Well, I got the car back on the road after a "minor" electrical fire.

Everything seems to be working, except that the low-beams cut out intermittently. Because they were going off at the same time, I originally suspected the headlight switch.

However, after tracing through PP's wiring, relay and switch diagrams--and noting that the fog lights remained on even when the low beams went--I'm now suspecting that the "short" fried the headlamp relay (I think it's referred to as "combination relay" [#27?] on the diagrams). Is that the one with PN that starts with 111?

Any advice/BTDT's would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Steve A-

Oh BTW, the fire appeared to be caused by the front/ upper edge of the fuse panel/tray cutting through the insulation on one or more wires leading from/to the fuses. These wires looked like they had been resting on this relatively sharp edge since the car was built. I've since covered the tray edges with some plastic welting (like small weather-strip), so that should end it--but you may want to check on yours. I can take pics of my "fix" if anyone is interested.

Best,

Steve A-

Steve,

I personally feel you are on the right track with the combo relay. The fire sounds scary...


B

Brad,

Thanks for the reply--I'l advise if the relay fixes the problem.

Yeah, the "smoke check" was a bit of a surprise--wife and I were out for an anniversary drive (25 years--I think we're getting the hang of it), hit a bump and smoke started coming out from under the dash. Fortunately it quit when I shut things off--and we were only about a mile from home.

The shorted wire melted into a couple of others (lights, etc.), which is what I think fried the relay . . . .

Wife is still a sport about all of this especially considering how many times she's helped me push this little car over the past 25 . . . .

Thanks again,

Steve A-

You might also pull the two plugs out from the steering column from under the dash and inspect them. I have seen wire terminals come loose from these housings and short...causing similar responses with the headlights.

Thanks--I had those apart already, but will give them another look tomorrow (and maybe finish that rear caliper rebuild besides).

Thanks again.