Smoking Wires...Should I Replace?
 

So yesterday I'm troubleshooting my rear defroster and trying to get it working. I had removed the side view mirror glass on the right side to check power to the mirror heaters. So, I turn on the defroster and I'm working at the back of the car checking voltages/output at the relay and connections there.

I start to smell something funny and I look up and see white smoke coming from under the dash and the right mirror. I immediately turned off the defroster and ignition switch and the smoking stopped. As it turned out, the two wires for the right mirror heater had "fallen" to touch each other. Bummer.

So, my questions are...should I rewire that right mirror heater?
After everything cooled off I reconnected the glass and ran the defrost for some time with no problems, everything seemed to work fine with all electrical things in the car. (I did get the defroster working...it had a corroded ground in the engine compartment)

If I do rewire, which is more likely to melt thru the insulation...the power side or the ground side? Or should I rewire both?

Hmmm. It seems to be ok, but I have to be able to sleep at night!

Nick.

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Nick Shumaker
1982 911SC Coupe
nickshu@yahoo.com
PCA -- Rocky Mtn. Region

[This message has been edited by Nickshu (edited 04-23-2001).]

if it still works, you got lucky. if there are seriously bare wires i would certainly replace the door loom. otherwise i'd run em. a short like yours is hot wire related only, and will be from where it contacted ground back to it's power source.

The only choice you have is to follow those wires through. If they're in a bundle, you'll have to carefully Xacto it apart and look inside.
Tape up questionable spots, but I actually think it's better to tape the wiring up than replace it with non-stock black or red wiring. Let's face it, if you can't match the wiring colors exactly, you're going to make a total mess for anyone trying to fix things later. All the wiring diagrams become useless etc.
I wonder where you'd order colored wire sets....?


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Kurt B
'84 Carrera Cab.
carrera_cabriolet@yahoo.com

Thanks for your replies guys.
I will check out the wiring and probably patch/tape any burn thru if I see any.

Kurt,
You can buy colored wire from any wire store, not too cheap though.

What is cheap (what I did to get some extra wire) is went to a Euro only salvage yard and found a car that had been stripped of almost all items, but with the wiring still in place (a 90's Saab 900 in my case) and just started cutting/ripping out all the wire I could get. I got a garbage bag full of all colors/stripe patterns you could imagine, for about $15.

Thanks again!
Nick.


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Nick Shumaker
1982 911SC Coupe
nickshu@yahoo.com
PCA -- Rocky Mtn. Region

[This message has been edited by Nickshu (edited 04-23-2001).]