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Electrical smell after Combo Meter Repair

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by thetuningspoon, Jun 22, 2022.

  1. thetuningspoon

    thetuningspoon Junior Member

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    I did the DIY repair on the combo meter about 5 days ago (intermittent failure). Soldered on a new higher capacity capacitor. Everything seems to be working fine. However, today (the first cool, wet day we've had) I noticed an electrical smell coming from somewhere in or around the vehicle, even with the car off and just the door open. It's difficult to pinpoint but it definitely could be coming from the dash. Everything continues to work fine. If I put my hand around the cluster I can feel a bit of warmth coming from the dash, but I don't know if this is unusual.

    Can anyone confirm that their combo meter puts off some warmth on a cool day? Should I tear everything apart again and check to make sure the board is ok? Could this be caused by a bad soldering job or maybe just a bad capacitor, or would the combo meter not be functioning if this were the case?

    Any insight is much appreciated. Thanks.
     
    #1 thetuningspoon, Jun 22, 2022
  2. JC91006

    JC91006 Senior Member

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    I would fully insure the car before it catches fire.

    But I have no insight to offer
     
    #2 JC91006, Jun 22, 2022
  3. Tombukt2

    Tombukt2 Senior Member

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    I wouldn't worry too much you just saw it on the piece in there and so when you did the solder and you made some ozone soldering smell or whatever maybe that's just out gassing a little bit and coming off the board as it works I don't think it generally gets too warm I mean my dash doesn't one spot all the time when it's on but I don't think the cluster makes any kind of real heat but it might but I'm usually don't have it open when it's on
     
    #3 Tombukt2, Jun 22, 2022
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

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    I had a hybrid battery connection done wrong that created an electrical smell in 2019... The smell seemed like it was coming from the dash as well. But it wasn't, it was coming from the back of the car.
     
    #4 PriusCamper, Jun 22, 2022
  5. thetuningspoon

    thetuningspoon Junior Member

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    I took it for a drive last night and didn't smell anything more. This morning on my way to work everything seemed fine as well. I'm thinking it may have been something the neighbors were doing.
     
    #5 thetuningspoon, Jun 23, 2022
    PaulDM likes this.
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