1990 Ford Mustang Hooked up jumper cables backwards

140,000 MILES • 4 CYL • 2WD • MANUAL
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ZACCORNELL
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My father wasnt paying attention and hooked up jumper cables backwards while trying to start car. he noticed smoke coming from starter relay so he immediately shut off car. Upon further inspection he noticed one of the lead wires (blue) melted the copper wiring inside of the insulation. He spliced a new piece of wire in and no luck. The car will turn over, but will not fire. Ive replaced that relay, check spark at coil and distributor, checked coil, checked spark at plugs, checked fuses, and sprayed ether into throttle body and this thing still will not fire. What should I check next?
Aug 24, 2008 at 1:07 PM
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MHPAUTOS
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  • 31,937 POSTS
Hi there,

Start with checking all the fuses & fusible links, do a scan to check for any fault codes and have the ECU inspected for failure as it well may have been spiked.

Mark (mhpautos)
Aug 24, 2008 at 10:36 PM
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ZACCORNELL
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
I checked all fuses and the fusible links I could find and they were all good. Could I have fried the main control board? Also, i cant test for any codes because Im not showing a check engine light
Aug 25, 2008 at 1:01 AM
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MHPAUTOS
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
  • 31,937 POSTS
Hi there,

i would pull the ECU and get it bench tested, as you may have cooked it.

Mark (mhpautos)
Aug 25, 2008 at 2:49 AM
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