YIKES!!!!!!! that is VERY dangerous, you might blow the battery up or set the engine bay on fire like that.

you said that the starter is bad...so replace it! also inspect the wiring that runs from the battery (+) terminal to the starter, there might be a short there (that would explain why the starter went bad as well). if you are not comfortable fixing this problem on your own, i HIGHLY recommend you take it to a shop. not only will they have liability on any damage they incure while working on it, you will stay safe and not get fire/battery acid on you.

oh and BTW, i post questions about my 98 DOHC neon occasionally. we are like the ugly stronger cousins of the eclipse, so its all good.

:shhh: i do cocaine :/shhh: