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This was shared on Facebook by a long time owner of this Crossfire
She had this as a daily driver over 181,000 miles
And suddenly this occurred while it was parked in her driveway and not in her garage thankfully !!!
Lucky she was home when it happened and saved the house from catching on fire too !!
Something in the dash caught on fire while her car was parked outside
Thought to be the headlight switch based on several comments by others who have had dashboard fires in Crossfires
The only fuse to the headlight switch is the 200 amp chassis fuse.
I had a Pontiac Fiero for 27 years and had no fire problems but did do everything to prevent it.
This is the first time that I have heard about dashboard fire problems with the Crossfire.
What can I check or do to prevent this?
Jim
I had a Pontiac Fiero for 27 years and had no fire problems but did do everything to prevent it.
This is the first time that I have heard about dashboard fire problems with the Crossfire.
What can I check or do to prevent this?
Jim
I have owned Crossfires for 18 years and this is the first time I have been made aware of this.
I suspect a lower amp fuse should be added somehow between the headlight switch and the battery
Looking for others with a clear understanding of this to add their responses
Currently The only fuse to the headlight switch is the 200 amp chassis fuse.
I have owned Crossfires for 18 years and this is the first time I have been made aware of this.
I suspect a lower amp fuse should be added somehow between the headlight switch and the battery
Looking for others with a clear understanding of this to add their responses
Currently The only fuse to the headlight switch is the 200 amp chassis fuse.
Was this owner a member? Before I would say the headlight switch assembly was suspected, I would find out if the car had additional accessories/wiring added in the area behind the lamp switch or inside the dash and engine compartment. Hard to figure the cause since so much damage was caused by the fire itself. Simply of note, the engine compartment (seems to me from the available pictures) sustained more damage than the interior. Glad the car was outside, I wonder if the responding fire department did an investigation?
I saw this post and the follow up on fakebook.
Another person said that the cause is usually corrosion on the headlight switch circuit board. She showed a picture of hers that started smoking. She was lucky and able to prevent it from going up in flames.
Prevention might be done by making sure your drains are clean! Any overflow of water could be a potential hazard. Also if you leave your car out and it's going to rain, buy a good car cover.
I think Valk, has a great idea as well. There should be a way to put a fuse between that switch and the power source.
Another write up concerning the headlight switch shorting on a Crossfire posted today on Facebook ......
Hi everyone so I purchased another crossfire last September from a friend who had owned the vehicle for quite a few years and we have previously maintained it for him before he toured Europe without any issues so we knew the car was in good health.
After we bought it it sat around for a few months only getting used occasionally as we own quite a few cars.
Any way one morning dad jumped in it to drive to work which is only 1.5mile journey.
He had driven it home the day before. As soon as he started it and drove off he could smell
Something and got half way to work when smoke started to pour out of the dash board filling the cabin!
He pulled over straight away and switched the car off but it was still smoking so he popped the bonnet(hood) and disconnected the battery.
(Luckily we always carry a 10mm spanner in the center consol). We towed the car back to work and then started to inspect it.
The wiring loom in the engine bay and the 2 engine bay fuse board areas was all intact.
So I dropped the dash board down on the drivers side and could see the headlight switch had caught fire.
I removed the instrument cluster to inspect and check all the wiring in that side of dash board but could not see any other damage.
The fuse board on the side of the headlight switch did not have single blown fuse but one had signs of it getting hot.
But it was very close to completely destroying the car when you see how much damage had been caused inside the switch unit.
The lights had been working ok and the car is completely standard so no dodgy modifications.
I temporarily fitted a new switch unit from a donor car and connected the battery as I wanted to power everything up and check if all the lights and circuits connected to the switch were working, everything was ok and the vehicle was starting and running ok.
So it looks like the light switch went faulty, there was no sign of water ingress and the car was dry inside.
What I have now found is that there is a serious oversight in the wiring system that can allow this to happen as the switch unit is a load carrying switch so doesn't operate relays to take the load/current like most vehicles now on individual circuits.
This in it self is ok if each circuit is fuse protected but on the crossfire only the output circuits have fuse protection but the 2 incoming power wires are not fused.
So the switch has a constant 12v+ battery supply unfused and a 12v+ ignition supply is unfused.
Theses are both heavy cables so can hold a heavy current! The constant live is powered from a buzz bar inside the engine bay fuse board(driver side) this buzz bar does have 200amp fuse in the remote fuse board by the battery but this is far to high to protect from a faulty light switch.
So I have now fitted 2 new inline 20amp maxi fuse holders and fuses. Using crimp spade connectors to connect one end into the loom and the other end onto the light switch.
I made this flying loom about 14"" long so when the dash is back together the new fuses are accessible from inside fuse door on the end of the dash board just below the headlight switch fuse board. I am now doing this on all my crossfires and would recommend every one to do it as this fault could occur when the vehicle is not in use not just when being driven and also when the lights are not being used as the light switch has multiple functions not just the headlight lights.
I am going to look at what other circuits are powered off the buzz bar and add some more fuse protection to the incoming side of the other circuits/systems powered from the buzz bar.
I have also cleaned all the main earth points and added some extra earth leads now.
Another write up concerning the headlight switch shorting on a Crossfire posted today on Facebook ......
Hi everyone so I purchased another crossfire last September from a friend who had owned the vehicle for quite a few years and we have previously maintained it for him before he toured Europe without any issues so we knew the car was in good health. After we bought it it sat around for a few months only getting used occassionally as we own quite a few cars. Any way one morning dad jumped in it to drive to work which is only 1.5mile journey. He had driven it home the day before. As soon as he started it and drove off he could smell
Something and got half way to work when smoke started to pour out of the dash board filling the cabin! He pulled over straight away and switched the car off but it was still smoking so he popped the bonnet(hood) and disconnected the battery. (Luckily we always carry a 10mm spanner in the center consol). We towed the car back to work and then started to inspect it. The wiring loom in the engine bay and the 2 engine bay fuse board areas was all intact. So I dropped the dash board down on the drivers side and could see the headlight switch had caught fire.
I removed the instrument cluster to inspect and check all the wiring in that side of dash board but could not see any other damage. The fuse board on the side of the headlight switch did not have single blown fuse but one had signs of it getting hot. But it was very close to completely destroying the car when you see how much damage had been caused inside the switch unit. The lights had been working ok and the car is completely standard so no dodgy modifications.
I temporarily fitted a new switch unit from a donor car and connected the battery as I wanted to power everything up and check if all the lights and circuits connected to the switch were working, everything was ok and the vehicle was starting and running ok.
So it looks like the light switch went faulty, there was no sign of water ingress and the car was dry inside.
What I have now found is that there is a serious oversight in the wiring system that can allow this to happen as the switch unit is a load carrying switch so doesn't operate relays to take the load/current like most vehicles now on individual circuits. This in it self is ok if each circuit is fuse protected but on the crossfire only the output circuits have fuse protection but the 2 incoming power wires are not fused. So the switch has a constant 12v+ battery supply unfused and a 12v+ ignition supply is unfused. Theses are both heavy cables so can hold a heavy current! The constant live is powered from a buzz bar inside the engine bay fuse board(driver side) this buzz bar does have 200amp fuse in the remote fuse board by the battery but this is far to high to protect from a faulty light switch.
So I have now fitted 2 new inline 20amp maxi fuse holders and fuses. Using crimp spade connectors to connect one end into the loom and the other end onto the light switch. I made this flying loom about 14"" long so when the dash is back together the new fuses are accessible from inside fuse door on the end of the dash board just below the headlight switch fuse board. I am now doing this on all my crossfires and would recommend every one to do it as this fault could occur when the vehicle is not in use not just when being driven and also when the lights are not being used as the light switch has multiple functions not just the headlight lights. I am going to look at what other circuits are powered off the buzz bar and add some more fuse protection to the incoming side of the other circuits/systems powered from the buzz bar. I have also cleaned all the main earth points and added some extra earth leads now.
WOW, Does the MB SLK-320 have this problem as well? I wonder if anyone else has history of this issue with those MB cars (is the light module innards identical to the crossfire innards)?. If this is limited to the crossfire lamp module only, it needs to be reported to NHTSA! Gary, has anyone in fakebook reported this issue to NHTSA? Like those Takata airbags, this has the potential to kill especially if one burns down a home with people inside the home. Shocking!
I'm going to the NHTSA website to look up anything related to the lamp modules in the SLK-320 (2003 2004 or related) and the crossfire lamp module. If there is (or I cannot find anything) I'll report back here.
Thank you for posting this Gary!
I'm looking at wiring diagrams this afternoon. Seems like the solution is as posted, but I need to figure exactly what wires we are talking about.
I hope Mark can chime in on this.
I just looked at this circuit.
There are two heavy #12 wires which are hot off the splice bar in the fuse box and as the post above says one goes directly to the illumination module @ #1 connection point and the other goes to the ignition switch when it is turned to the #3 position ( just before Start) it then flows to the illumination model @ #4 connection when the ignition switch is turned.
But two other wires are also hot coming into the dash off that same splice bar. A number 18 and a 14, both red, go directly to the power seat relay which is located near the illumination module. Everything above points at the illumination module, but this would be another problem source.
Here are some pictures from a facebook member that installed a couple of 20 amp inline fuses on the power leads going to the light switch.
He said he kept them about 14" so that he could make it so that he could access the fuses through the access panel door. These pictures coincide with Valk's post above.
I'm probably going to do this when I get back from the Athens event. If I do I will document it as always.
However, I've never really had my dash apart, so if someone with more experience wants to do it, please do.
WOW, Does the MB SLK-320 have this problem as well? I wonder if anyone else has history of this issue with those MB cars (is the light module innards identical to the crossfire innards)?. If this is limited to the crossfire lamp module only, it needs to be reported to NHTSA! Gary, has anyone in fakebook reported this issue to NHTSA? Like those Takata airbags, this has the potential to kill especially if one burns down a home with people inside the home. Shocking!
I'm going to the NHTSA website to look up anything related to the lamp modules in the SLK-320 (2003 2004 or related) and the crossfire lamp module. If there is (or I cannot find anything) I'll report back here.
.
I found nothing on the NHTSA website BUT that website is a little hard to search. Even using a list of search words, I found nothing. Searching the net all I found were advertisements to check the fuses and a few YouTube vids about the same. IF anyone has a melted lamp module (depending on how bad of course) maybe someone can open it up to try locating what and where it started failing? I am glad my Ghost is in a metal garage 30' away from our home after finding this out, but for sure I do not want to leave the Ghost outside away from the garage...
Maybe someone with more experience with the NHTSA website and a list of the various vehicles that have the close-to-innards lamp module, can delve in deeper with researching our module (and a common failure location) if in fact there is one. I just don't quite understand what could be in a lamp module that would cause something like this to happen...
Been doing some looking and find nothing on NHTSA ... I do find questions about a smoking headlight switch on benz world & slk world ... it looks like the problem has been there in the past although they also state they were having trouble with the headlights before hand...
I agree that a step by step fix/repair would be very nice
below is from one of my searches ...
A faulty headlight switch in a 2005 SLK320, particularly if it's causing flickering lights, burning smells, or the switch feels hot, can be a potential fire hazard and should be addressed immediately by turning off the power at the circuit breaker and consulting a professional.
Today I have posted the "How To" for Fire Prevention for the Illumination Control Module (Headlight Switch). This is in response to the recent posts I've read here and on fake book about Crossfires catching fire.
The post is in 3 parts due to the 10 picture limit.
Here is the link: LINK - Fire Prevention Proactive Manitenance Illumnination Control Module
Potential FIRE RISK with our Crossfires
Was this owner a member? Before I would say the headlight switch assembly was suspected, I would find out if the car had additional accessories/wiring added in the area behind the lamp switch or inside the dash and engine compartment. Hard to figure the cause since so much damage was caused by the fire itself. Simply of note, the engine compartment (seems to me from the available pictures) sustained more damage than the interior. Glad the car was outside, I wonder if the responding fire department did an investigation? 
I'm going to the NHTSA website to look up anything related to the lamp modules in the SLK-320 (2003 2004 or related) and the crossfire lamp module. If there is (or I cannot find anything) I'll report back here. 
I found nothing on the NHTSA website BUT that website is a little hard to search. Even using a list of search words, I found nothing. Searching the net all I found were advertisements to check the fuses and a few YouTube vids about the same. IF anyone has a melted lamp module (depending on how bad of course) maybe someone can open it up to try locating what and where it started failing? I am glad my Ghost is in a metal garage 30' away from our home after finding this out, but for sure I do not want to leave the Ghost outside away from the garage... 
