well after fixing a rear main seal problem, and putting the engine back in, after 2 hours of hooking everything up again, late at night, in a dark garage, i managed to install the battery wrong. so I connect the terminals the wrong way round, and i see lots of sparks, and some of the fuses in my aftermarket block start blowing. there was a fair ammount of smoke as well, from who knows where. after replacing what i think was all the fuses, when i try to start the car all i hear is a buzzing from the starter, is it possiable that the starter could have fried in my dumb move? And on an un related problem, the hand brake seems to always be on, even after the handbrake handle is down all the way, WTF? I'm getting so frusterated with this car, I'm looking forward to cruising again. THanks guys, also if you have any ideas on what else to check let me know, I hope the coils are OK. I heard some crackling from them aswell. Shyzen!

-Matt

 

I've done that before, but not to the extent that you managed. Good luck. Mmm sparks...

 

With the handbrake deal...

take the plastic cover off the handbrake lever (should only be like 1 screw holding it on) and use a screwdriver to adjust the screw near the bottom. Sometimes if it's adjusted too tight the handbrake won't disengage. According to the Haynes manual, your handbrake lever should hold strong after 5-7 clicks if you adjusted the screw correctly.

It's not something to get frustrated over, it's an easy fix. Just take a breather.

 

If the handbrake light is on, but it doesnt actually feel like its engaged check your brake fluid. That will trigger the light to be on also.

 

what kind of car do you have? better yet, what kind of rear end do you have?

 

Was it a buzzing or more a grinding? Usually the grind indicates a weak battery, solenoid is pulsing very fast to engage but not enough juice won't cut it. Check your battery if it has drained somehow.

 

make sure the fusible links are replaced...