I am a little concerned for my new baby. I had the ignition turned to the on poition so I could pull off the head light surrounds . When I opened up the door to yurn the lights off there was the the smell of a slot car track like from from when I was little . I sniffed raound til I think I found where it was coming from .. right under the steering wheel, the fuse panel .

I am not sure if this is a strange smell that is normal for those funky little ceramic fuses or if I am in some serious shit!

should try and pick up a new ( used )fuse panel . .i didn't see any loose or dangling wires.... does this mean that a new wiring harness is in order... It does seem quit a few of the wire are a bit brittle...

I disconnected the battery for the time being ..

any thoughts?

how's your fuel pump hooked up?

mine overloaded the ignition circuit and caused smoke to come from there...

i still have a slot-car set, i used it alot...

b

dunno I have only ha dteh car for like 3 months and really only got to take for a ride or two before the weather turned to shit..

no funny smells then though ..

Start looking at your wires and see if you can find a burned or stripped wire that is grounding out. If it is shorting now, it could be a major headache if left to its own devices.

Zach

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but have you unscrewed the fuse/relay panel yet to check for any obvious short-circuits, fubar'ed wires, etc?

In particular, since you mentioned the headlights (which pull a LOT of current esp if they have been upgraded with hot non-stock bulbs), that would be the area to check first. Or do you notice the funky smell even when the lights are off? If only when the lights are on, the highbeam switch and headlight switch are also worth checking (hope you don't have large hands, LOL).

FWIW I just recently put in one of the Engman 'modern' type fuse box replacements and it is a sweet product -- if your fuse box is 'compromised' (rusted, cracked or whatever) then I'd recommend considering this upgrade.

I really only noticed the smell when the headlights were on an the car wasn't running... as far as upgraded head light dunno .. had it fior a short time and wouldn't know what the old ones looked like any how .. my first 914..

I will unscrew the panel and see if I have any scorched wires....

I have rewired old chevy , really old pontiacs .. but never a 914 ... is it a complete bitch to do ... should I really even concider it .. I really have no idea what the other 3 owners did to it..

disconect battery ground, remove fuses and inspect / clean them to be shinny on the contact area, do same to the fuse holder contact area, bend any fuse holder contact clips that do not have enough spring tension to hold fuse tight. Replace fuses that don't clean up or look to grungy too you, if in doubt replace, they are cheap. Re-install fuses per manual, be sure to use correct amps in correct location, if no manual ask. reconnect battery and see if problem repeats.

The fuses in these cars need clean and replacement every now and then. If over times there is high resistances or overloads on the fuse holder clips get too hot, they can lose their heat treating that gives them the "spring" and then they wont hold the fuse tight with out some major re-bending or replacement.

also while battery is disconected you can remove two rather large screws with a screw driver on either end of the fuse panel, and drop down the fuse panel. it is a good idea on a 30+ year car to to clean up the connectors, and check it out for burn ups.

be sure to disconnect battery grond before you start work on the fuse area or any wiring, a short can fry a very expensive difficult to fit wire harness.

good luck