my control switch box is melting!

[danny nr crew]

So my 86 is wanting to start itself on fire. Today out of nowhere i started driving and noticed that it started smelling like burning plastic. I stop and check it out. I found out it was my control box behind the steering wheel ( the light switches and wiper switch box) the wires are getting super hot and the heat already broke my light switch. I also have to add that this only starts burning when the lights are on. My sub cooling fan fuse keeps blowing as well. Can anyone help?

[Hauntd ca3]

sounds like you have a short in the light circuit some where.
you'll have to trace the burnt wiring back through the loom til you find the short and then replace all the burnt stuff and the switches

[Oldblueaccord]

So my 86 is wanting to start itself on fire. Today out of nowhere i started driving and noticed that it started smelling like burning plastic. I stop and check it out. I found out it was my control box behind the steering wheel ( the light switches and wiper switch box) the wires are getting super hot and the heat already broke my light switch. I also have to add that this only starts burning when the lights are on. My sub cooling fan fuse keeps blowing as well. Can anyone help?

Combo switch going bad. There expensive.

The large white wire pass side to the switch carries all the current when the low beams are on. Pull the back cover off it and trace back that wire its melted something.

Not sure how the sub cooling is related but i would guess its melted 2 wires together.

[danny nr crew]

That's the thing it hasn't melted any wires that i can visibly see. Its just the combo switch that started smoking and melting. I'm going to follow the wires and see what i find.

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[dieselgus]

Perhaps you are running higher output headlamps than the standard sealed beams? Switching to Silverstar H4 in my last 3G was the root cause for just what you describe.

[danny nr crew]

yeah i actually am running different headlight bulbs. i using the blue bulbs from harbor freight. i know they are cheap :/ thing is, is that i have had these same bulbs for about 2 years now with no problem till last night. i already replaced the combo switch but its still getting hot so hopefully with different headlights it will solve my problem.

[Hauntd ca3]

dont run anything larger than a 60/55 watt bulb or you will melt stuff.
if you insist on running big wattage bulbs, you will need to run a dual headlight relay so that the switch only carries the relay coil load

[dieselgus]

Haunted is right on the money about that. I got away with it for a good year and a bit as well. Mine decided to melt down in the middle of nowhere northern Alberta in mid winter blizzard conditions. Couple relays and a new switch and all was well.

[Dr_Snooz]

Too much current can make things melt, but so can too much resistance. If your combo switch contacts are covered in black crud, they can develop a lot of heat. Clean them up and see if that solves your problem.

http://www.3geez.com/forum/how/60916-fix-rebuild-combo-switch-low-high-beam-headlamp-switch.html

My contacts looked like this: http://www.3geez.com/forum/technical/79211-pics-my-combo-switch-rebuild.html

[danny nr crew]

I really hate that this is my daily or i would have it all taken apart right now. I switched the switch box already, i have 55w bulbs, disconnected the flip up motors, checked for broken wires that were easy to get to, disconnected my fog lights. Still gets hot. I used a heat temp gun and the wire got up to 117°f where are the switch relays located? the relays are the only things i haven't changed. My old boss told me that if it was a short in my headlights, that they wouldn't work but everything works. Also my temp gauge decided to stop working. i also have an auto start on my car. Would that affect it? Thanks again to everyone helping.

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[Legend_master]

You might look at the wires going directly into the headlight. They get bent from the headlight opening and closing. I've had to replace mine on both side.

[Oldblueaccord]

Yep look for bad connections at the headlights. If you can check amp draw it can tell you if your pulling to many amps or the switch contacts are just bad.

[danny nr crew]

I looked at my headlight socket and it looks dirty. I tried tracking the wires today and i didn't see any broken or loose wires that run threw the headlights. I checked the combo switch and it looks clean and has a good connection. Could it be possible for my under dash fuse box to go bad? I figured it could be bad because the wire burned my combo switch so why not the fuse box. Could it be possible?

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