I bought a diode from AS for the starter relay, but decided to make my own for the battery relay. Months ago I watched the EAA video from Kas Osterberg on the proper way to solder a wire onto a diode. I then got the correct 1N5400 diodes online and proceeded to make one. It turned out fine and I attached it to the solenoid. I thought for SURE that I had the proper polarity on the diode. Well, fast forward to today and I decided to bump the battery solenoid. The wire arced and got hot immediately…a dead short! That can’t be, the diode shouldn’t allow that. I removed the diode and sure enough it was shorted. I checked the other nine diodes that I had and they all tested fine. So I cut the heatshrink on the diode I made and lo and behold the polarity was wrong. I would have bet $100 it was correct when I made it. The stripe is on the positive side, I had it on the negative. I made a new diode, put it in place and tested it out. No issues this time. Live and learn…
