Wiring harness smoking when fog lights turned on, First time using the lights — any ideas? |
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Wiring harness smoking when fog lights turned on, First time using the lights — any ideas? |
Jett |
Jul 19 2019, 08:35 PM
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#1
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,629 Joined: 27-July 14 From: Seattle Member No.: 17,686 Region Association: Pacific Northwest |
Was taking our newly restored 73 2.0 out for its second attempt and although the car is not dialed in yet (another challenge) we hit a problem when turning on the fog lights. After 1-2 min with the fog lights on it started to smoke and I immediately turned off the switch and it stopped.
I am confident that the harness was good because Jeff restored it. Any ideas what might have happened to cause this? Thanks |
mepstein |
Jul 19 2019, 08:43 PM
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#2
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914-6 GT in waiting Group: Members Posts: 19,219 Joined: 19-September 09 From: Landenberg, PA/Wilmington, DE Member No.: 10,825 Region Association: MidAtlantic Region |
Possibly a short somewhere. You are going to have to trace the wires from fuse to switch to fogs to make sure nothing has melted.
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lierofox |
Jul 19 2019, 08:44 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 256 Joined: 23-June 15 From: Paso Robles, CA Member No.: 18,880 Region Association: Southern California |
Do you know what color wire was smoking?
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Jett |
Jul 19 2019, 09:39 PM
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#4
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,629 Joined: 27-July 14 From: Seattle Member No.: 17,686 Region Association: Pacific Northwest |
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Jett |
Jul 19 2019, 11:53 PM
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#5
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,629 Joined: 27-July 14 From: Seattle Member No.: 17,686 Region Association: Pacific Northwest |
Note: When installing the speakers for the first time last week the mechanic realized that the left side main harness needed tweaking and to make room he pulled the fuse box and adjusted the harness. We got the car back last night and verified that the fog lights worked but strangely the switch did not light up, which is our favorite feature.
Lastly, the car is running poorly for the first time... We will see on Monday |
lierofox |
Jul 20 2019, 03:55 AM
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#6
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Member Group: Members Posts: 256 Joined: 23-June 15 From: Paso Robles, CA Member No.: 18,880 Region Association: Southern California |
Hopefully none of the wiring harness got pinched or punctured in the process of reorganizing it, if I remember correctly the fog light RELAY'S power is fused, but the fog light SWITCH'S power isn't.
With the fog light switch lamp not lighting up when it's turned on, I'm wondering if the Grey/Red wire going from the fog light switch to the fog light relay's coil is pinched or otherwise shorting out, dragging the voltage down so low that the switch can't light, but it's still enough to trigger the relay. |
IronHillRestorations |
Jul 20 2019, 07:06 AM
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#7
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I. I. R. C. Group: Members Posts: 6,713 Joined: 18-March 03 From: West TN Member No.: 439 Region Association: None |
Something isn't connected properly and if you have smoke, your harness is damaged.
Exceptionally difficult to diagnose over the computer. The only way to deal with this is trace down all the wires using a color coded wiring diagram. Sorry, but you've got some work to do. |
Jett |
Jul 20 2019, 09:06 AM
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#8
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,629 Joined: 27-July 14 From: Seattle Member No.: 17,686 Region Association: Pacific Northwest |
Thanks! The shop has a bit of work to do and we should see the car in 2021 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
I have four cars in the shop... time to look for another mechanic. cheers |
Superhawk996 |
Jul 20 2019, 09:12 AM
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#9
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,723 Joined: 25-August 18 From: Woods of N. Idaho Member No.: 22,428 Region Association: Galt's Gulch |
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)
The British car guys have this problem all the time. Once the smoke gets out things never work the same again. Sounds to me like you need a conversation with your speaker mechanic! He did some tweaking all right. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) |
Jett |
Jul 20 2019, 10:22 AM
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#10
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,629 Joined: 27-July 14 From: Seattle Member No.: 17,686 Region Association: Pacific Northwest |
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) The British car guys have this problem all the time. Once the smoke gets out things never work the same again. Sounds to me like you need a conversation with your speaker mechanic! He did some tweaking all right. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) the mechanic was a master but over the years he has become less reliable. I won’t blame it on age but at 70, I’m going to miss a few things as well. The major problem is that the car is highly restored and these types of setbacks could mean 3-6 months of work to remove the harness, restore the harness, and reinstall. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I am tired of spending top dollar and getting .50 cents in dilligence. |
Superhawk996 |
Jul 20 2019, 10:53 AM
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#11
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914 Guru Group: Members Posts: 5,723 Joined: 25-August 18 From: Woods of N. Idaho Member No.: 22,428 Region Association: Galt's Gulch |
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) I am tired of spending top dollar and getting .50 cents in diligence. I came to the same conclusion years and years ago. I can't find conscientious workmanship in hardly anything. Best bet is learn to read schematic diagram (with color code) and do the work yourself. Use resources and expertise on this site once you've narrowed down what happened and to what circuit. The sad reality is that in may cases with cars this old, you're really just paying someone shop rate to learn on your car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/slap.gif) You can learn on your own car for free (but does cost your time). If you're not already familiar with electrical basics, spend some time on YouTube 1st. We live in an amazing time, a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise is only a mouse click away. For crying out loud, MIT now posts course content on the internet for FREE! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) The trouble is learning to sort web fact from fiction on the rest of the Web. |
mepstein |
Jul 20 2019, 11:58 AM
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#12
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914-6 GT in waiting Group: Members Posts: 19,219 Joined: 19-September 09 From: Landenberg, PA/Wilmington, DE Member No.: 10,825 Region Association: MidAtlantic Region |
Most likely is you will find one or two wires than need help, replace them and be good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
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Jett |
Jul 20 2019, 09:56 PM
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#13
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 1,629 Joined: 27-July 14 From: Seattle Member No.: 17,686 Region Association: Pacific Northwest |
Most likely is you will find one or two wires than need help, replace them and be good. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) cheers |
Spoke |
Jul 21 2019, 02:43 PM
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#14
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Jerry Group: Members Posts: 6,972 Joined: 29-October 04 From: Allentown, PA Member No.: 3,031 Region Association: None |
Here's the wiring for the foglights. No fuses between the battery and the foglight switch.
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