| Author | Message | ||
| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 585 Registered: 11-2001 |
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| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 582 Registered: 11-2001 |
Well, here's the damage:   It's actually worse than it looks, because when the wire shorted it melted, and that took out a bunch of the other wires in the area. Fortunately, the damage is all downstream of the connectors at the dash, so all I have to order is the portion of the wiring harness that runs from those connectors back through the console. I dug out all the wire today and the car should be driveable (without climate controls) by Friday. | ||
| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 573 Registered: 11-2001 |
Further review shows multiple wires melted throughout the console wiring harness. I have the console out and am trying to sort out the damage. It's really scorched in there. I can see melted wires and black marks all the way up under the front dash. Good thing I have another car  The good thing is that electrical stuff doesn't scare me. Give me a multimeter, soldering iron and some heat shrinks, and we're good to go. I'll work on it some more on Thursday | ||
| Ron R (Ronr)
Junior Member Username: Ronr Post Number: 170 Registered: 10-2002 |
Was the wiring being pushed against the bottom of the lighter by something. Or was the wire stiff enough to hold itself up against it? What was the smoke from, the insulation burning off the wire? Glad it didn't turn into anything REALLY serious. | ||
| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 572 Registered: 11-2001 |
Ok, I found the culprit. It turns out that it wasn't the lighter after all, but instead the wiring running to the parking lamp switch shorted against the top of the tunnel under the console. I guess my mind was playing tricks on me, because I would have sworn under oath that there was an orange element glowing in the lighter hole, but there simply couldn't have been with what I've found. In fact, David, you were right; the heating element is in the insert. Wierd. | ||
| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 569 Registered: 11-2001 |
The car's at home (obviously), but I believe the heating element is actually in the console itself, it just heats up the insert. Certainly it was the part in the console that was glowing orange-white. I'll chase it further this evening, when I can take my time to look at it. I too would have expected a fuse to go before the element could heat that much. I don't think the console suffered any permanent damage, but the smoke sure got my attention! | ||
| david handa (Davehanda)
Member Username: Davehanda Post Number: 673 Registered: 5-2001 |
I would suspect that one of the accessory plugs you have stuck in there may have disturbed the contacts inside, causing a minor short...After all, isn't the heating element in the portion you remove to light the cigarette? But, like rob, I am confused, as you would think the fuse would have blown.... | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 4649 Registered: 12-2000 |
Hmm, I really have no idea. Debris sounds like a good guess if it wasn't locked down. I don't think it's anything fuse related as that would turn it off. I can't even remember if there's a dedicated fuse for the lighter, probably is. Anyone else help Tillman out? | ||
| Tillman Strahan (Tillman)
Member Username: Tillman Post Number: 566 Registered: 11-2001 |
This morning as I left for work, smoke filled the cockpit of the car. I pulled over and discovered that the cigarette lighter was locked on for some reason and was producing massive amounts of smoke. The lighter insert was not depressed during this time. In fact, I pulled it out completely and the lighter was still set on heat. I pulled the battery disconnect and the lighter eventually cooled. After the element cooled and the smoke went away, I hooked the battery back up and restarted the car. The lighter did not heat back up again. I drove the car home (only a few blocks) and pulled the battery disconnect again. So, where to start troublehooting this thing? Maybe it was just some debris down in the lighter? I haven't had any issues with the lighter before, and it powered my GPS and IPAQ just fine on Saturday. There was nothing in the lighter that I could see, both during and after this fun. |