my step dad gave me his old 1990 v6 extended cab 4x4 auto trans a few months ago. he went to wally world and bought the cheapest battery he could find for it( had been sittin for a few years). so there was a wood block between the battery and the battery hold down bar. i hit a bump, and the battery hold down slid over and hit the positive battery lead, shorting out some wires( didn't know this while driving, the truck shut off, so i tried to restart it, smoke pouring out the hood, to get off the road.. all the dash lights stayed on, so i dissconnected the battery and got towed home) the positive wire going to the alternator was burnt up between the battery and fuse box. two ground wires were burnt up, main wires coming off the engine block, one to the front driverside fenderwell, and one to the firewall. i replaced all these wires, took the battery to autozone, and they tested it and said it was fine. checked all the fuses, none burnt. went ahead and replaced all the fusable links. when i stick the key in the ignition, the buzzer comes on. when i turn the key to the on position, sometimes the dash lights come on, sometimes not. and the truck will not crank. what's the next thing to check ? i know the starter has a heavy ground on it, and that's what i'm going to look at next. Is there another main ground wire i should check? specific relay's that might be toast ? can i take my ecu to the dealer to see if it's fried? any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance. and i've got enough money to pay someone to fix it on the side, but not enough to pay a dealership. if anyone's in columbia, SC, and wants to come fix it holla

 

holy crap .. one thing at a time!!!

starter first .. have you got good connections , and power to the starter ? .. will the starter crank alone ? .