Feeling sick and dumb
Well, my car will not start. It doesn't do anything. Totally dead. Here's the tale. I had problem with the "standing" lights not shutting off. I first disconnected the battery to prevent the drain. It was a pain to hook up to start the car (I was ordering the part to fix) so I just figured out what fuses turned the lights off and pulled them. The car sat for about 4 days and when I went to start it up - nothing but clicking. Dead battery? So I hooked up a charger for 3-4 hrs - no help. Went to jump the xfire w/my other car. Turned off my brain and for 2 seconds hooked up the jump w/the polarity reversed from what it should be. (Please don't tell me how dumb I am, I know it). Hooked up the jump correctly and the cables started to get hot immediately. Now what? What would cause the jump cables from getting hot? Did I burn up the alternator? the battery? the ecu? the starter? I need advice because I really don't know what to think. I am having the car towed to have it checked out tomorrow but I could use all the imput I can. Where I live there are not a lot of cars like this and most of the mechanics do not see this kind of car very often. I still may be forced to tow the car 40+ miles anyway to someone who is more familiar w/German cars. The car needed some module or switch and did not start before I made my mistake. Thanks for your help.