Sparks

[FR33K]

I was driving home on the m4 last night and my mate was driving behind me. I could smell something burning real bad.. like a wire burning smell and i couldnt figure out where it was coming from. I thought maybe it was in the air so i called my mate behind me and asked him if he could smell it as well and he said no. anyway he then goes "hey it looks like someone just threw a ciggie out of your car.." (but i dont smoke)
then he told me to pull over coz my car was sparking up from the left hand side (my battery is on the right hand side)

now i have absolutely no idea what it is and no fuses blew or anything..
i cant think of any way of finding this spark without searching the car for a burnt out wire..

any ideas ?? :confused: :confused: :confused:

[JasonGilholme]

Sparks can also be cause from metal and other materials grinding together. Especially at high speeds. Maybe you got a rock caught up on your discs or something.

Check all your major wiring to see if any of the plastic casing has melted. I doubt this would cause sparks that would actually come off the car!!!... but you never know.

[FR33K]

something was definately burning out. i nearly died from the fumes in the car.. after i pulled over and drove off again i turned off all the stereo and heater and demister etc and the smell went away.. i guess thats a start..

thought a fuse would have blown though

[crispy]

Sounds nasty. I agree with jason and check all the wiring to see if any of the plastic has melted. You havent by any chance rewired something or even wired sumthing new up recently, this could be the problem cos when you use a low amp wire for a high amp application then the wires burn out. HTH

[bennjamin]

id say the cat has gone/collapsed....or a piece of your car is dragging on the ground !

[JasonGilholme]

I reckon you'd be able to hear it if it was scrapping on the ground. Can you hear anything at all???

[Q_ball]

something was definately burning out. i nearly died from the fumes in the car.. after i pulled over and drove off again i turned off all the stereo and heater and demister etc and the smell went away.. i guess thats a start..

thought a fuse would have blown though
did you use the correct type of wiring for ur system??
maybe an overload of current through one of the wires...hence the burning smell.
check all your cabling!

[CUL8R]

do u have a stock cat or high flow cat?
is ur car tuned at all?
u could be running lean and ur cat is melting then firing out the exhaust?

[FR33K]

The smell is definately a burning wire smell... get a lighter and burn a wire and ull know the smell...

I do have a hi-flow cat and the timing is advanced.. but no tuning or anything

If i was using the wrong stereo cabling how would the sparks be coming out of the car ?? I do have a lose amp power wire that was touching my wheel brace that was touching the body of the car.. but thats in the boot

when i popped the bonnet the smell was so strong it was definately comming from there.. and also saw a bit of smoke..

ill just have to wait for the weekend and check the car over

[Paul1985]

id check it out if i were you.
i know someone whos car caught on fire inside from him installing a stereo incorrectly (so he says). The fire brigade had to cover the interior in dry chemical. Completely ruined the whole interior, was in every little crack possible. You dont want your cabin to catch on fire!

[Q_ball]

The smell is definately a burning wire smell... get a lighter and burn a wire and ull know the smell...

I do have a hi-flow cat and the timing is advanced.. but no tuning or anything

If i was using the wrong stereo cabling how would the sparks be coming out of the car ?? I do have a lose amp power wire that was touching my wheel brace that was touching the body of the car.. but thats in the boot

when i popped the bonnet the smell was so strong it was definately comming from there.. and also saw a bit of smoke..

ill just have to wait for the weekend and check the car over
why it was sparkin outside the car i dont have a clue.
but when u said that u turned off ur stereo and the smell went away, its pretty obvious aint it?
jst double check la :)

[bennjamin]

As said above , Check it before your car ends up in ashes y0 :)

Check the battery ground-fuse box , in teh fuse box also...and any other places there is the chacne a wire is worn or contacting another..DO IT !

[destrukshn]

maybe you used a fuse that was overarted?
for your amp cabling, therefore not blowing when undermassive load, but instead, overheating and starting to melt stuff.
eh, just throwing ideas.
lol.

[CRXer]

Check alternator

[PHASE2]

this happen to me a while ago, little different but similar i was driving along and smoke started coming out of my bonnet vents it smelt really like wires burning, i pulled over instantly what had happened is a few wires had falled down and was rubbing on the alternater belt i think, i moved the wires and taped them up and it hasnt done it since!

[GARF]

I had a similar event happen to me as well. But with no sparks. I was driving and i smelt this burning wire smell as well. I didn't even notice but the headlights slowly dimmed down and went off. The park lights and the interior lights were still on. Thats why i didn't notice anything besides the smell. I turned the headlights off and on again and they came back on again. And then they would turned off again when they felt like it. And that smell keep coming. Thats how i knew when they were off or dimmed. It turned out to be a headlight relay problem. So maybe you have a relay problem some where in your car. Once again check all wiring

[Mikeyas]

I think your all wrong...
Major factor here is not the smell.
But the sparks.

Unless sparks were from wires in engine bay i doubt its anything else wire related,. ANd if it was something shorting and causing the battery to spark (remember sparks form left his battery is on the right..) then power would be interuptted.

I do agree with the grinding. Soemthing has caused something to rub together to cause sparks. Wheel area/brakes/axles.

[hui]

handbrake might not be fully released?

[JasonGilholme]

I could imagine it being the cat as someone said previously. If the metal in the cat is heating up and coming out the back it could explain it. Just depends what side your exhaust is on. If it is this, just remember that you may need to check your tune because it might happen again.

[FR33K]

exhaust is on the left... i started my car when i got home last night and it made some farked up grinding noise like it had no oil or something.. mainly coming from the gbox side.. then the smell started coming out again

so annoying !! ill just wait till the weekend when i get some time and try n figure it out

[FR33K]

for anyone whos interested.. the problem was my AC had died..
cut the belt and now its fine !! will worry about it in summer

[Spunkymonkey]

Good that its all sorted! I've had this metal wire stuff covered in tar from road works...get caught underneath the car on the exhaust before and cause sparks also!