Electical Fire!!!
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Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: May 2011
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Electical Fire!!!
Had a small electrical fire break out in the '02 4.2L. I smelled smoke just as soon as I turned into my driveway, and fire came at me through the driver's side vent by the window as soon as I put it in park. I think the fire started with some kind of malfunction in the headlight switch, as my headlights stopped working about ten minutes prior to the fire. (My fog lights stayed on, and my headlights would come on when I pulled the flasher.)
Unlucky for me, the fire moved quickly as I struggled to locate my fire extinguisher, and half my dash, instrument cluster, headlight switch, and a bunch of the wiring in there got melted pretty bad. As far as I can tell the relays, fuse box, and fuse box wiring are all okay.
That being said, locating the dash, instrument cluster, and headlight switch shouldn't be hard, but I am having a hard time with the wires that connect to them. I have traced the wires back to the firewall, and it doesn't look like replacing them will be a fun job. Can anyone tell me where I can get these individual harnesses, or are they part of one main wiring harness? Has anyone ever done anything like this? What's the easiest way to get the dashboard out? (I've already removed the instrument cluster and the panel under the steering column.)
Thanks in advance!
Unlucky for me, the fire moved quickly as I struggled to locate my fire extinguisher, and half my dash, instrument cluster, headlight switch, and a bunch of the wiring in there got melted pretty bad. As far as I can tell the relays, fuse box, and fuse box wiring are all okay.
That being said, locating the dash, instrument cluster, and headlight switch shouldn't be hard, but I am having a hard time with the wires that connect to them. I have traced the wires back to the firewall, and it doesn't look like replacing them will be a fun job. Can anyone tell me where I can get these individual harnesses, or are they part of one main wiring harness? Has anyone ever done anything like this? What's the easiest way to get the dashboard out? (I've already removed the instrument cluster and the panel under the steering column.)
Thanks in advance!
Tech Guru
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 8,009
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From: Olney, MD
Ooh..that's harsh. IIRC THERE WAS A RECALL ON HEADLIGHT WIRING...sorry about caps but iPad so I'm not going to retypr. Just for heckuvit check VIN and see if recall was done. If not, there could be recourse....long shot, though.
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Tech Guru
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 8,009
Likes: 191
From: Olney, MD
Had a small electrical fire break out in the '02 4.2L. I smelled smoke just as soon as I turned into my driveway, and fire came at me through the driver's side vent by the window as soon as I put it in park. I think the fire started with some kind of malfunction in the headlight switch, as my headlights stopped working about ten minutes prior to the fire. (My fog lights stayed on, and my headlights would come on when I pulled the flasher.)
Unlucky for me, the fire moved quickly as I struggled to locate my fire extinguisher, and half my dash, instrument cluster, headlight switch, and a bunch of the wiring in there got melted pretty bad. As far as I can tell the relays, fuse box, and fuse box wiring are all okay.
That being said, locating the dash, instrument cluster, and headlight switch shouldn't be hard, but I am having a hard time with the wires that connect to them. I have traced the wires back to the firewall, and it doesn't look like replacing them will be a fun job. Can anyone tell me where I can get these individual harnesses, or are they part of one main wiring harness? Has anyone ever done anything like this? What's the easiest way to get the dashboard out? (I've already removed the instrument cluster and the panel under the steering column.)
Thanks in advance!
Unlucky for me, the fire moved quickly as I struggled to locate my fire extinguisher, and half my dash, instrument cluster, headlight switch, and a bunch of the wiring in there got melted pretty bad. As far as I can tell the relays, fuse box, and fuse box wiring are all okay.
That being said, locating the dash, instrument cluster, and headlight switch shouldn't be hard, but I am having a hard time with the wires that connect to them. I have traced the wires back to the firewall, and it doesn't look like replacing them will be a fun job. Can anyone tell me where I can get these individual harnesses, or are they part of one main wiring harness? Has anyone ever done anything like this? What's the easiest way to get the dashboard out? (I've already removed the instrument cluster and the panel under the steering column.)
Thanks in advance!
Recall looks like it applies to cars with halogen low beam and 1998-2004 A6. IIRC the 4.2s all had HID low beams (always on), high beams still got you low HID plus halogen high. By 2002 they had bixenon (HID) high and low beams with added halogen high beam (My S6 for example).
Still, I would try to get Audi to repair it if the recall hasn't been done and/or was done incorrectly and started a fire.
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Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: May 2011
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Sorry for the delay. I didn't get email notifications that anyone had replied to this thread. Attached are both pictures before and after I removed the instrument cluster.
Unfortunately, no comprehensive coverage on this car. Liability only, so I will be paying for repairs myself. I found a guy offering me the dash panel and guage cluster from an '02 4.2 for $540 shipped, but I'm still concerned with replacing the melted wiring. Is it part of the main wiring harness, or is it a separate harness? I haven't torn into it much more than what you see in the pictures.
No half assed parking light mods, I assure you, but I did purchase a used OEM headlight switch on eBay about 5 months prior to this. The color was worn off the face of mine after a decade of use.
I don't think I qualify for the recall, unfortunately, but it makes me wonder if the donor car for my headlight switch may have. My VIN ends in 2N049288, in case I'm reading it wrong, but yes, the car has HID lows and halogen highs.
Thanks again!
Unfortunately, no comprehensive coverage on this car. Liability only, so I will be paying for repairs myself. I found a guy offering me the dash panel and guage cluster from an '02 4.2 for $540 shipped, but I'm still concerned with replacing the melted wiring. Is it part of the main wiring harness, or is it a separate harness? I haven't torn into it much more than what you see in the pictures.
No half assed parking light mods, I assure you, but I did purchase a used OEM headlight switch on eBay about 5 months prior to this. The color was worn off the face of mine after a decade of use.
I don't think I qualify for the recall, unfortunately, but it makes me wonder if the donor car for my headlight switch may have. My VIN ends in 2N049288, in case I'm reading it wrong, but yes, the car has HID lows and halogen highs.
Thanks again!