ok so here i my dilema. i have been working on swapping a t2 motor into my na car. the motor i picked up was an 88 with 60k miles on. i have changed everything that needed to be changed between the s4 and s5 motors (wiring, ecu, injectors, etc.). now that everything is hooked up and we are ready to try and crank the damn thing, there is no power when the ignition is on, and anytime you hook up the battery it crackles and pops, and there are sparks all over the place. its acting like the battery is hooked up backwards in other words. i have removed the lower or front harness, cut it open, looked it over, mended anything that needed repair, and hoped like hell everything works. after putting everything back in and back together, double checking to be sure that everything is hooked up correctly, i re-connect the battery, and same thing, no avail! i am at wits end with this car and am about to send the damn thing to the shredder. can anyone shed some light on the problem, or at least throw some ideas my way. like i said, all grounds have been checked, battery has been tested and replaced, terminals have been replaced, what else could be causing this problem?

 

yo was it automatic before

 

i had a problem similar to yours i found out that a connector was unplugged next to the main fuses and when i pulgged it back together i got power back to the dash

 

Something is grounding out... Might try (and this is a long shot), pullling ALL the fuses except the MAIN (you cant miss it, it BOLTS in). Try to reconnect and then get back to us...