Risemas

I own a 2004 MT. I went on leave and when I came back the battery was dead. I jumped it at my house and drove it to the gas station so that I could fill up to get a battery. Turn the car off at the pump. When I attempted to turn on nothing. So the attendant came out with a recharger. He hooked it up wrong. Big sparks. Immediately swapped it and it still started. So I picked up the battery I left the car on so it wouldn't flood. And then drove home. Turn it off. The next day attempted to start with new battery nothing. So i replaced the starter. Still nothing. Check the fuse box every single engine compartment fuse was blown along with the main fuse. I attempt to replace te main fuse and it blows as soon as I reattach the battery. When the battery is hooked up all I get is a steady honk from my horn, wipers which I have no control over and dim turn signal lights. I have nothing in the interior. When I turn the key I can hear no sounds except for a faint click coming from the fuse box under the hood.

Thanks any advice is helpful

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

u sure u replaced every single fuse and relay?

Risemas

Fuse yes.

Risemas

I'm in te military stationed in Italy. Nearest dealer is 7 hours away

Risemas

Yes all the relays are good

Spin9k

Something is missing in your story that could help w/the issue. You say you drove the car home from the gas station. So fuses must be ok at that point, as car is functional, thou not starting on its own as you needed a jump.

Now you replace the battery, logical. Then you say it won't start, so you replace the starter? Here's where you could offer more info. You replaced the battery and then exactly what happened? Did it turn over at all? Did the lights work? What troubleshooting did you do that made you replace the starter? If the starter was working at the gas station, what made you think it needed replacement all of a sudden? That doesn't follow logically.

Something must have gone wrong somewhere in that battery/starter replacement because after that you say all underhood fuses are blown including the main fuse? That has to be a nearly direct + to ground short to do get that to happen. 200+ amp fuses don't blow on a whim. And further that's a big change from "had to jump it to get it started" earlier. Did you short something / reverse connect something in the process of battery/starter replacement? Did you recheck your work, everything you did? Fuses don't just all blow without a major electrical issue, one that wasn't there when you started this apparently.

Also there's another fuse box in the driver footwell, did you check those? Beyond that, with all those fuses blown, there's a good chance you now have multiple component failures due to that overload, whereas you likely had a single problem before. That's much more difficult to troubleshoot. With more info, you'll get better suggestions here, if that is at all possible at this point.

Risemas

Okay. I replaced the battery and nothing happened that's what was so weird. So I assumed when the man connected the terminals the started fried bc I was getting no noises at all. Don't get me wrong I'm in no way a mechanic but I know how to remove and replace with the new. I've gone back and checked my work the starter is correctly installed and so is te battery. When I put the new battery in. I got nothing. No lights. The only thing was the horn, wipers but I couldn't turn either of them off. And the turning signal lights. I've gone through 2 120A fuses that don't last at all. As soon as I think I fix the problem and reattach the battery the fuse pops. I just looked at all the fuses at the pedals and they were all intact. When I got the messed up jump. That happened before I got the new battery. Then when I got home turned the car off and switched them. After they were switched nothing. No starter clicking. No battery ticking. I never turned the car off when I got to the store with the battery due to the flooding issue

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

Dumb question, did you hook up the battery terminals properly? As in the positive wires went to the + on the battery and negative to the - terminal? Could be you installed the battery in the wrong orientation? Terminals should be on the right side of the battery when installed in the car, not the left.

Not picking on you but sometimes we overlook the simplest things. I don't think this is your case as the stock wire lengths I believe aren't long enough for the positive end to reach a negative terminal on the battery but just checking.

Risemas

Yes I did hook the terminal up correctly.

Risemas

Now this might be stupid but aren't the fuses there to prevent any serious electrical damage?

Risemas

Dealer is out the window. It's seven hours away and 1000€ to get it there

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

If I were you I would check your ground connections as well to make sure they have a solid connection to bare metal and haven't corroded.

I remember when I didn't fully tighten down my ground wires on the battery terminal when modding my car years ago and it got me some awry feedback from the car. Same thing could happen if the grounding ends located around the engine bay don't have a good conductive connection anymore from corrosion.

Risemas

Okay how many grounds are there and where are they located?

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

Eseentially yes, when they are blown you won't be able to use whatever feature the fuse is protecting

fuztupnz

iTrader: (4)

I would also start praying that the ECU did short out when the jumper box was attached backwards.

Pull all of the under-hood relays and check them all again as well as all of your grounds.

Spin9k

yea in the normal case where one component overloads the fuse blows to save that one component from melting or fire. In your case, it's more like something is so wrong that the whole car is about to self-destruct, i.e., a catastrophic event. At that point the fuses are not acting as they normally would, they are responding to a total phucked-up electrical tsunami event.

Risemas

I will. What kind I price am I looking at if the ecu is shot?

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

TBH, I don't really know as I haven't had to go through them all. I would ask RIWWP who had issues with his ground a few years back and this helped him (just about the grounding locations that is.)

Most are located on the sides of the engine bay. You'll see them screwed directly into the sheet metal easily. Others are screwed down at other locations within the engine bay itself.

Not saying this is your issue but poor grounding will cause some strange feedback from the car.

Risemas

And is that something that can be done at the house. Is it possible that maybe a short directly to the fuse box is causing this. Maybe a melted wire?

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

You should be able to check most if not all of the grounds at your own house yes...I don't believe any require getting under the car. Melted wire is possible as well from a backward jump start. ECU....they can be a pretty penny, search online for prices.

Risemas

How would I know for sure If the ecu is the problem?

Risemas

So I can diagnose it?

fuztupnz

iTrader: (4)

yes, Check all of your grounds and look for a fried/melted wire. If all of that stuff checks out, as well as all fuses and relay's, you're pretty much left with the ECU. I'm not sure on pricing, and it would most likely have to go to the dealership at some point because of the immobilizer.

I fried wire could very well be the issue. If it's shorting out between the batter and whatever it will blow fuses constantly.

Vlaze

iTrader: (14)

Anyone can diagnose anything on their car with the proper tools and knowledge for the most part. Patience and your breaking point of how much you can tolerate before you give up are the key factors.

Certain things you can diagnose...but as for ECU the only way may be to get another one that works or borrow one from a local member and try it to see if that's the issue or not.

I never had to replace my ECU so there may be a simpler method.

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

its probably a melted wire somewhere?
You are about to learn a lot if you try to find it yourself. You can do it --just take your time. Get the electrial scematic on line ( its available somewhere--i have forgotten). Then take the time to trace them down. It may be a great time to learn how to use a multimeter?
Another member bse50 lives in Italy and he is a great resource.
Good luck--I really hate electrical problems.