How much electrical damage did I do

[equidawn]

Mental error on my part, now I have a burned out alternator. 2015 work master50, hooked up wrong cable at battery. Realized I made a mistake, immediately disconnected ground, turned the battery the correct direction.
When I reconnected the battery, alternator started smoking about a minute later. Disconnected it, smoking quit. Wiring seems undamaged, so that’s good. disconnected the power wire from the alternator, and have no dash lights when I turn on the key. Will try clamping the alternator wires to bypass the alternator later, maybe that will get the ignition switch working.
I will be replacing the alternator.
So the question becomes what else have I done? What else do I check?

 

[pmsmechanic]

I'm guessing that you burned out the main fuse that protects the wiring when a person inadvertently hooks the wires up reversed. You should have dash lights even with the alternator disconnected. But remember I'm only guessing as I have no experiences with your model of tractor. Hopefully someone who is familiar with Workmasters can comment.

 

[BlueKnife]

You should have dash lights even with the alternator disconnected.

He should, but this statement,

Will try clamping the alternator wires to bypass the alternator later, maybe that will get the ignition switch working.

leads me to think that perhaps there's some sort of wiring setup with which I'm not familiar. @equidawn, could you elaborate a bit on this? Maybe post a picture or two? What wires are you "clamping"?

 

[RayIN]

Are you positive you connected the battery right the 2 time? Negative ground is correct to engine block.

 

[equidawn]

Verified the negative marking before connecting to ground cable the second time

 

[equidawn]

He should, but this statement,

leads me to think that perhaps there's some sort of wiring setup with which I'm not familiar. @equidawn, could you elaborate a bit on this? Maybe post a picture or two? What wires are you "clamping"?

 

[equidawn]

The electrical connection nut and both terminals I have disconnected from it.
The dash lights definitely are not lighting up when I turn on the key. Which would likely be the main power fuse. On the dash or by the engine block?

 

[BlueKnife]

The electrical connection nut and both terminals I have disconnected from it.
The dash lights definitely are not lighting up when I turn on the key. Which would likely be the main power fuse. On the dash or by the engine block?

It appears as if they may be using the terminal on the alternator as a junction block. If that's the case, clamping those two terminals together instead of using the terminal on the alternator isn't going to change anything as far as the ignition switch goes. Won't hurt, but it's not going to help either. Have you checked all the fuses?

 

[GrandpaSmurf825]

Hooking up the battery backwards could wipe out the diodes. That would have zero impact on the no lights at the control panel. You need a multimeter at minimum but a test light is actually best for this. Check for voltage on any of the terminals on the switch. Trace the wires backwards if no power. Look for a fusible link as well as a fuse block.
I agree with Blueknifes assessment. That looks like the alternator functions as a junction block. See if you have voltage there and then reconnect.