anyone have probs with faulty wiring, smoking dash?

[morcheeba]

I've had a string of bad luck with my '96 MX-3 GS, so far all of it non-relating to the car (some idiot sat on the hood, someone hit it while parallel parking, etc.) but about 3 weeks ago the battery just died. I figured it was just the battery and replaced it. At this point, the radio stopped working.<P>This morning as usual I parked at work and came back to it at the end of the day and it was totally dead; something had drained the battery. I had it boosted and drove it for a bit, and realized that the rear defrost light was probably the culprit as it stayed on even when the car was turned off. <P>I kept it running to recharge the battery while I was in a store (friend stayed in it) and when I came back, the car was filled with a burning smell. Eventually smoke started coming from the dash at the front drivers side air vents to the point that it was pretty bad. I panicked and immediately took it to the nearest garage which just happened to be a Mazda dealership.<P>My question is, has anyone had a problem with wiring in the dash, and does anyone know what kind of a ballpark figure I'm looking at to tear it apart and fix?

[SmokyMcGee]

Wierd problem... never had such a problem with my mx-3..and I've had ALOT of problems. The dealership charges 70 dollars an hour i think.. Im thinkin alot of bones are gonna get dished out for that to be fixed.

[axess]

I would say that there is a short in your system. Electrical problems will probably get really expensive at garages since it is probably on a labor charge and will probably take a while to find the exact problem. I would try to find the problem by myself, just get a tester and look for resistance/continuaty (don't know the how to spell it, sorry)<P>Tell us how this turns out,<BR>Good luck!