Trying to enjoy a nice day, top down and then ...a smell of electrical burning

jfinley

jfinley

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2025
Points
13
'99 Z3 2/8 Roadster, out for an early spring drive, only a mile into drive, wife and I noticed the smell of electrical burning while adjusting my seat and noticed the ABS light, battery flicker. Pulled over, popped hood, nothing out of the ordinary - headed back home. Well, today, after suggested testing of pulling FUSE F19 for seat shorts - popped the boot and well....the picture speak for itself. Pulled the negative off.....now what? Need some guidance. Battery came with the car - when purchased 6 mos ago.




IMG_8587.jpeg
IMG_8585.jpeg
 
The forum has some issues with images either not showing at all, or with significant delay to some members, we are working on it....
So if you cant see the image yourself, dont panic...:thumbsup:
 
Looks like something was drawing too much juice or for too long and the terminals got hot, could also be an ongoing short.
Check under there and make sure everything is clean and tight.
 
It looks like the problem started at the battery +ve terminal. Clean the terminal and ensure the connection is good and tight. Repair/replace damage to the cables. Afterwards run a high electrical load, like moving the seats, and check for any further heat issues. Consider carrying a fire extinguisher.
 
I would guess the positive terminal clamp wasn't tight on the battery. This can cause tiny amounts of arcing, which generate heat and voila! Lucky it didn't cause a proper fire TBH.

I have damaged both my positive and negative tightening bolts on mine in the past by over use (connecting and disconnecting the battery countless times) and over-tightening them. If the bolts/nuts are damaged it won't tighten the clamp properly, but can feel tight.

I would remove the red plastic 'guard' and any crusty melted plastic and see what the terminal looks like. Also clean up the positive terminal of the battery with some fine sandpaper. It has melted a small piece of insulation on one of the power cables but as long as the copper conductors aren't damaged that should be OK. Maybe put a piece of insulation tape around the bare part to keep corrosion out.

Either take the battery out, or cover the positive terminal of the battery well while doing anything. You don't want the post touching the battery while you work on it.
 
Thank you all for the comments and advice. Any recommendations on a Z3 aftermarket store in the US ?
 
Pond said:
I would guess the positive terminal clamp wasn't tight on the battery. This can cause tiny amounts of arcing, which generate heat and voila! Lucky it didn't cause a proper fire TBH.

I have damaged both my positive and negative tightening bolts on mine in the past by over use (connecting and disconnecting the battery countless times) and over-tightening them. If the bolts/nuts are damaged it won't tighten the clamp properly, but can feel tight.

I would remove the red plastic 'guard' and any crusty melted plastic and see what the terminal looks like. Also clean up the positive terminal of the battery with some fine sandpaper. It has melted a small piece of insulation on one of the power cables but as long as the copper conductors aren't damaged that should be OK. Maybe put a piece of insulation tape around the bare part to keep corrosion out.

Either take the battery out, or cover the positive terminal of the battery well while doing anything. You don't want the post touching the battery while you work on it.
Click to expand...

I pulled the driver seat fuse. Other reading led me to think there is a short under the seat especially since "rocking" the seat started lights flashing on dash coincidentally.
 
UPDATE: Finally motivated to dig back into the car electrical issues and discovered this in the image. Thanks for the suggestions of loose battery connections.


twotonTINA.webp
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top