian - It was difficult to fit them! I realise now that there was a spring at the end where I had pushed a positive. It was due to me working in the gloom of the bottom of my wardrobe and making wrong assumptions about the gold band on the old batteries.
On reflection, I can't believe I did it wrong as I thought it was a bit unusual to have all 4 facing the same way. Two pairs in series.
all okay now though - thanks.
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