So my starter has lately been showing sign of weakness and today I went to get gas and when I tried starting my car, it tried to start for a split second, and then stopped and it started smoking and smelling like something was burning . . . I open the hood and the starter was smoking and also the ground wire on top of my intake manifold practically melted itself. . . . i let it sit for a few and put the key in and now nothing will turn on, not even the interior accessories. Did maybe a fuse blow? I am picking up a new starter a little later. When replacing that ground, do I need a special gauge wire? And could that ground being melted cause my car to not want to turn on or anything? I really hope this little starter problem didn't cause a major ecu problem. The car was running perfectly fine, then when I tried to start it, it just gave up and immediately started smoking like crazy. Someone please give me some sort of reassurance that my baby is going to be okay haha it is a 2005 Evo 8.

 

Check fuses and check all wires and replace as necessary.

 

Be sure to get the proper guage and amp. rating for the starter wire. Also, as you noted:"now nothing will turn on, not even the interior accessories"

-check the ground wire for the battery going to the body. It may have been damaged and that's why nothing electrical in your car is turning on.

 

I replaced the starter and the ground wire and the lights barely came on, but it didn't have enough juice to start, so I jumped it and it started first try . . . idk why that killed my battery... really weird... but it has been running fine since then. Thanks for the responses.