Help electrical short. Sparking at Battery terminal

[breakindrifts]

Hi all. I need help diagnosing an electrical short. I just finished swapping the engine in my e36. I went to plug in the battery to try to start the engine and just got a click from the starter. I figured maybe the battery terminal was loose. Went back to make sure it was connected securely and it was...

Then I went into the engine bay and unplugged the DME. The battery was still plugged in at this point....

I went back to the battery and took the negative terminal off, and plugged it back in and it sparked and smoke came from the engine bay...

I opened up the DME the board looks fine. Checked all the fuses they all look fine. Looked at all the wires in the harness and nothing looks burnt. I unplugged the red cable going to the alternator thinking it could be the regulator but it still sparks when I try to reconnect the negative terminal on the battery. Some fuel spilled on the alternator during the swap so I thought that could be the problem. But I've disconnected it completely and it's still shorting.

I feel like my dumbass has destroyed the car and I need it running ASAP
Please guys any ideas?

[dworthy]

Check over at the positive jump stud in the front. Make sure the wire that runs across the bulkhead from the passanger side to the drivers side isn't pinched/crimped somewhere along the line. Next double check and triple check all the connections around the Alt, starter, and the fuse box.

[breakindrifts]

Thanks! Found the problem the red Hotwire leading to the starter was hitting/grounding out to the chassis.