ok so a while ago i was driving and the volt meter was pegged or reading 18, and then the tach dropped and the car/tach was sputtering. smoke started pouring out of the gauge cluster near the voltmeter and tach.

i figured it was a bad ground/wire.
i unplugged the alternator and saw that that was burnt, could it have been the cause? or perhaps a casualty of the mess.

i now how the dash off and i dont see any burned wires.

the only ground i can find is the one attached to the metal bar that stretches across the width of the car. there should be more grounds right? where are they?


i took out the tach and on the circuit board there were some spots that looked like they could have been burnt, they were kind of brownish but not have a distinctive look.

oh and a few days before it almost caught fire, i smelled something burning, it smelled like a firework after being shot off.

oh and before alll of this, if i left the battery hooked up, it would be drained within a few days.

and the day that it almost caught fire, my friend was riding with me when we went somewhere. we were inside the burger place for maybe a half hour or so? when we came out i went to start it and it was dead.

i'm pretty much at a dead end, i dont know where else to look/what else to do.
can anyone help?

 

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