My kid's car is a '95 Neon 2.0L, SOHC, totally stock, well-maintained, recent timing belt installed.

The car overheated, the fire dept shows up and chopped the batt cables. Now, the battery cables at that point are taped together so when they cut them with the bolt cutters, it momentarily caused a dead short across the pos and neg sides. Now, the car will not start. It spins, it has a spark, it sprays fuel, the timing belt is set correctly, but it won't fire a lick. The mechanic kid thinks the ECM got fried when they cut the battery cables. He's worked on it for a few days now and is at wit's end. I'm reluctant to spend money on another ECM without more convincing information or advice. Is there a way to check an ECM to see if it is "fried"? Could it be something else?

Thanks! I appreciate your help.

 

if i was you i would just go to the junk yard and pull another ecm because i dont think you can test them but i could be wrong good luck

 

if you turn on the ignition and the check engine light stays on for a second, then the ecm is atleast functioning...however possible components could be bad inside the ecm.

how bad did the car overheat?
it is possible the the headgasket went out when it overheated causing lower compression then needed...
has the car been checked for the check engine light to see if it is throwing any codes?

 

Did the car catch fire?

I would recheck the timing.

 

improper or insufficiant ground is my suggestion.