need help badly w/ electrical problem

[cborden]

hey i need help badly, i need some ideas on where to find a short or something heres the story
i was on my was back from school when the inside of my car started to fill with smoke the electrical burning smelling kind so i pull over to check it out and nothing really seemed to be wrong so i get back in my car and attempt to start it and nothing, no dash lights come on the radio doesnt come on the enigne doesnt rotate or attempt to start-nothing just silence
now before this happened i changed my main relay because i thought that was the problem i overhauled my starter, my car does have an aftermarket stereo, and i did have a check engine light at the time i was on my way home to try to diagnose it when this occured, electrical wise i dont really have any modifications other than the stereo not even an alarm yet so i was wondering if somebody could point me in the right direction as to where i should begin to look to hopefully find the problem and fix it
ive already started ripping apart my car but as you know there are alot of electrical components and wires to check and diagnose so its becoming quite a hassle any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[cborden]

i'd also like to know if the short or wire/component burning up is great enough to create a good amount of smoke to see in the air wouldnt it be noticeable like a completely melted wire or burn marks?

 

[thenoxus1]

Sparking of sorts could cause that, was it still driving when the smoke started? Or did it die at the same time?

 

[cborden]

i was still driving while it was smoking

 

[Prozon]

Did you have the proper fuses in all the slots? Thats what happens when you put a higher rated fuse in.
I went to highschool with a guy who burned up his $9,000 Jeep because of fuses. The wiring melted and burned up the whole thing.

I suggest checking all the wires, regardless if they are damaged or not.
You should probably see some melted insulation on them, if not the wire themselves would be black.

 

[suspendedHatch]

Yeah a wire melting could cause the car to fill with smoke.

First thing you do right this moment is disconnect the battery from the car.

At a glance you might not notice a problem in a bundle of wires, but when you go to pull them apart, you'll notice that the inside of each wire facing each other is melted and the metal of the wires is fused together.

If I was to go at this blind with just the clues you gave, I would first pull the aftermarket stereo because that is quick and easy and highly suspect since so many people wire this themselves. If you don't find it there, drop your glovebox and pull the pass side kick panel, pull the ECU and follow the harness to the firewall grommet and see if you find it there. From there drop the driver's side dash panel and start with the ignition harness and then everything from the fuse box out. If that's not it, then pull the cluster and from there, follow the harness running down the driver's side running board all the way back to the tail lights. Hopefully you don't get that far. Good luck.

 

[cborden]

all the fuses are the same ive never had to change them idk if theyre all stock size though
and yea ive already started ripping it apart pulled the battery out ecu and my seats just to have more room and pulled my dash apart believe me im determined to find this problem i just havent yet i hope its not a big part of the harness and how would i fix this from happenng again cause idk if it just shorted out because the wires were old and broke n shorted or if theres another underlying problem cause i dont wanna fix it then it burns up again and have to carry a fire extinguisher in my car all the time

 

[jdmjim]

look at your ignition switch

 

[Merlins Beard]

did you install your relay correctly when you replaced it? i would check the radio first then area around the relay then the ecu. if it smelled like buring electronics its not just wires, wires woluld smell more like plastic/rubber

 

[cborden]

where is the ignition switch or where on it should i look?
i did replace the relay correctly i know that w/o a doubt and the ecu looks fine

 

[cborden]

how would i know if it was another relay?

 

[suspendedHatch]

Relays don't smoke when they go bad.

These problems never occur just due to age. It's either tampering or if some electric component itself fried out.

 

[96PurpGS-R]

if you are not getting any power to the cluster/dash, then check the ignition switch harness in case it may have shorted out.

 

[mjones73]

where is the ignition switch or where on it should i look?
i did replace the relay correctly i know that w/o a doubt and the ecu looks fine

Where you put the key in to start it. Take the housing off around the steering wheel.

 

[cborden]

Where you put the key in to start it. Take the housing off around the steering wheel.

i didnt really see anything around the ignition that shorted out
your talkin about the four wires on the back right? if so they look fine
idk im startin to lose hope theres alot of shit to go through and look at and im on a limited time budget