Smoke from steering column

On a 200 mile trip yesterday I started to see smoke coming from the steering column of my 91 coupe. After an hour of a little smoke there was a short period of a lot of smoke. Then none. I couldn't find anything wrong opperationally until it came time to exit I 95. Then I discovered my turn signal lever would NOT work or even move up or down. Tried all lights OK High beam Ok just no way to use L?R turn signals. I assume fusing of some plastic in the steering colume. Anyone ever heard of this problem?? What is likely fix. Know it will require removing airbag to access area. What about Wheel? etc? [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] [color:\\"black\\"] [/color]

[Don B.]

I'd check fuses make sure no one put a piece of wire in to replace or jump out the fuse. Check High beam, directionals, horn, accessories fuses. From that point start to look for the cause of the smoke. CHECK THE VALUE OF THE FUSE AS COMPARES TO THE FUSE BLOCK COVER. A 30amp fuse in a 5amp socket will never blow,
circuits will burn first.

[EDBS0]

Wow Anonymous you post a lot!

Would trade car fast (everything is wrong with your car) but even faster make certain you have a current fire insurance policy on your car and don't park in garage [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[Greg Ross]

Robert,(alais EDBB)
I agree, this "Anonymous" Guy certainly does have a multitude of problems, incredible he/she even manages to keep this Reatta on the road at all! [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Thanks for the advice and humor. When I posted it took as Reatom 2 but changed to that anonymous guy. Only problem is turn signals and that is mechanical. Will check fuse value kept wondering why one didn't blow with all the smoke. A hot spot developed on the very bottom of column about 2 inches down from the wheel. Have horn buttons to replace on 2 others so should be an expert at removing airbags by the time I'm done. Been putting that off but now I have little choice.

Tom, we had the same problem 2 weeks ago with our '93 LeSabre. I noticed the left turnsignal side light stayed on more than not and had to bump-up the lever to turn it off. Then, I got the smoke from steering column coming home from work. But, I never got the heavy smoke like you and now all works fine with signals. [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I suspect the contacts short across as the signal mechanism wears and develops play. Since so few responses here, it's probably not a widespread problem and we are just lucky [img]/ubbthreads/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] or actually use our signals.
curt

I bet you, that your turn signal switch is burnt out with all the plastic melted
I would first disconnect the battery, as you don't want to play with the air bags, then remove the 4 x screws from the under the steering wheel-this will remove the air bag, then remove the steering wheel, and rest examine and see what has cooked, you will see that the turn signal switch is all melted if I am not wrong.

Prakash

The exact thing happened to my Reatta a couple years ago. 2 days later, the whole dash went.