Dreaded electrical burning smell

E9Wayne

E9Wayne

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Hey all:

As referenced in my last posting on Murray's TV accomplishments, I drove my coupe into work this morning for the first time since I did some right rear tail lamp restoration (cleaning mostly, detaching then reattaching the wires for each lamp). The lights didn't work right away after that and the cornering lamp front and rear was stuck "on" afterwards even with the key and light switch off.

It fixed itself after I turned the car on and off once.

This morning during a drive, I noticed an electrical burning smell on two occasions, the second pretty bad (I kept looking for a burst of flames under the hood or sudden loss of complete power!) but it went away before I could pull over to the side of the freeway.

Checked the trunk area and under hood after arriving at work and no trace of the electrical smell.

Any tips or ideas what I should do next? The wires feeding into the tail lamp look fine.
 
Bummer, electrical smells can be challenging to trace to a cause before something more catastrophic.

You smelled it while driving...with the windows up?
Did not smell anything in the trunk or in the engine compartment while pulled over with the engine not running and running??

If you only smelled it while inside the car check the load sharing relay and the light switch and even the dimmer switch for discoloration, hardened wires, and smell. Touch them while the car is running and the lights are on...any heating?? One of these components could be failing or there could be a short within the circuitry.

I'm sure others will give some input as well. Keep us posted.

Jon
 
E9Wayne said:
Hey all:

As referenced in my last posting on Murray's TV accomplishments, I drove my coupe into work this morning for the first time since I did some right rear tail lamp restoration (cleaning mostly, detaching then reattaching the wires for each lamp). The lights didn't work right away after that and the cornering lamp front and rear was stuck "on" afterwards even with the key and light switch off.

It fixed itself after I turned the car on and off once.

This morning during a drive, I noticed an electrical burning smell on two occasions, the second pretty bad (I kept looking for a burst of flames under the hood or sudden loss of complete power!) but it went away before I could pull over to the side of the freeway.

Checked the trunk area and under hood after arriving at work and no trace of the electrical smell.

Any tips or ideas what I should do next? The wires feeding into the tail lamp look fine.
Click to expand...

Did the cleaning of lamp sockets involve water?
A strong smell means high currents so I would look for unfused circuits or a short between a high current circuit and a low current wire or device. The cornering lamps stuck ON on one side is a feature of these cars if I recall when the turn signal stalk is to that side and the engine if OFF. Is it possible that is what you saw or was it also stuck with the ignition ON.
 
Arde said:
Did the cleaning of lamp sockets involve water?
The cornering lamps stuck ON on one side is a feature of these cars if I recall when the turn signal stalk is to that side and the engine if OFF. Is it possible that is what you saw or was it also stuck with the ignition ON.
Click to expand...

Arde is correct, at least the euro's...with the car off, if the turn signal switch is left in a l/or/r turn position it illuminates that corners front and rear lights as a parking light.
 
Gee Wayne- I wish could help but I am stuck in Trabuco Canyon...And you are all the way over in Santa Ana. Thats like more than 5 miles.

Wait a minute- I think I can see your house from here...

Call me after you chill a bottle of chardonay, maybe I can take a look for you.


Sfdon
 
Also if you don't already have one carry a small fire extinguisher with you - that way if you are prepared a fire will never happen!
 
30csl said:
Also if you don't already have one carry a small fire extinguisher with you - that way if you are prepared a fire will never happen!
Click to expand...

I have a Halon fire extinguisher in the car. It won't make quite the mess that a dry chemical one will.
 
Update

Thanks everyone for the good insights here and fire extinquisher advice! I only cleaned the bulbs with a damp cloth and none of the rear right lights went on at first, when I tried the brakelamp, signal or headlights on lamp. I forget where in the sequence the cornering lamp finally went on and stayed stuck (non-flashing first) but now I know why -- the parking lamp feature.

Since the smell incident, can't find anything wrong with the car and no evidence yet!

My engine guy Don is in the area and will drop by today to take a look.
 
E9Wayne said:
Thanks everyone for the good insights here and fire extinquisher advice! I only cleaned the bulbs with a damp cloth and none of the rear right lights went on at first, when I tried the brakelamp, signal or headlights on lamp. I forget where in the sequence the cornering lamp finally went on and stayed stuck (non-flashing first) but now I know why -- the parking lamp feature.

Since the smell incident, can't find anything wrong with the car and no evidence yet!

My engine guy Don is in the area and will drop by today to take a look.
Click to expand...

In that case I'd say the smell came from the outside. Didn't you notice a Datsun B210 on fire a minute later by the side the road :)?
 
Arde said:
In that case I'd say the smell came from the outside. Didn't you notice a Datsun B210 on fire a minute later by the side the road :)?
Click to expand...

Or were you one of the cars stuck behind this Ferrari 458 Italia?

ferrari-f430-5.jpg


ferrari-f430-1.jpg
 
Hi

The last terrible electrical burning smell I had in the past 22 years, was the "heart attack" of my blower unit.
Hope yours works Murray !

BTW superb BMW film on you and BLUMAX ...!
 
Blower -- maybe

D-jetronic may be on to something. The smell seemed most concentrated from the center console area. For the last 6 months or so, the car has made strange whirring sounds from the center console and certain speeds/rpms.

When I had her at Coupeking to get some new rear subframe bushings installed a month or so ago, Erik thought that sound might be the blower motor failing.

Sounds expensive!?

BTW, Don checked the electrical around where I did the tail lamp work last weekend and didn't find any clear problems outside of the lack of ground between the two points on the right rear lamp cluster (that brass looking flat metal soldered at two points). Not sure how to fix that either.

By my lights work!
 
That burning smell--

D-jet --In spite of age and mileage--everything works on the BLUMAX--except my clock--'tho it's correct twice per day ay 10:10 AM and 10:10 PM--

Blower motors are often repairable--can be a PIA to remove the first time due rusted screws that usually require drilling out unless really lucky--can share what has worked for some I've removed. Had mine gone through recently--rebuilt for the second or third time--usually brushes simply wear out and create a lot of drag--may be the issue with yours Wayne.

Check with Mesa Performance--drop by and speak to Spence--he is very skilled electrically with our cars--also there was a Guy they referred me to a few years ago that would completely rebuild fan motors--may still be around.

Give me a call regarding tail lights--there's a permanent fix that Tom Rakestraw and I did for BLUMAX three or so years ago that will correct erratic grounds for good--no more fiddling with the brass strip--works so long as the sockets are still in good condition.
 
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Ewww wee that smell.....



Lynard Skynard....... just came back from a spin/ gas with the tunes up.

Try this stuff to repair your lights. Might fix Murray's clock too since it's normally just the solder fuse. It's on my list to fix too.

On my heater- I just soaked the bearings again to free them up. But your fan switch- has a rheostat- known for smoking. Sometimes you can just spray cleaner on it to clean it out.
 
61 Porsche

I'm aware that the fuze link is the likely culprit--often happens when car is jump started--but do you happen to know anyone with hands small enough to remove the clock--without having to pull and remove the other instruments to get to it?

The silver conductive epoxy is an OK fix--but the tail-light assembly repair we have done is an improvement to the original design that should be a permanent fix--or at least we believe it will be.
 
Unscrewing the 2 nuts of the complete panel and pushing it CAREFULLY, gives a "very little" more room .(Beware cracks of the dashboard).
That clock defect often happens on those cars, but nowadays, mobile or watches give us this information.

Anyway, we all know here that the coupe is "timeless".....
Chris.
 
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