Bad Starter , Won’t Crank On, Shorted the Alternator with Screwdriver

I am a new driver and my Reefer Unit is Thermo King Precedent S600. Today I went to start the reefer and it had clicking sound with power but not cranking on. After the jumper cables it turned on and I got a new battery for it. After installing the new battery the clicking sound came back again but wouldn’t turn on. I talked to a veteran driver and he said that my starter is bad. He said I can try putting a screwdriver connecting the two bolts on the starter to crank it on and not to turn it back off. My father got involved and made the mistake of doing that on the alternator instead of starter and now my front panel will not turn on at all. Figured he shorted something. We opened the front panel and checked fuses and they all seem ok. What could have happened by shorting the alternator. Any help will be appreciated before we take it in for service.
Thank you

 

Your problem to begin with, sounds like a bad alternator. It wasn't charging the battery.

Shorting out the alt. May also have shorted out the battery. Instead of having a low charged battery situation. You now have a battery with no charge, so the reefer doesn't have any electric feed to turn on.
Let us know what repair was needed.
Good luck.

 

I run reefer only and can wrench a lot of my own stuff. But when it comes to my reefer I pay someone to work on it.

hopefully you didn't fry the micro, because if you did it was $2000 about 5 years ago, can't imagine what it is now.

@reeferwrencher i am sure he can help you.

 

Put a jumper wire from the positive terminal of the battery to the positive terminal of alternator. Turn on the controller and see if it powers up.If it doesnt then check positive wire,I believe there is a fuse link on that circuit,at least there is on the c600.Remember you are still likely going to need a starter as well.

 

I'm still trying to wrap my head around mistaking an alternator for a starter...

 

not something i cheap out on either, I just pay TK, that way if god forbid, something does happen when loaded, I can also show the insurance company that it was properly maintained the whole time

I do keep a spare starter and alternator in my side box though

 

Thats smart

 

They both round and have wires running to em. ‍♂️

 

And one is belt-driven, the other drives the flex plate by bendix gear, so...