Electrical Fire

[RedDog]

Howdy Folks-
Had a harrowing experience on Monday. Standing around talking, we noticed my cabin was full of smoke! AH! Upon inspection, the wiring under the driver seat was on fire. Fortunately, I was able to douse the flames before the seat (or anything else) caught fire.

So, 1st question- anyone else experienced this???

2nd question- What do I need to check? The power seats stopped working a few days before this happened. I was going to start troubleshooting that problem over this next weekend. I'm not sure if it's related to this or not.

Help me save her! Ok, doesn't need saved so much, just fixed!

[RedDog]

Ok, new info!
The fire definitely damaged the power and heated seats. Today, I had both lights (Hi and Low) lit on the heated seat button, with more smoke (yay...) coming from the dash. I pulled the dash and disconnected the switch. Then, the car went haywire. No starter, no off position, lights and HVAC system stayed on with key pulled and doors open, but couldn't get the radio to turn on no matter what. Locks gone, windows didn't work, couldn't pop the trunk without the key.
So, I pulled the rear seat, and started pulling fuses. The heated seat fuse was already blown, but pulled the 30amp breaker for the power seats which finally fixed everything. So, there's obviously a short under my seat.
I've inquired about a new wiring harness, going to put one in as soon as I can get it. Figure as long as I'm doing that I'll repair the heated seats too (has the "light comes on for a few seconds then goes off" problem). If there's anything else I should check while I've got that seat out, please let me know. Does anyone know where the run from the battery is? I'd like to check that for wear in the casing or corrosion.

[harofreak00]

I got your PM about the wiring harness. Can you post a picture so I have an idea of how bad it is?

[RedDog]

This is the best picture I could get crouched down in my employers parking lot. As you can see, the harness is all melty. That's the area the fire was confined to. I don't know yet if the motor was damaged (see the black?), but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

Hope that helps you out- this is looking from the front, toward the back. Specifically, I held my phone towards the middle of the car, and angled it towards the drivers side looking back.

[harofreak00]

Ok, bad... but definately fixable. I'll PM you about the harness.