Think i really messed up.
 

This is going to start as an overheating issue but that's not the problem anymore.

No surprise to anyone that the PT was overheating. Fan was not coming on. I was going through the basic steps to diagnose the problem. Checked relays and fuses. Ran power directly to the fan. Checked for corrosion at connections. Eveything seems to be in order. PO said he had changed the temp sensor so I checked that. And here's where I messed up.

Two wires going into the sensor. Used my multimeter, one wire has 12v and the other, nothing. So, in my head the sensor works as a switch. Temp gets hot enough and closes a gap between the 2 wires. I figured, If I jump the gap, it would complete the circuit and hopefully start the fan. So I put a paperclip between the wires.

I heard a click, like a relay switching from near the fuse box. But nothing else. And then a pop! The smell of smoke. All this took about 5 secs, maybe less. I pulled the paperclip. Clicking noise is still happening but it's also coming from the left side. I look in the fuse box and notice the starter motor relay has popped out of place. Still smell smoke, touch all the relays to see if any are hot. Nothing. Decide to pull the battery. That's when I notice smoke coming from the ECM (or PCM, not sure what you call it) pulled the battery.

Looked at fuses. All the fuses looked fine. WTH. Figured there was no way the car would start now. Reattached the battery and tried to start the car. Power works (lights, door open alarm, lights, etc) but no starter. Switched the starter relay with the low fan relay and tried to start again. Nothing.

Would going to pick n pull and getting a new ECM and then bypassing the temp sensor completely (toggle switch in cab to turn on/off fan directly from battery) get me on the road again?

PT is a Limited Edition, would any ECM work (besides the turbo)

It looks like that any PCM would work as long as it was not the turbo model

I figured it had to be a manual transmission? The pick n pull was full of PT Cruisers but not a single manual. Well, regardless, I found one online and now im just waiting for delivery.

hoping this works.