91 prism battery was installed backwards

[susan1974]

My husband put the battery in our 91 geo prizm this morning and accidently put it in backwards. He hooked up the cables and realised what he had done so he undid them we did not try to start the car with it in that way. Now the lights come on when you turn the key one but it won't even turn over. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. We have a battery charger and we know the battery is fried but there was a little smoke at the alternator area also.

[Akira13126]

Check the fuses and hopefully you didn't mess up the ECM (the brain of the car) and if you did you can probly pick up a used one at a junkyard or on ebay. The thing is if you do this you will have to take it to a dealership and have them reburn it. Due to the fact that in some states, such as NY. They have a line right to the DMV in Albany. The computer that plugs into the ODB2 scans the ECM to make sure the the VIN number that is on the reg sticker is the same on the ECM. If it isn't the same they can call the police and say that they believe that it is a stolen car. Good luck and I hope it isn't the ECM.