I once dropped a plug and it shorted the battery - I knew because its sounded like a gunshot when it blew the ground off the connection. That too a while to find because it was bolted to the wheel tub behind the battery box in the trunk.
The "gunshot" sound is what I experienced last fall, while driving my car home from a local cruise. The car completely died after the "shot" went off. It had to be flatbedded home obviously.
Found out the fusible link had fried near the bulkhead, the starter relay, and the starter went bad...all three were replaced, runs fine now.
EDIT: I used a new (not reman) mini style starter for a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 360 V8 when replacing the old starter...if that helps you any.
