NHTSA Complaint #10536996 — 2001 CHRYSLER PT CRUISER

WAS DRIVING DAUGHTER TO WORK AND BEGAN TO SMELL A BURNING ODOR. HOWEVER, I ASSUMED IT WAS A PASSING VEHICLE (STREETS WERE VERY WELL LIT, AND I WOULD NOT HAVE NOTICED MY LIGHTS WERE OUT). THE NEXT MORNING MY WIFE WAS HEADING OUT TO PICK-UP OUR DAUGHTER FROM WORK, AND WAS FLASHED BY THE LOCAL POLICE FOR NOT HAVING LIGHTS ON. THROUGH THE PROCESS OF ELIMINATION I DECIDED TO REPLACE THE MULTIFUNCTION SWITCH. WHEN I RECEIVED THE SWITCH AND ATTEMPTED TO INSTALL IT I NOTICED THAT THE WIRING HARNESS WAS SLIGHTLY MELTED. UPON INVESTIGATING THE INTERNET FOR A HARNESS I CAME UPON SEVERAL WEBSITES WITH NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS INVOLVING THE SAME PROBLEM. (IF EVERYONE WERE TO UNITE AND POST THEIR COMPLAINTS HERE THERE WOULD BE MANY) THESE PROBLEMS SEEM TO BE RELATED TO A SHORTING OUT OF THE WIRING CAUSED BY THE OEM FOG LIGHTS. THIS HOWEVER, DID NOT CAUSE EITHER THE DASH FUSE OR THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT FUSE TO BLOW, WHICH IS A REAL CONCERN. *TR