Smoke in the cockpit!

[talbre1]

Late last night in the pouring rain, I was driving home in my recently purchased 1984 911. Driving a long time at night for the first time, I was alternating between high and low beams to accomodate oncoming traffic and utilizing the windshield wipers for the first time. Suddenly, I smelled that ozoney electrical burning scent. Seconds later, smoke began wafting out of the steering column. It was hot to the touch on the bottom left side. The high beam switch "snaps" but the low beams will not re-engage so the high beams are continuously on. Did the high beam switch melt from being used in conjunction with the wipers or is there a connector that might have fried?

Thanks for your help!
Tim

[Barrpete]

Could be the high beams, or something in the dash lighting circuit. There are several unfused circuits on Carrera's. Here's a link to a thread that will give you some detail.

Dash lighting fuse installation

There's other sections of the wiring harness that need fuses added as well like the front AC condensor fan & footwell blowers. Another issue with the headlight switch is that all the headlight current flows directly through it. The 'fix' is add a relay kit.

[scarceller]

Most likely a burned contact on the hi-beam stick. This is a common issue with these cars because the headlights have NO relays so all current (AMPS) run directly through the headlight switches. We have other threads covering this topic and howto add relays to the headlights.

From your description my bet is the master headlight switch or the hi-beam stick switch overheated due to a faulty contact in the switch.

[rouxroux]

Have you or the PO installed higher-wattage bulbs without going with a relay?

[talbre1]

The dashboard lights are very dim. Low beams are likewise dim but the high beams are tremendous. I doubt that the PO made any changes.

Thanks!
Tim

[Quicksilver]

In addtition to adding the dash fuse listed above it is a really good idea to add the relay update to the headlights to avoid putting the large quantity of current through the expensive headlight switch and the turn indicator stalk. (To help avoid exactly what you just saw...)

A guess as to what you have going on right now...
I suspect the contacts in the hi/low in the turn indicator degraded to the point where the increased resistance caused a wiring meltdown. You probably have some smoked wiring under that column cover. The cover comes off pretty easy after you pull the steering wheel. There are 2 screws on each side and 4 screws under the wheel. Pull that off and you can see what you are up against.


Just a general heads up on one weirdness with Porsche wiring.
- The fuses are in the circuit after the switches. This limits the protection of all the stuff in the dash.

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