electrical problem???

[xxkoadyxx]

Hello i have a 93 golf 1.9TD.. MVOC to Elmwood, my cars locks decided to stop working...the pump out back does not making any noises so im guessing somthing to do with that..but thats not "that" big of a deal....every time i turn off my car, the trip/tach resets, and while the car is off, it does not show a reading on the little screen where the KMs are...only once the car is turned on..also while i was driving, i seen a faint smoke come up from the stearing colume... any one have any ideas? i will be at the show tomorrow if anyone wantts to have a look.. white mk3 golf red rims..hard to miss.. please help. thanks.

[vanbcguy]

NOTE: I think this thread should probably be moved over to the Troubleshooting forum?

The "smoke from the steering column" is actually a fairly common thing on A3's.  It can be the ignition switch (not the key part, the actual electrical switch) or the wiper / turn signal switches.  Does it happen every time you start the car, or just once in a while?

It's possible your ignition switch is shorting out or you've got some melted wire in your harness now.  It could be related to your cluster loosing power when the car is off but I'm not sure what the current path looks like.

[xxkoadyxx]

This is the first time any of this has happened.. im gonna take it apart tomorrow and see whats up.. what sould i look for?? melted wires and such?

[xxkoadyxx]

probm fixed! just a fuse 

[mystery3]

Was the fuse melted all to hell? I think you may find that the problem just manifested itself in the fuse and in reality is in the wiring or one of the switches in the column.