I need help bad! My 2000 Neon would not start. After receiving a jump start I was OK. Upon inspecting the battery I decided to buy a new one. Went to Sears, bought a new Die Hard. Instead of selling me a type 26R they sold me a type 26. The difference is the position of the posts. When I attempted to connect the new battery the wires would not reach the posts. Foolishly in the dark of night I turned the battery around and did not notice that by doing this I was about to connect the wires to the wrong posts! When I made contact with the wrong posts I got a spark followed by flame and smoke. Quickly I disconnected, exchanged battery and connected properly. The car did start OK, but the next day the battery indicater light appeared on the dash. My neighbor tells me to start the car & disconnect the negative battery wire. The engine stopped. He says the alternator is bad. I buy a new alternator, neighbor installs it and guess what, same problem. I noticed that the fuse in the radio blew, but could not find any more blown fuses. What do you think I fried?

 

OOOOOOOH!![:@]I think you might have fried your PCM/ECM![:@]

 

check for fusible link wirimg especiallyu in the alternator /main fuse box area , also look for burnt wiring as you don't say where the flames come from ... might have burnt out the voltage regulator

 

yeah check ur fuse box first, if not there check starter, may have fryed that, by doing that u deffinently fryed something, there should be a fuse that will pop if that happens, so that it wont kill ur PCM, so if ur fuse is fine, then take it to a mechanic to run diag to see what u fryed.

 

Thanks for all of your input. Tomorrow i'll do a thorough check. I did check the fuses inside the car and the ones under the hood. They were fine, although I don't know how to tell if the relays under the hood are OK by sight. All electrical components seem to work though.

 

It was a fusible link in the power wire to the alternator. Thanks everyone! Now I'm good to go.