2005 mini cooper s, r53. My brother accidentally flipped the connectors on the battery and cranked it, something in the front smoked : I checked all fuses, everything seemed ok. I'm thinking starter? But just concerned about what caused the smoke. Thinking something electrical got fried. It doesn't crank, dash lights just come on.

 

Um, that could get messy. There are some big fuses and fuseable links in the engine bay fuse box. Don’t let him near anything electrical again. I can’t help more without being there.

 

Any pointers on where I should start checking? I was gonna start by checking to see if the damn starter is engaging or if it's being stopped by the ews

 

If dash lights come on, try getting a good OBD reader on. Like a Foxwell 510 / one that reads body modules, not a $30 OBD reader.