Electrical wires at the fuse box under the hood are burning and smoking

Tiny
TONI/RUBY2
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 CHEVROLET IMPALA
  • 3.8L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 130,000 MILES
About two years ago the lighter in the front of the car shorted out when metal touched it and hasn't worked since. I don't know if it is important for you to know that. It is electrical so I thought I would share it. My driver's side window rolls down but not up, if I accidentally roll it down, I have to keep pushing the button repeatedly until it rolls up. Again, I wanted to share that because it could be considered electrical. Also, I replaced the starter on 12/15/21 then 2 days before Christmas, I was shopping and I stopped at a fast-food place to get food for my niece and wasn't thinking, I rolled the window down to pay and it was stuck down. I had been wanting to go to the local used parts yard to replace the window switch so I could use my window. That day I decided to drop the food off to her and get the switch. While driving there, about two miles, I was pushing the window button over and over. I pulled into the junkyard and shut the car off to go in and get the part and when I tried to start the car, it did nothing, I opened the hood because I saw smoke coming out. The wires around the fuse box burned. Got a tow, replaced the starter, rewired where it burnt. I don't know if the window had anything to do with the burned wires or if it was a coincidence? So, on the fourteenth a similar situation happened. We were at a friends, and we left there and when boyfriend started the car it made a shrill sound stalled out, but when it stalled the starter continued running with no power. The car started back up. We drove home and the next day when I tried to start the car, nothing and we saw the smoke again, and again the wires burning. This time the entire fuse box and the wires around it were replaced. The car started and then I shut it off, next start, the car did nothing and the wires burnt. Somebody said replace the ignition. Any idea what could make the wires keep burning?
Sunday, May 15th, 2022 AT 8:54 PM

1 Reply

Tiny
KEN L
  • MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
  • 47,643 POSTS
The wires burn could be because of high resistance which can be caused by a bad ground. I would check to see if the ground to the engine block and chassis is in good shape. Here are the ground locations so you can check it out. Here is the negative battery cable which shows the ground to chassis close to the battery. This could be the problem, please let me know if it is connected and not rusted out. Check out the diagrams (below). Let us know what happens and please upload pictures or videos of the problem.
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Monday, May 16th, 2022 AT 5:03 PM

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