Q: Can jumping a car "backwards" cause a complete meltdown?(bad alternator, bad condenser fan, bad brake switch, bad ecu).

It all started when my car just wouldn't start one morning. It would crank, but wouldn't come on. So I tried to give it a jump, connected both positive terminals, the negative on the charged battery to the frame on the dead car. Still nothing. Towed it to a family mechanic and he said the ECU went bad, you have to take it to the dealer to have it replaced and programmed.

Hyundai wanted $1400. We replaced it, they fired it up, and got some codes, and found the alternator was bad, the battery was bad, and a brake control switch was bad. They claimed I jumped the car backwards....Replaced all of that, now at $2400 and one month later.

I pick the car up yesterday, drive it home, and park it. Run upstairs to get my new insurance card. Come back down, turn the car on, open glove box only for it to fall out completely, leaving all my papers on the floor. Then I hear gas escaping from the engine, and a cloud of white steam/smoke coming from the battery side of my car.

My car has 120000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.