Today on my way to work while diving, i noticed smoke coming from under the dash on the drivers side. I pulled off the road immediately and shut the car off. I then looked up under the dash and saw two wires a solid purple and a pink with a black strip going to the brake peddle switch that has a large vacumm line to it. The wires were melted down to bare copper. What is this switch for? The fuse box also had a melted fuse that said gauges. It was so melted that it would not come out. This is the first week that this car was on the road, I purchased this car from a old lady and donot know anything about it. It is a 84 v6 cutlass. I also have a 87 v8 parts car, so my question is will the dash harness work from my 87 if installed in the 84. I plan on changing the whole harness and fuse block to be on the safe side instead of tracing back burnt wires.
electrical fire help
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If it's got a vacumn line it sounds like it might be the cruise control. Why it did it I can't tell.
The 84 cutlass did not have cruise control, The 87 parts car does have cruise. I think I am better off changing the whole harness because it might have melted the insulation on nearby wires that those wires touched.
Just reading and I don't remember the cruise having a purple wire anyway, I'm trying to remember what the purple is for but it's been a while since I've been under the dash.
I was just on rockauto looking at switches and sure enough thats it cruise control release. I am just hoping that the harnesses are the same. Maybe I will take the complete cruise control out of the parts car and install it in my 84 ounce I do my engine swap.
I would have to look at it, but the purple wire could be for the rear defroster. Then again, the purple and pink together on one plug combo I believe is for the Torque Converter lock up clutch release. As for the melted fuse, it sounds like someone put a larger fuse in the car after it kept blowing them. I would check the way the wiring is routed as it may be that the dash harness was changed out at some point. A key friction point to check is the bracket that holds the brake light switch. If the harness was changed, it is likely the person who changed it did not put it in correctly and allowed the harness section to be in contact with the sharp bracket. To properly change the dash harness, the dash should be removed and the whole harness changed as a unit, then bolted to the back of the dash as GM intended.
The cruise control style brake light switch and vacuum switch tell me that the either harness is not original or the column is not original. Non cruise cars used a different harness than ones equipped with cruise. However, as the cruise has it's own harness, the parts will interchange without it being installed. Cruise Control II (85 and newer system) only interfaces with the fuse panel with a pink with black tracer wire, the VSS translator box, and the brake light switch. The pink/purple wire connector is attached to the brake light switch on non cruise cars and on the vac switch on cruise equipped cars.
The cruise control style brake light switch and vacuum switch tell me that the either harness is not original or the column is not original. Non cruise cars used a different harness than ones equipped with cruise. However, as the cruise has it's own harness, the parts will interchange without it being installed. Cruise Control II (85 and newer system) only interfaces with the fuse panel with a pink with black tracer wire, the VSS translator box, and the brake light switch. The pink/purple wire connector is attached to the brake light switch on non cruise cars and on the vac switch on cruise equipped cars.
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