Coffee&Doughnut 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2005 An interesting diagnosis to a recurring problem with the power windows and arial in my E30. For some weeks the fuse that protects the demister, power windows arial and cigarette lighter kept blowing. this shuts down the function of these circuits. Tonight I was fixing my car stereo when I heard an arcing sound from around the front ashtray, I removed the two screws that hold the cigarette lighter trim in place and low and behold, a five cent piece had slipped form the tray under the trim and was shorting the positive terminal to the case of the ciggarette lighter. The coin had numerous electrical burns all over it. So if you have this problem and you leave loose change in this compartment it may be worth checking. My five cents worth. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Surge 1 Report post Posted March 7, 2005 (edited) Lucky no damage occured. My friend's 300ZX had a dodgy wire that shorted on the ciggarette lighter resulting in an entire loom (which runs up to the instruments, lights etc not speedo, tach) catching fire after melting. We had no tools to disconnect the terminal from the battery which was boiling at the time, you could see fire and smoke coming from behind the instrument cluster (a detachable piece, not a one-piece dash) and smoke coming from the plastic around the ciggie lighter. Not a good feeling when you're in the back of this car where you can bearly move and the thing starts filling with smoke when you've just parked up at a petrol station. Some dude grabbed a window washer bottle and put the fire out fairly imediately after we noticed it, 10mins later the security gaurd we initially asked for help walked back with a bottle of water... Due to this fault being ahead of the fusebox no fuses at all blew and the wires around it weren't even warm.... Had we been driving at the time I can almost say with 100% certainty he would have lost the whole car as we had nothing to put the fire out - Buy a fire extinguisher people! Welcome to the forums by the way. Edited March 7, 2005 by Surge Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coffee&Doughnut 0 Report post Posted March 7, 2005 Mmm, on that note I think I will pick up a fire extinguisher tommorrow I saw some on special, it woud be cool to see someones car on fire and be able to run up to them with a fire extinguisher! Not so cool if theyre smoking or the car explodes! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
