I wasnt' there when it happened but my buddy said that he was sitting there idling when he noticed a plume of smoke coming from the center console. WE took it apart and found nothing there but when we opened up the fuse box area it reeked in there..... So we started it and waited for the smoke but nothing came... Any ideas. The seat heaters are now unplugged because the console is out so maybe there was a short in the circuit from those? I noticed when when I took out the console that they were in the on position. Just took a quick look in there and didn't see anything. (I was on my lunch) so we'll look at it again tomorrow night this time with plenty of wobbly pops. Is this a problem that plagues these cars or just a fluke. Any ideas would be great.

Thanks

 

Ask your buddy if he had the a/c on....more specifically, the blower. I'm not guaranteeing this is the issue but often as the blower motor begins failing it draws more than the normal electricity. The fuse for the blower is actually higher than the wiring and fuse holder can handle. The amps on the fuse is high to handle start up surges. This allows the circuit to pull too much juice when the fan is failing. It will melt right through the white fuse panel and melt the fuse connector s and wires. I've seen cars where people had gone under the fuse panel and wired in a separate fuse holder because of this. Assuming you focus on that particular fuse and do see some evidence of heat, swap in a new blower motor.

 

Once you let the smoke out, you can't put it back.
Fuses pop and open the circuit quickly, Relays can draw current for a while before all the smoke is let out. I'd check those relays, especially those way in the back (forward).
Turn stuff on and see what doesn't work and also look for that burned/melted plastic of the fuse buss.
ED7