Date: 18 Apr 2006 18:22:07 -0700 From: "SmaartAasSaabr" <smaartaassaabrnospaml.com> Subject: Re: Wiring Smoked From Inside Dashboard. Here's what Happened..
markcnospam.com wrote: > Because of what I think was bad gas or a clogged fuel filter I was > having problems with the engine stalling and dying (I just bought the > car so I don't know the history of it but it had been sitting for at > least a year or more). It would start and idle (sometimes it would not > idle. very erratic) but then die if I tried to drive it (especially up > hills). What happened was a that I panicked and kept on trying to start > it (so I could get it home just a few blocks away) but then it > overheated the wiring to the starter (what else could it be?). I was > getting smoke coming from inside the dash and fortunately the car > didn't start on fire. What I need to know is where to look for the > section of wiring where it most likely overheated. I was out taking the > dash apart today but I'll have to get a steering wheel puller. From > what I can see so far when looking inside the dash from the top & > underneath I can find no obvious melted wiring sections. While I was > trying to start my car, someone from a nearby house said that they saw > small flames underneath my car so I'm thinking that too much gas was > getting down into the system (maybe the fuel pressure regulator is > bad?). At this point I want to first figure out & replace the burned > wiring before I troubleshoot the starting problem. Any help with this > is greatly appreciated. > Thanks, Mark I'd say both problems are related since well, they seem intriguing. Gasoline will rarely if ever cause any kind of "smoke / fire" symptoms. It has a high vapour pressure to the point of if there was a leak it would evaporate immediately. Flames under the car, maybe wiring? Overheat wiring to the starter? There isn't any such wiring in the dash...