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[omegod]

What damage would putting the battery leads on the wring way round on a V6? or more specifically what would a puff of smoke aroung the abs ecu area have come from?  All fusible connections look intact and when fresh battery put in ( the right way round ) the battery light is lit but no ignition. Just trying to help a local guy out so no pisstaking pls

[Kevin Wood]

Oh, dear! Where to start..?

Every electronic system in the car has to potential to have been damaged, but most probably have some degree of protection built in, so you may be lucky.

First thing to do is to check all fuses and fusible links. I wouldn't mind betting some have blown.

Second thing to do is to check if it's drawing a load of current when you connect the battery the right way round. Things like the alternator rectifiers might well have gone south, and if you just plug the battery in you might burn out the windings too.

[omegod]

I checked the fuses in the engine bay fuse box and those fusible links above the positive terminal and all looked ok. Im thinking ECU and Alternator may well be fried. I may have access to a 3.0 auto for swap testing of parts but would it's ecu run a 2.5 manual with the chips swapped over ?

[Kevin Wood]

You also need to check the fuses in the cabin fusebox.

Swapping parts might introduce other issues at this stage, so I'd first check what happens when you turn the key. Do you get the usual warning lights on the dash? Do you get any indication when cranking the engine? i.e. twitching of the rev counter, does the fuel pump run?

Can you do a paperclip test to get some indication if the ECU is basically alive?