# Smokin' 1992 Cabriolet

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/smokin-1992-cabriolet/731>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** smoke, cabriolet\
**Created:** [June 19, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smokin-1992-cabriolet/731 "2007-06-19T19:42:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![justputgasin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@justputgasin](https://community.cartalk.com/u/justputgasin)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smokin-1992-cabriolet/731/1 "2007-06-19T19:42:13Z")

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I have a 1992 Volkswagen Cabriolet (90,298 miles). The other day I noticed a thin line of whispy white smoke coming out of the dashboard to the left of the steering wheel just above the light switch and “Fasten Belts/Brakes” light. It had a slight electrical smell but because I had a cold I couldn’t really smell it. It was raining so I was running the wipers and as the windows had started to fog up, I turned on the A/C to clear up the windows. I parked the car for about an hour while I ran an errand. When I came out the rain had stopped so I opened the windows and drove home. It started smoking again. So, I don’t think it had anything to do with the wipers or the A/C.  
  
  
  
 Where’s the smoke coming from? And what should I do about it?

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:49pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smokin-1992-cabriolet/731/2 "2007-06-19T19:49:45Z")

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One of the wires behind the dashboard is getting hot and burning the insulation. The cause is probably a short circuit somewhere. Where? I can’t tell, because I can’t see the car from here. This is potentially dangerous, as it could start a fire. I suggest you have someone investigate the cause ASAP.

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**Author:** ![montec](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/76d3ee/32.png) [@montec](https://community.cartalk.com/u/montec)\
**Post date:** [June 19, 2007, 7:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/smokin-1992-cabriolet/731/3 "2007-06-19T19:51:26Z")

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I have had that lovely smoke in my vehicle before. it was caused by a wire that was getting hot and is common with a tilt steering colume and the insulation is burning off.