I got in the truck the other night and headed down the road when all of a sudden this terrible electrical burning smell filled the truck. So I rolled the windows down and pulled off the highway.

I popped the hood and could not find or smell any smoke. I returned to the front seat and smoke was curling out from around the base of the steering wheel.

It more or less went away, but i have not been able to figure out from exactly where or why it was smoking.

Everything seems to be working and no fuses have blown.

Anyone got an ideas for me on where to start?

As always, thanks.

 

airbag?
check horn
check all buttons on steering
check all electrical lines

 

Have you installed anything in that area recently??? I would start looking there..then may turn sig, wiper cruise cont and airbag all run up the steering wheel as well

 

Make sure you pull the air bag fuse before playing around the air bag .The last thing you want to have is the air bag to go off when working around it .

 

If you had an aftermarket alarm or stereo installed, sometimes the installers don't take enough care when stuffing the extra wires under the dash. There's a chance that there are wires that were against part of the steering shaft under the dash and have worn through the insulation to make contact.

 

I second Cebby's point... It's a lot more likely that the smoke came from aftermarket / modified wiring (assuming there is any...) and traveled up through the column (as opposed to originating in the steering wheel itself)...

 

cebby's scenario is exactly what happened in my friend's integra.

 

I had an alarm and stereo installed back in 99. I'll start sniffing around that wiring. Thanks.

 

dood thats a whole lotta wiring.

 

I call that a big cluster ˟˟˟˟!

 

how many alarms are wired to that car???

 

My assumption is that you had him wire the interior and exterior lights, stereo, and power seats up to all go off with the alarm. That is sooooooooo much wiring. Did you unwrap it all or was it stuffed away like that? Dont mean to sound like im a dick im just joking.

 

be nice blue... be nice

 

I guess none of you have ever installed a car alarm? Thats only about half the wires you need to do a full install.

 

Gee I dont know.........that looks like pretty dang thick guaged wiring. And where does the big yellow light mount at? LoL, were all just dummy's.

 

hey mike,

good to see you here. ever get that mustang you were looking for?

i'd say that you'd probably be best off taking off the center console and poking around w/ a flashlight for burnt connections. you probably already figured that out by now

yoter, et al: though mike's post count is low, dont mistake him for a noob. mike's probably one of the first guys to buy a 99 highlander in california and to mod it for off road use. so yes, he's got some "history"

that is all

bob

 

did you find the source of the problem??? keep us posted. This is definetly a first.

 

never called him a "noob".

 

yoter,

when did i say you called him a noob? i said 'dont mistake him for a noob'. big difference

bob

 

not going to get into it with you over this. that would be petty. I saw it as you assuming I would mistake him for a "noob". i sent you a PM. It may clarify. Ben